Marry Me Tomorrow: The perfect, feel-good read to curl up with in 2017!

‘Of course not! I just meant that you’re obviously a very choosy lady. I mean, you chose me, didn’t you?’ He nudged me with his elbow. ‘Come on. I’m sorry, all right?’

I gave the smallest of shrugs and Sam sighed and leaned forwards, his elbows on his knees.

‘D’you know what?’

‘What?’

‘You’re not wearing a wedding ring. What’s that about then? Were we in too much of a rush to buy one or something? Was I too skint or too tight?’

‘Oh!’ I looked down at my naked finger. ‘I had a plain silver band I was going to put on. If Mum asks, I’ll say I took it off to wash my hands or something.’

‘Silver?’

‘I’ll say it’s white gold.’

Sam sighed. ‘What about this one?’ He held up his little finger and showed me a gold wedding band. Easing it over his knuckle, he passed it to me. ‘See if it fits.’

With shaking fingers, I took the ring from him and slipped it onto the third finger of my left hand. It sat in place, golden and shiny. ‘It fits.’ I frowned at him. ‘Is this your wife’s?’

‘No, it was my mum’s. Mandy wouldn’t wear it so I bought her a different one. You can wear it for now and I’ll have it back when we’re done, okay?’

‘Oh okay.’ I stared down at my hand, not quite believing my eyes. ‘So Mandy was your wife’s name?’

‘Yeah.’ Sam’s voice was flat and his lip curled with distaste.

‘Well, thank you.’

‘You’re welcome.’ He looked away and cleared his throat. ‘So, tell me about your mum. She must be pretty terrifying if you feel the need to pretend to be married to get her approval?’

I shook my head. ‘Not really. It was a mistake. The line was really bad and she’d been going on about the fantastic cruise she’d just been on and how my cousin Angela’s expecting twins and how happy she is and then she asked when I was going to meet a nice man so I said I already had. Then she got all excited about it and I said, “Calm down, we didn’t get married,” but the phone went all crackly and she misheard and then she went nuts.’

I shook my head in disbelief at the memory. ‘Then the phone connection failed and after, when I thought about it, I decided to go with it since it made her so happy. I didn’t expect her to come and visit so soon.’ I banged the heel of my boot on the tiled floor. ‘She always makes me feel like I’ve failed in some way, just because I’m not married with kids.’

‘She’s your mum. That’s her job, isn’t it?’

‘I thought it was to love and support me, not make me feel like shit.’ I frowned. ‘She never used to be like this. You know, when I was growing up we were dead close.’ I glanced across at him, aware that he was watching me closely.

‘Maybe she’s just worried you’re lonely.’

‘Well, I’m not lonely.’ I leaned forward, feigning interest in the zip of my boot.

‘Aren’t you? Surely everyone gets lonely sometimes?’

‘This is the second time we’ve had this conversation, and like I said before, I’m not lonely.’ I frowned at him. ‘If you really want to know, I dated a guy last year. Will, his name was. It was more hassle than it was worth. I never really felt comfortable with him and I was relieved when he dumped me and went back to his ex-girlfriend.’

‘You let him dump you?’ Sam tutted. ‘You should have got in there first. Anyway, relationships are more trouble than they’re worth.’

‘Yeah, you’re right there. I always seem to attract the wrong men and end up wishing they would just go away.’

‘Was Will a bit dodgy then?’

‘Well, kind of.’ I wrinkled my nose. ‘He looked the part: handsome, well dressed, nice car, good job.’

‘I hate him already.’

I laughed.

‘So what was up with him? Was it just that he was hung up on his ex?’

‘Well, maybe. I don’t know. But he was a bit…erm…a bit, kinky?’ I blushed, mortified to be discussing this with Sam. His eyebrows shot up with interest.

‘Oh yeah. In what way?’

I shook my head. ‘Just…he made me feel uncomfortable.’

Sam sniffed and looked away. ‘Well, like I said, you’re better off on your own. You won’t catch me getting caught up in all that crap again.’

‘You can’t think like that though.’ I glanced across at him. ‘It might work out better next time. Not every relationship turns bad. You were just unlucky.’

‘Nah.’ He shook his head, resolute. ‘I ain’t never going down that path again. That’s me done now.’

People started to appear through the doors, pushing trolleys loaded with suitcases. ‘This must be Mum’s plane now,’ I said, getting to my feet.

‘Should we be snogging when she first sees us?’ He grinned up at me.

‘Don’t be creepy. Get up, now.’ I grabbed his arm and hauled him up from the seats. ‘Mum and Len will be here any second so behave yourself. Honestly, you’re really doing my head in tonight.’

‘Oh we’re back here, are we?’ Sam gave me an appraising look as he straightened his jacket. ‘And there I was thinking we were past the bad mood. Nice to know we’ve gone full circle.’

Shooting him a murderous look, I turned my back and walked towards the doors, just as Mum appeared through them. She looked small and tired, her brown hair falling in soft waves around her face. The burst of happiness I felt on seeing her took me by surprise, and I ran to her, almost knocking her over as I flung my arms around her.

‘Mum! It’s so good to see you.’

Mum hugged me back, her arms tight around my waist. It took me a few moments before I realised she was crying.

‘It’s good to see you too,’ she said, pulling away from me and wiping her eyes, leaving black mascara trails beneath. ‘Oh, look at you.’ She reached up to touch my face. ‘You’re just as beautiful as ever.’

‘So are you. Where’s Len?’ I looked over her shoulder expecting to see him behind, but there was no one else.

Mum shook her head, her hazel eyes still brimming with tears. ‘It’s just me. I’ve left him.’ My mouth fell open and I stared at her in shock. ‘Come on, I’ll tell you in the car.’ She took hold of her case again before spotting Sam hovering behind me. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Is this Sam?’

‘Yes, this is my…’ I held out my arm, ready to present him as my husband, but I couldn’t quite get the word out. ‘This is Sam. Sam, this my mum, Pamela.’

‘Hello, Sam.’ Mum gave Sam a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. He kissed her back, smiling warmly while I looked on, curious to see how they’d take to each other.

‘Wow! You two are very alike, aren’t you?’ he said, looking between us.

‘I look a right old state,’ she said, pressing her hands to her cheeks. ‘I wish I could have met you under better circumstances, like at your wedding…’ she turned and gave me a pointed look ‘…but, never mind, at least we’ll get to spend some time together now.’ She hooked her arm through Sam’s and started walking, towing her case behind her.