Chasing the Groom

Chapter One

Things like this don’t happen to girls like me. Normal girls who forget to take their makeup off and sometimes hang the washing out in their pyjamas.

Staring back at me in the full-length mirror is a princess in an ivory gown with a huge train.

This is so much better than I had imagined. And a hundred times better than my sister Louise had implied.

This is the dress. The one I had picked out months ago, but now it’s been tucked in at the bust and the bodice is tighter.

“The fit is exquisite!” The boutique assistant with the severe bob runs a hand over the pearl beading.

“It is.” I beam at her. “It’s perfect.”

“All ready for your big day?” she asks.

My big day. The day I finally marry Drew after all these years. The one day where everyone treats me like a princess and I get to behave like one, swishing around in my gorgeous dress and sipping champagne.

The sorts of things that simply don’t happen to me on any other day of the week.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been happy going about my life being an ordinary girl. I run a bakery with my sister just across the road from our parents’ house, and I regularly pop in for a coffee with Mum or a chat with Dad about the latest American crime drama they’re showing on Channel Five.

Those are all normal, mundane things, aren’t they?

Not what you might expect a bride to do. Shouldn’t a bride be attending hairdressing appointments and barking orders at everyone?

But I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time.

When I tell people that I’ve been engaged for seven years, most of them say something like, “Oh, that’s so refreshing! So many brides rush into these things.” That statement roughly translates as, “There must be something wrong with you if you haven’t got your man down the aisle yet.”

The truth is, Drew and I just haven’t got round to sorting things until now. It doesn’t mean we’re not totally committed to each other.

Obviously I’ve been really busy starting up the business with Lou. And then Drew was given a managerial position at the health and leisure company he works for.

And seven years passed us by.

But it’s not like any of that matters. All that matters is that I love Drew and he loves me, and in a week I’m going to be his wife.

“Excuse me.” The boutique assistant appears behind me, holding out a white iPhone. “Is this yours?”

Of course it’s mine. It’s blaring my embarrassing Boyzone ringtone. I really must change that.

“Thanks.” I take it from her and squint at the caller display. It’s Drew’s office.

“Kirsty?” Drew’s secretary says as soon as I answer the call.

“Felicity? Is everything okay?”

“Have you heard from Drew?”

“Not since this morning.” I glance at the clock on the wall. “Should I have?”

“He’s gone missing. I’ve got no idea where he is. He said something about a trip and I thought you might—”

“Felicity.” I head to the back of the shop where nobody can hear me. “What are you going on about?”

“Drew’s gone,” she repeats. “All he’s left me with is this cryptic voicemail and I can’t make any sense of it.”

“What does it say, exactly?”