‘No more questions,’ said Jenna hastily. ‘Let the papping commence!’
She and Jason entwined in a passionate, full-scale snog while the bulbs flashed and popped all around them. But it could have been a thunderstorm or a blizzard for all Jenna cared. When she and her man were connected so closely, nothing else could encroach on what they made each other feel.
They ran through a selection of corny poses, heads on shoulders, foreheads together, Jenna held up in the air, until the five minutes had passed.
‘Here – catch!’ she shouted, flinging her bouquet into the crowd and using the uproar thus created to run, holding Jason’s hand, up the rest of the street to Harville Hall.
‘Do you think they’ll stick to the deal?’ panted Jason, as the security guards opened the gate.
‘They’d better, or I’m going to sue. I’ve given exclusive rights to cover the party to Greg. If anyone else tries on any of that zoom lens shit, I’m coming for them.’
‘Wouldn’t like to be in their shoes,’ said Jason, grinning as the gate clanged behind them. ‘Or yours, for that matter. Don’t those kill your feet?’
He looked down at her stiletto slingbacks. Jenna had to admit, running in them had been a severe test of her ankle strength.
‘A bit,’ she said.
‘Come on then. I’ll carry you over the threshold.’
‘But we don’t live here any more,’ she said, giggling as he gathered her up into his arms and strode, to the applause of those onlookers who had gathered on the lawn with their champagne flutes, along the gravel path to the open front door.
‘It’s still my ancestral home, though, yeah?’ he said.
Kayley and Deano, waiting for them on the front porch, joined in the applause.
‘Where were you?’ said Deano.
‘Bit of PR,’ said Jenna, as Jason swept her over the threshold. ‘You know how it is. Work, work, work. Never ends.’
‘Fuck me,’ said Jason, putting Jenna down and giving the newly refurbished Hall a good long once-over. ‘That’s hard work, that is. What do you think of the place then?’
‘It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ enthused Kayley. ‘I did loads of the shopping. Sorry, “sourcing”, they call it now, don’t they? Basically posh shopping. What do you think?’
‘You’ve got a great eye,’ said Jenna, who had been happy to take a back seat on the project and concentrate on getting Jason’s career off to its optimally brilliant start. ‘Have you had the interiors mags in yet?’
‘No, first one’s next week. I can’t wait!’
‘Are you staying in Bledburn for a while longer, Deano?’ she asked her ex-husband.
‘Yeah, I’m taking a leaf out of your book. A year off – kind of extended honeymoon, but with work. Me and Kayley’ll see this place off the ground, then we’ll go on a really long tour of Asian beach resorts. I think she’s earned it.’
‘She has,’ said Jenna.
‘Are you going on honeymoon?’ asked Kayley.
‘Yes – a month touring the great art galleries of Europe. The Hermitage, the Uffizi, the Louvre … as many as we can cram in.’
‘How romantic,’ said Kayley. ‘That sounds boss.’
‘I’m especially looking forward to the hotel beds,’ said Jason into Jenna’s ear, and she elbowed him.
‘Don’t be rude,’ she whispered.
‘Why not?’
‘Because you’ve got the rest of your life to be rude – can we just get through this wedding reception first?’
He behaved impeccably through the greeting line, the photographs, the meal, the speeches and the cutting of the cakes. Only when he placed a hand on her ivory satin thigh after the final toast did she start to exchange the perfect magazine-cover Jenna for the woman behind her.