Archie shot her a look that clearly said she was mad. “What else would we do with a bunch of hand-painted sheep?”
There was no sign of Josh at the back of the house, but they spotted Mitch coming down the path that wound its way through the old orchard.
“Caroline.” He smiled at her. “Glad you could make it.
Josh is this way. Follow me.”
He ushered her on in front of him.
Her stomach fluttered. She felt faint and wanted to retreat. Maybe he could mail the papers to her for her signature? Now why hadn’t she thought of that before coming to the castle? Caroline eyed Mitch nervously over her shoulder. “Why am I meeting Josh in the garden? I thought he wanted me to sign some papers.”
“He does. It’s better if he explains.”
Caroline clenched and unclenched her hands. A cold sweat broke out in the small of her back. She wanted to go home and crawl into a box of chocolates. And stay there until she vomited or passed out.
“What are these papers for, anyway? Is it something that can wait? Maybe Josh could mail them to me?”
“They’re mainly to do with the renovation and really should be signed straight away. You’re here now. Why not get this over with?”
Caroline’s stomach rolled. She’d forgotten all about the castle restoration. She guessed that was something else that wouldn’t go ahead. One more thing she’d screwed up. And one more thing she’d deal with after this meeting was over. The workmen would be so disappointed. It was a look she was getting used to seeing on the faces of the people around her.
Her feet dragged as she rounded a bend in the path. If Kirsty and Mitch hadn’t been behind her, she would have turned and fled. This was a mistake. Seeing Josh again would be too painful. Being anywhere near him would be agonising. Why was she doing this to herself? Didn’t she deserve some time to heal? To hide?
She tripped over something on the path and jerked to a halt. Her hand fluttered to her mouth. “What on earth?” Thousands of bubbles floated towards her. They covered the path and danced around the trees. She gave Kirsty a questioning glance and became even more confused when her friend beamed widely.
“Keep going, Caroline.” Mitch urged her forward. “Not far now.”
Kirsty squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’ll see.”
Archie smiled and nodded.
Caroline’s brain was frozen. The scene in front of her didn’t make sense. Gingerly, she stepped through the bubbles and slowly followed the path. Her palms were clammy. Her mouth was dry. A part of her mind was screaming hysterically. She felt like she was walking into a dream. Or worse, a psychotic hallucination.
“Have I had a breakdown and I’m lying in a hospital bed?” she whispered to Kirsty.
“No, silly. You’re actually here.”
“So there really are bubbles?”
Kirsty gave her a one-armed hug as they walked. “Just like you planned when you were a girl. Remember?”
Caroline felt her knees weaken. She couldn’t mean…? No. Kirsty didn’t mean the wedding she’d planned. Her mind stuttered. This was not happening.
The path turned one last time. Caroline stopped dead. Before her was a small white gazebo decorated in thick bunches of purple heather. There was so much of it you could barely make out the wooden structure. The path before her was covered in white rose petals. Rainbow coloured bubbles floated everywhere.
And under the gazebo, standing tall was Josh.
Caroline stopped breathing. Her feet wouldn’t move. There were no thoughts in her mind. It was as though time had hiccupped and she was in the void.
Josh was dressed in his jeans and a plain pale blue T-shirt. And he was smiling at her. Nervously.
Beside Josh stood the vicar. In front of the gazebo were some chairs. Not many. Enough for Josh’s parents, the domino boys, Betty, Mitch and Kirsty. Caroline spotted Lake standing to the side, monitoring events closely. Kirsty nudged Caroline forward. She couldn’t move. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she couldn’t deal with any more humiliation. She’d reached her limit.
Josh seemed to realise that she wasn’t going any further, so he slowly moved towards her. His usual saunter had turned into something far more predatory. He prowled forward. The look in his eye made it clear that she was his prey. Caroline swallowed hard, aware that it was too late to run. He would just chase her.
Josh stopped in front of her. “Hi.” The soft rumble reminded her of other times they’d had together. More intimate times. Her cheeks warmed at the thought.
“What’s going on?” She hated that the words came out hesitantly. “I thought you wanted me to sign some papers.”