Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

The morning of the wedding dawned bright and balmy, as I had secretly known
it would. Girls like Alicia always got their own way. Someone had probably put
in a good word with the weather gods.
‘That’s remarkably bitter of you, Clark,’ Will said, when I told him.
‘Yes, well, I’ve learnt from the best.’
Nathan had come early to get Will ready so that we could leave the house by
nine. It was a two-hour drive, and I had built in rest stops, planning our route
carefully to ensure we had the best facilities available. I got ready in the
bathroom, pulling stockings over my newly shaved legs, painting on make-up
and then rubbing it off again in case the posh guests thought I looked like a call
girl. I dared not put a scarf around my neck, but I had brought a wrap, which I
could use as a shawl if I felt overexposed.
‘Not bad, eh?’ Nathan stepped back, and there was Will, in a dark suit and a
cornflower-blue shirt with a tie. He was clean-shaven, and carried a faint tan on
his face. The shirt made his eyes look peculiarly vivid. They seemed, suddenly,
to carry a glint of the sun.
‘Not bad,’ I said – because, weirdly, I didn’t want to say how handsome he
actually looked. ‘She’ll certainly be sorry she’s marrying that braying bucket of
lard, anyway.’
Will raised his eyes heavenwards. ‘Nathan, do we have everything in the
bag?’
‘Yup. All set and ready to go.’ He turned to Will. ‘No snogging the
bridesmaids, now.’
‘As if he’d want to,’ I said. ‘They’ll all be wearing pie-crust collars and smell
of horse.’
Will’s parents came out to see him off. I suspected they had just had an
argument, as Mrs Traynor could not have stood further away from her husband
unless they had actually been in separate counties. She kept her arms folded
firmly, even as I reversed the car for Will to get in. She didn’t once look at me.
‘Don’t get him too drunk, Louisa,’ she said, brushing imaginary lint from
Will’s shoulder.
‘Why?’ Will said. ‘I’m not driving.’
‘You’re quite right, Will,’ his father said. ‘I always needed a good stiff drink
or two to get through a wedding.’