Page 45 of The Wedding Cake Wish
‘Please.’
I slide one out of the packet and, after a moment’shesitation, offer it up to Hudson as he navigates the multi-laned roundaboutsystem to access the motorway. ‘Excuse fingers.’
He opens his mouth and I pop in the mint. It’s quite anintimate thing to do and I’m glad he’s concentrating on the traffic becausethat means he doesn’t see the warmth that’s suffusing my cheeks.
Once we’re speeding along the M40, he glances over andgrins. ‘The last time I was spoon-fed like that, it was probably mashed carrotsand sweet potato.’
‘Another one?’ I hold up the packet of mints.
‘Go on, then.’
We drive in silence for a while and I think back to the daybefore, in Rory’s flat, when we realised we’d likely been on a wild goosechase, thinking Brendan Myers was the reason for Rory’s disappearance.
After discovering the photograph of a teenage Rachel and herfriends in Rory’s bedroom, we decided that Amberley, the village in theCotswolds mentioned in Rory’s scribbled note, should be the next stop in oursearch for him. I’ve managed to take a couple of days’ holiday owing to me fromthe bakery. Hudson, meanwhile, is leaving his business – At Home With Holmes –in the very capable hands of his new interior design manager. I started workextra early today, was back home by three, and Hudson picked me up soon afterso that we could make a speedy start and beat some of the rush hour traffic.
We’ve no idea where this will lead us and how long we mightbe away, so we’re just going to play it by ear. I’ve packed an overnight bag incase we decide to stay in a B & B.
For the moment, though, it isn’t Rory’s whereabouts that’suppermost in my mind. And as we begin seeing signs for Amberley, I gingerlybroach the subject of Hudson’s drink with Amelia the other night.
‘Did you...meet Amelia in the Swan?’
He nods. ‘Yeah, we had a nice night, actually. Talking aboutMyles, mostly.’ He laughs. ‘At least,Idid most of the talking, butAmelia seemed happy to just let me ramble on.’
I’ll bet she was!
‘She said she wanted to help me get everything off mychest,’ he adds, smiling fondly at the memory.
Yeah, including your shirt, no doubt!
Stop it, Ruby! Just stop it!
Jealousy is a desperately unattractive quality...
I clear my throat. ‘You...don’t thinkshe’s starting to rely on you a bit too much...?’
‘Rely on me?’ He looks at me quizzically.
‘Yes, you know. Like you were saying the other day. She wasin love with Myles and she misses him desperately, so she’s sort of transferringall her emotion onto you instead?’
He frowns, considering this. ‘I was starting to think so,but after last night...no. There’s obviously a bond there,because of Myles, but I think we’re just enjoying getting to know each other.’
‘Right.’ I magic up a bright smile from somewhere. ‘That’sgood, then.’
He smiles across at me. ‘It is, actually.’
We drive in silence for a while. Then he says, ‘Therewassomething odd that came up last night.’
‘Odd? Really?’
‘Yeah. We were talking about our favourite ways to relax andshe started telling me about this time Myles was over at hers and they stayedup watching horror movies all night long.’
‘She’s passionate about horror films?’
He nods.
‘Right. So how was that odd?’
He laughs. ‘Well, Myles used to hate anything spooky. He wasa proper scaredy-cat when it came to horror movies. I could never get him towatch one. He actually preferred romantic comedies.’
