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the country. Let Janice spill the beans about the credit cards. Angela was an adult now, with her own child to look after. She rolled her shoulders in a physical show of defiance and then sighed. In her heart she knew how disappointed her father would be if he found out the extent of her debt again. It made her feel like anything but an adult.

Chapter 5
    Angela lifted Carmela’s dress from the hanger and spread it carefully over the chair. The bride was petite but her wedding dress had so many layers she was going to look like a blimp. Angela wondered how the design had been chosen. Surely Carmela’s mother would have tried to talk her out of it. Perhaps she had. Or maybe she liked it as well. It really didn’t matter. Angela would be glad only when the day was over.
    She and Kate had been tasked with bringing the dress into the bridal dressing room. It was really the sitting room in Carmela’s family home but, just for today, Carmela’s mother had transformed it into a boudoir for the bride.
    Carmela’s every movement had been scripted and was being captured on camera, in both moving images and still photographs. Nobody budged without the wedding planner telling them to do so. Angela and Kate were already over it and had welcomed the littlerespite to retrieve the dress. Kate had nipped off to the bathroom, leaving Angela blissfully alone for a few minutes.
    She fluffed out the layers of the wedding dress. She and Kate were to carry the dress back to the boudoir, hold it aloft and slide it carefully over Carmela, who was waiting in all her fancy underwear. Angela giggled. Tony would need a blowtorch to get her out of it all tonight.
    As Angela turned, her reflection caught her eye and she paused in front of the mirror. She wasn’t prone to preening but with five bridesmaids getting ready in the one room, there’d been little chance to get close to a mirror. After the endless entourage of beauticians and hairdressers, she now had a moment to take in the final result.
    Her long blonde hair was swept away from her face, woven into soft strands on top of her head, then twisted into full-length curls falling down her neck. Quite a change from the ponytail she typically wore. The makeup was both more than and stylistically different to the scant amount she usually applied, but she had to admit that the eyeliner and mascara did make her eyes look bigger.
    Each bridesmaid’s dress was a different pastel. Kate had a lovely pink outfit, and Angela was glad she didn’t end up with the mauve, lemon or peach numbers that Sarah, Jazz and Bella were respectively wearing. Thank goodness Christie – and thus Angela – had been given the soft green. The colour perfectly matched Angela’s hazel eyes.
    She leaned forward and tugged the strapless dress a little higher. The only thing she didn’t like was the extra cleavage she was showing. Christie had smaller breasts than her, and although the dressmaker had done her best to allow for Angela’s more ample bust, the fabric was still pulled tight. Hopefully the zip was a strong one.
    Angela twisted back and forth in front of her reflection. She liked what she saw. Knowing she looked good boosted her confidence toget through the day ahead. Perhaps Nigel would realise what he’d given up and beg her to take him back.
    She stopped and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
Where did that thought come from?
    Angela threw out her arms and did a big spin to rid herself of the thoughts of her ex. The soft folds of the skirt floated out and she felt like a child again, pretending to be a princess. Her feet wobbled on their high heels, however, and the room continued to spin even after she stopped. How many champagnes had they gone through this morning? Angela flung out a hand to grab the dressing table and connected with a glass of water.
    ‘Oh no!’ she yelped and flung out her other hand, but she was just a little too late to stop the water from meeting Carmela’s dress. A huge, dark