Page 17 of The Wedding Cake Wish
She bends her head, clearly overwhelmed by this. Then shelooks up. ‘I’m Amelia, by the way.’ She holds out her hand as if to shake, butat the last minute she touches his arm instead and reaches up to kiss him onthe cheek. ‘Why be so formal?’ she laughs. ‘I feel as if I know you already.’
‘Yes.’ Hudson smiles and draws her into a hug, and theyembrace tightly right there, much to the curiosity of a couple walking theirdog nearby.
I watch them, a feeling of shock mixed with sadness ripplingthrough me.
The poor girl. Imagine falling in love with someone, onlyfor that person to be cruelly snatched away just months later...
They look good together. Tall, handsome, dark-haired Hudsonand the beautiful, statuesque Amelia, gazing up into his eyes with such sadnessas they draw apart. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that she’s a model...
Hudson glances at me, suddenly remembering I’m there.‘Sorry, Amelia, this is Ruby. Ruby, this is –was– Myles’s girlfriend.’
I stare at her sadly. ‘I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how youmust be feeling.’
‘Thank you.’ She looks down mournfully, long dark lashesshading her lovely violet eyes. ‘Yes, it’s been hard. Very hard. But...’She looks up, with a brave shrug. ‘You have to get on with life, don’t you?’She smiles at Hudson. ‘That’s one thing about Myles – he definitely wouldn’twant us to mope forever, would he? He was all about living life to the full.And he lit up the room wherever he went.’
Hudson nods. ‘He did indeed.’ His voice is croaky and I wantto reach for his hand, but I keep it firmly by my side. ‘I used to quite envyhim his ability to get the party started, wherever he went. He could be such asociable animal when he was in the mood, and then there was his other, morerelaxed side – the Myles who loved packing a rucksack and going off walking inthe countryside, feeling at one with Nature.’
‘He hero worshipped you. Youwerehis big brother,after all.’ She frowns. ‘Or have I got that the wrong way round?’
‘No, you’re right. I was the elder by four minutes.’ Hechuckles. ‘I always joked that I was the boss and he always said that was fineand that he didn’t mind being younger because the younger sibling always gotaway with so much more.’ He indicates the bench. ‘Why not join us, Amelia?’
She does as he suggests, crossing her slim legs in skinnyjeans and smiling up at Hudson, and I shuffle along the bench to make room forHudson. But instead, he drops down onto the grass, stretching out his long legsand leaning back on his hands. Shading his eyes from the early evening sun, helooks up at us as Amelia starts talking.
‘I knew Myles such a short time, really,’ murmurs Amelia.‘But I knew we were meant to be together.’ She sighs. ‘No one talks about himto me in case I get upset. But they don’t understand...’
Hudson nods. ‘People don’t get that sometimes you actuallywantto talk about the person you’ve lost...to keep them withyou and remember the good times.’
‘Exactly,’ she whispers. ‘Hudson, you and I have somethingvery special in common. Your gorgeous, kind, lovable twin brother. Any time youwant to talk about Myles, just call me.’
‘Thank you. I will.’
She gets out her phone and, realising she means to do itright then, Hudson reaches for his, too, and they swap numbers.
‘He loved daisies,’ she says suddenly, her eyes lighting onthe wild flowers in the grass at our feet. ‘Myles was so happy in thecountryside.’
Hudson nods, and glancing down at the clump of daisies nearhim on the grass, he plucks a single flower and holds it up to the sun,twirling it in his fingers. He looks at Amelia and presents it to her in atouching gesture that makes my throat feel suddenly choked.
Amelia takes the daisy and they exchange a wistful smile.Then, with a little sigh, she stands up, and so does Hudson. ‘Well, I shalllove you and leave you. But please stay in touch, Hudson. We can help eachother through this, don’t you think?’ Her hand lingers on his arm. ‘After all,who else knows Myles like we do? All his funny little quirks. Like the way he’dscramble eggs and put the – ’
‘Eggshells back in the box?’ finishes Hudson.
‘Exactly.’ She smiles into his eyes. Then she walks away,her eyes cast down to the ground, and I can’t help admiring her peach-likebottom in the skin-tight jeans.
Hudson stares after her, a faraway expression on his face,understandably moved by his encounter with another person who loved Myles as hedid.
‘She seems nice,’ I say at last.
He laughs and shakes his head in disbelief. ‘I didn’t evenknow Myles was seeing anyone. But I guess they’d only been together a shorttime. He must have been doing his usual thing of making sure their relationshipwas going somewhere before he told everyone.’
‘So will you phone her?’ I avoid his eye, bending to pick upa napkin that’s ended up on the grass. I hate myself for asking, but for somereason, I really need to know.
‘Yes, I think I should. It’ll be amazing to talk to someonewho knew Myles so well.’ He draws in a deep breath and we watch Amelia gettinginto a car on the other side of the green.
Only once she’s driven along the high street and disappearedfrom view, does Hudson turn back to me. ‘Anyway...what werewe talking about?’
Fen
CHAPTEREIGHT
