The Secrets We Keep

Chapter 1

There are no secrets that time does not reveal.

We met at a wedding, ironically.

I was eventually seated at the same table as him, with a bunch of other random guests who were unable, or perhaps chose not to bring a date to the wedding. It was, albeit, a rather clever ploy to set up the date-less guests from the bride and groom's parties; encouraging them to mingle as the night went on. 

 I had not been so impressed being lumped on that table by the mother-of-the-bride at first. I was not attending that wedding as a guest but rather, the wedding planner (& ex-maid-of-honour – but we'll get to that bit later); and as such the seating plan was my idea. But as the night went on, I couldn't help but pat myself on the back for my genius idea.

He was seated with his own friends: on one side of him was a man who was either depressed or just generally very reserved and on the other, an arrogantly handsome looking man with striking hazel eyes littered with specks of brown and gold. They arrogantly talked about the latest season of golf and football enthusiastically with one another, and unfortunately, I had nothing to add to the conversation because I am more of a tennis fan.

The wedding was of a mutual friend of ours. They knew her through work, and I knew her as my best friend; though some of them were apparently also distantly related to the groom (as it tends to go in these posh circles). It was a dazzling affair, over five hundred guests were present in the large reception hall of the castle rented out for the evening. Privilege and wealth shone through the opulent venue with each pillar of space adorned with floral decorations and a mouth-watering menu that guests rumoured to have been prepared by a Michelin-star chef – I can tell you: it wasn't. 

Perception is key. 

Find a chef who knows how to use their seasoning, reduce the portions by half and hire a food decorator and hey presto – fool the masses. As far as weddings went, I would be surprised if guests had a complaint to raise about the event; this was my best one yet.

To my deepest regret, I couldn't sing similar words of high praise about the invitees on my table. The dejected-looking man had been somewhat friendly, but he was also extremely weird and nearly impossible to engage with, so when our conversation fizzled out in under five minutes, I let him be.

Resigned to my fate, I sat there in silence, whilst persistently checking the group chat on my phone to ensure that my assistants had things under control ... until the one with intelligent eyes made a sarcastic comment about me being unsociable. I wish I had the ability to come up with witty retorts on the spot, but alas, I weakly settled on a steely glare and opted to not speak to him for the rest of the evening.

Yes, it was a very mature response, I'm aware.

His smirk was infuriating, and he had the whole quiet and brooding stereotype going on too – definitely not my type. Coal-eyes, however, was special – with his curly, dark brown hair, and swoon-worthy body, framed by that well-fitted suit. He smiled at me and ignored his two best friends after he'd successfully captured my attention. I couldn't hold in my smirk when he asked The Smirking DudeTM to switch seats with him so that he could sit beside me, TSDTM had not been pleased.

We kept a steady conversation going, it was awkward at first, but what first encounter wasn't? After a while, once the initial, what's your name, what do you do, how do you know Blair and Warren (the bride and groom) questions were out of the way ... it was ... nice? We had a lot in common. Too much in common actually. From our favourite bands to bucket-list holiday destinations to even our favourite places to shop for groceries (I know. That was a strange connection to make, but it was just one more thing we had in common!)