Page 31 of Date with Destiny

‘God, sorry,’ I say. ‘Zach, this is my best friend. Myfe, this is Zach, of Walliams’ Custom Designs who’s working with Celeste’s Stones.’

‘Ohhhh,’ Myfanwy says a bit embarrassingly. ‘You’reZach!’ Her eyes trail up and down him and I swallow hard.

‘I’ve told her how much we love your designs,’ I say quickly. ‘How talented you are.’ I pause, ready to ferociously elbow Myfanwy if necessary.

‘Right,’ she says agreeably. ‘Ginny says the customers are loving having you on board.’

Zach smiles widely. ‘I love it more; it’s been fantastic working with Gin and Tonic.’

Myfanwy shrieks at this and I laugh, embarrassed. I forgot I told him about our silly names. That was right before I got the call about Diane.

It already feels like a lifetime ago.

‘Thanks so much for coming,’ I say shyly. ‘It’s really good of you.’

‘I wanted to,’ he says simply. ‘It was a lovely service. Which I know is a thing everyone always says, but it really was.’ Zach pauses. ‘I especially enjoyed the entertainment.’ He nods towards the corner of the room where the four Naughty Schoolboys have shocked everyone by arrivingtogether for the wake, and are currently hitting the shots hard, laughing and joking over their black eyes.

‘That was a bit of a shocker, wasn’t it!’ Myfanwy says in an awed voice. ‘I had no idea Aunt Diane was such a goer.’

‘A goer?’ Zach looks amused. ‘I haven’t heard that expression in a while. I feel like it’s something my nan would’ve said.’

‘I bet me and your nan would’ve had a lot in common,’ Myfanwy says sombrely.

He laughs. ‘Indeed.’ He turns to me. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt, I just wanted to say hi.’

‘Hi,’ I say shyly, feeling his eyes burn into my face.

‘Hi,’ he says back softly and the air around us thickens. After a moment, he clears his throat. ‘Can I get you both a drink?’ He nods at the bar.

‘Vodka tonic, please,’ Myfanwy grins and I nod.

‘Same for me would be great, thanks.’

He heads for the bar as my friend leans into me. ‘Phew,’ she says once he’s out of earshot. ‘That was some fucking intense sexual chemistry there!’

‘Nahhh,’ I wave her away. ‘He was just being nice.’

‘Do we think he might be your soulmate?’ She moves closer, shovelling in another prawn mayo sandwich.

‘Oh stop it!’ I cry. The idea of falling in love with anyone who isn’t Daniel terrifies me.

‘OK, I’ll stop,’ she says nicely. ‘Let’s talk instead about your life-changing trip.’ She raises her eyebrows mischievously. ‘We got interrupted when we were talking about you going on your honeymoon.’

I scowl at her. ‘I think that’s a terrible idea. Why would I want to go anywhere on my own right now, never mind on a trip that was supposed to be the most romantic week of my life?’

‘Not on your own,’ she shakes her head triumphantly. ‘With me!’

‘With you?’ I repeat back to her dumbly.

She nods. ‘After you mentioned it, I talked to Sonali and she agrees we should go. You and me.’

My heart leaps at this. A trip away from all of this. Escaping from the grief and the heartache with my favourite person in the universe…

But still. It would be myhoneymoon. We’d have to stay in the romantic suite Daniel and I chose. We’d be surrounded by loved-up couples and romantic tourist spots.

Sensing my indecision, Myfanwy speaks quickly, ‘Come on, Gin, you need this! It’s your life-changing trip! Destiny has instructed you to take this holiday, and I can be there to supervise said destiny to ensure you listen.’

I narrow my eyes. ‘Hmm, OK, but if Ichooseto go on a life-changing trip, doesn’t that feel a bit like I’m making the predictions happen?’

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