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attached to the same man. It’s hard to tell.
    In any case, she’s told Kieran she enjoyed the film but then ruins it by wishing out loud there’d been more romance in it. At least she makes him laugh – their tastes in films have always been different.
    At home, Olivia switches on the kettle and waves the coffee jar at Kieran. “The usual?”
    “Please,” he says. “Might grab a yogurt too. Unless you actually have biscuits…?”
    She rolls her eyes at him. He knows perfectly well she’s trying not to put on any weight before their Big Day and so biscuits – and, even worse, chocolates – are off the menu. If she buys any of either, she will end up eating them herself and having to do an extra five minutes on the exercise bike. Such a thought is terrible. The fifteen minutes she already struggles through on the bike in the mornings before work are bad enough.
    Once they’re in the living room with two coffees and one yoghurt pot – strawberry as Olivia isn’t too keen on those and Kieran doesn’t mind – Olivia smiles brightly at her fiancé.
    “Ah,” he says, putting the pot and spoon down on the table. “You have a question …”
    “How do you know? I could just be smiling.”
    “Oh yes, you could be, but it’s the type of smile which means you’ve got something to ask me. So go ahead, but if it’s anything too girly, I reserve the right to flee the room in a manly fashion.”
    “Ha! I’d best bar the door then,” Olivia replies. “I’m in the process of thinking about wedding hair and make-up, and I wondered if you had any particular opinions. I’m planning to get my hair done. I’d like to add a few curls in so I need to try a new hairdresser. I don’t have one I always use at the moment as it is, so I’ve got free rein. And in terms of wedding make-up, I’d much rather go natural rather than be over-the-top. What do you think, about both of them, I mean?”
    Kieran’s eyes contain a look of existential terror. “Um. You’re beautiful, whatever you decide, so I don’t mind.”
    Olivia gives him a quick hug. She always loves a compliment. Who doesn’t? Still, she wants to make absolutely sure. “Okay, I’ll try for a few soft curls for a hairdo then. But, really, what’s your opinion on make-up? Is natural the way forward or should I be a glam queen?”
    Kieran, by now primed for pre-marital battle, rises to the occasion like the trooper he is. “You’re always a glam queen, to my eyes. But you like the natural look and it suits you, so I think it would be nice. Just don’t ask me to give any more beauty opinions, please. I love you how you are!”
    He holds up his hands as if fearful of a further grilling but Olivia decides enough is enough. “I promise that’s all I’ll ask,” she says as she kisses him. “Natural it is then.”
    By the end of the following day, Olivia has an appointment with a local beautician whose website advertises wedding make-up and shows a variety of pictures which give her hope that some kind of miracle can be performed on the day. It’s the only one of the websites Olivia has surfed through that actually mentions the ‘natural look’ and so she’s put it at the top of her list at once.
    One week later and Olivia is at a village near her mother’s home, relaxing with a soothing hot chocolate in the front room of a freelance beautician whose name is Debbie. A hot chocolate is not very good for the skin but Olivia thinks she deserves it just this once. Only the one sin can’t alter her waistline too much, can it?
    While Olivia sips, Debbie is studying her face as if she is an interesting sculpture she has plans for. Olivia doesn’t mind this, as Debbie isn’t scarily beautiful so therefore not too terrifying. There’s nothing worse than having to deal with blonde women with perfect skin, perfect figures and a generous dose of smugness – which as a rule they nearly always have. Debbie on the other hand is petite, plump and with wild