The Australian Affairs Collection. Margaret Way

with satin, strapless in style with a seam straight under the bust from which the skirt fell in feminine folds to the floor. It was a sweet dress—not Jess’s usual style, but surprisingly it looked good on her, the pale pink suiting her strong colouring. It was not a colour she ever chose for herself, thinking she needed bolder colours.

      The dress was too large in the bust line, however. The bodice was just too wide. It needed to be taken in at the side seams which would be a time-consuming job; both the chiffon and the lining would have to be carefully unpicked before being resewn. Thankfully, it was the right length, Krissie obviously being of a similar height to Jess. And, whilst the matching shoes were half a size too large, it was better than them being too small.

      Catherine tipped her head to one side as she looked Jess over. ‘It actually looks better on you than it did on Krissie. But I won’t be telling her that,’ she added with a quick smile. ‘She feels bad enough as it is. Anyway, I’ll just give Doris a call. She altered my wedding dress for me a couple of weeks ago when I lost weight. I’m sure she won’t mind, since it’s an emergency.’

      But as it turned out Doris was in Melbourne visiting her sister.

      Murphy’s Law at work again, Jess thought silently as she took off the dress and put her own clothes back on again. But at least she could do something about the dismay which had already entered the bride-to-be’s face.

      ‘It’ll be all right, Catherine,’ she said soothingly. ‘I can fix the dress. I know exactly what to do. And, before you ask, I have my trusty sewing machine sitting in the back of my four-wheel drive.’

      Both Catherine and Leanne gaped at her.

      ‘But…but…’ Catherine stammered, not looking too certain about Jess’s offer.

      Jess smiled reassuringly. ‘You don’t have to worry. I’m a very experienced dressmaker. It was my profession before I went into marketing,’ she added, backing up Ben’s little white lie. ‘I made this jacket myself, you know, and I think it’s a pretty good design.’

      ‘You can say that again!’ Catherine exclaimed. ‘I’ve been envying it ever since you arrived.’

      ‘Me too,’ Leanne gushed. ‘Floral jackets are very in this spring.’

      ‘But tell me something, Jess,’ Catherine said, looking puzzled. ‘Do you always travel around with your sewing machine?’

      Jess realised immediately she could hardly say that, until fate had stepped in and changed everything, she’d been going to do some sewing whilst she was stuck in a motel room for most of the weekend.

      ‘Lord, no,’ she said, laughing. ‘I simply forgot to take it out of the car after I did some sewing at a girlfriend’s place last weekend. How lucky is that?’ As little white lies went, it wasn’t too bad, except that it made Jess realise she didn’t have girlfriends the way Catherine did. When she’d left Sydney to come live on the Central Coast she’d drifted away from all the female friends she’d made at school. She did see a couple of them occasionally but they weren’t in her life on a regular basis. In truth, she didn’t actually have any female friends now that Colin had debunked, her recent social life having been more his mates and their girlfriends.

      Jess had never thought of herself as being lonely before. She did have a large family, but suddenly she envied Catherine her girlfriends.

      Still, she didn’t entertain her negative feelings for long, vowing instead to do something about her lack of girlfriends once she got back home. Maybe she would join a gym. Or a sports club of some kind. She’d been good at basketball at school, her above-average height giving her an advantage. Yes, she’d join a basketball club. For females only. Jess suspected that after Ben went back to America she would want a spell away from male company for a while.

      Her heart lurched at this last thought but she steadfastly ignored it.

      ‘How about I drive Ben back to Andy’s place?’ she suggested. ‘Then come back and get stuck into the dress? It could take a couple of hours. I don’t want to rush things. I want to get it right.’

      Catherine beamed at her. ‘Jess, you are a life saver! You must stay here for dinner,’ Catherine added. ‘Then afterwards we can have a little hen party of our own. I mean, there’s no point in your returning to Andy’s place. He and Ben are going out on the town in Mudgee tonight. A few of their mates from uni are staying at a motel there, so they’re having a big get-together. I did tell Andy not to stay out too late or do anything seriously stupid, but you know Aussie men when they get a few beers into them. Ben might sound like an American these days, but he’s an Aussie boy through and through.’

      Jess didn’t agree with Catherine on that score. Ben was nothing like any Aussie boy she’d ever met.

      ‘At least the wedding’s not till four-thirty,’ Catherine added. ‘So they have time to recover.’

      ‘Where is the wedding, Catherine?’ Jess asked.

      ‘We’re having it outside in Mum’s rose garden, with a celebrant officiating. And the reception will be in a marquee set up on the back lawn. It’s due to go up first thing in the morning. Once that’s done, the wedding planner and her lot will swoop in and set everything else up.’

      ‘You booked a wedding planner?’ Jess said, surprised. She would want to plan her own wedding right down to the last detail.

      ‘Gosh, yes. I knew it would be a nightmare if I did it. Mum would want to help, but the poor love gets in a flap over the least little thing. The lady I hired has been fantastic. She’s arranged everything, right down to the cars and the flowers. She even took me down to Sydney and helped me choose the dresses. Not that it’s a large wedding. Only about a hundred guests. This business with Krissie and her dress is the first hiccup there’s been.’

      ‘Is the weather forecast good for tomorrow?’ Jess asked, worried that Murphy’s Law might raise its ugly head again at the last minute. She was beginning to be a serious believer.

      ‘Perfect. Warm, with no rain in sight. Okay, let’s get ourselves downstairs and I’ll reassure Mum whilst you drop Ben back at Andy’s. But don’t be away too long,’ she added, flashing Jess a knowing smile. ‘No hanky panky, now. Keep that till after the wedding.’

       CHAPTER TEN

      ‘ARE YOU SURE you can do this, Jess?’ Ben said as Jess sped down the driveway. ‘I mean, altering a dress can’t be the same as making one from scratch.’

      ‘It won’t be any trouble. Gran did a lot of alterations and I used to help her. I earned my first pocket money that way.’

      ‘You are full of surprises, aren’t you?’ he said, smiling over at her. ‘A good person to have around, I would imagine. I dare say you can cook as well.’

      Jess shrugged. ‘I’m not bad. Mum’s better, though. Can you cook? Or is that a silly question?’

      ‘Not at all. I think all men should be able to cook a bit, especially ones who live alone. I can make a mean omelette, and my mushroom risotto has received several compliments.’

      Jess laughed. ‘I dare say it has.’ She could imagine Amber gushing over every single thing he did. She could hear her now: Oh, Ben, darling, you are so clever. And talented. And handsome. And rich.

      No, no, Amber wouldn’t actually say that last bit. She would not be as obvious as Leanne. Or as envious. Because Amber would have money of her own. Jess was sure of it.

      His sideways glance was sharp. ‘Do I detect some sarcasm in that remark?’

      Her returning glance was brilliantly po-faced. Or so she thought.

      ‘Not at all.’

      He chuckled. ‘You little liar, you. You enjoy taking the Mickey out of me.’

      ‘That’s