Page 68 of The Wedding Cake Wish
He looks down rather sheepishly, kicking a stone. ‘There’ssomething I need to do first.’
‘Oh?’
He delves into his pocket and before I know what’shappening, Rob’s down on one knee, right there on the gravelly path.
He smiles up at me. ‘Fen Redpath, you’re the love of mylife. I know I’ve been distant and distracted of late...becauseof Rory and because I hated the way Marjery was taking over our Big Day. Butyou didn’t deserve it. None of it. I should have been concentrating on you inthe run-up to our wedding, not letting my own worries get in the way. So pleaselet me make it up to you now.’
My head is reeling. A vision of Mum slides in from nowhere...thehorrified look on her face when Rory crashed the dinner party. But I forcemyself to push it away. There’ll be time to think about Mum and talk to herabout what happened, but this moment right here is for Rob and me.
I look down at him and my heart swells with love, noticinghis fingers are trembling as he opens the long box he’s holding.
He clears his throat. ‘Fen, I know I’ve already proposed toyou. But I’d like to do it again. Just the two of us, without a crowd of peoplearound us, this time.’
Stunned, I smile down at him.
Is this really happening?
‘So will you make me the happiest man in the whole world andagree to marry me?’ He opens the box he’s holding and shows me the contents. Abeautiful rose gold bangle studded with tiny diamonds. ‘It’s not a ring thistime. But I hope you like it.’
‘Rob, it’s gorgeous.’ I’m seeing it through a watery veil ofhappy tears right now, but I don’t care. I already know it’s the most perfect bangleI’ve ever owned. ‘And of course I’ll marry you.’
I smile up into his eyes, and he slips the bangle on mywrist. It fits perfectly, as I knew it would.
Smiling, we walk down the path, arms around each other, andthrough the door into our very first house together...
Ruby
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
I’ve been working in the café today, filling in forMadison who’s away for a few days with her boyfriend.
Late afternoon, Hudson pops in for a coffee and a cake, andwhile we’re quiet, he stands at the counter with his cup, and we chat aboutRory and the spectacular climax to our latest case. Having spoken to Fenearlier, I’m able to fill in a few gaps for him.
‘Rachel never talked about what happened that night,’ I tellhim. ‘Much like Marjery, she kept the details to herself. Except for oneperson. Shirley. Apparently, she and Shirley drank a bit too much one night andRachel let slip that it wasn’t her who started the fire. She dug out the photoof her and the two others and showed it to Shirley. She even mentioned theirnames, although later, Shirley could only remember Stephanie Holbrook.’
Hudson nods. ‘So when did Rory find out that his mum wasinnocent all along?’
‘It was after Rachel was almost killed in the road accident.Rory was round to see his mum every day, looking after her, with Shirleypopping in from next door all the time. They got talking about the alleged “accident”,and they agreed it had to have been a warning to Rachel not to give evidence atBrendan Myers’ trial. During their chats, Shirley revealed to Rory what she’dknown for a while – that Rachel was innocent of starting the fire and her twofriends had fled the scene, leaving her to carry the can. Of course, Rory wasfurious.’
Hudson nods. ‘But how did Rory get his hands on the photoand Stephanie Holbrook’s name?’
‘Ah, well, it was Shirley. Knowing he was desperate foranswers, she took the photo to his flat. She must have been the hooded personRory’s next-door neighbour saw him talking to at his door. She obviouslyremembered one of the names Rachel had mentioned – Stephanie Holbrook – but notthe other. So that meant Rory had a lead at last.’
‘And he left early next morning, intent on tracking downStephanie.’
I nod. ‘To be fair to Shirley, I don’t think she expectedhim to exact revenge. She just wanted Rory to stop driving himself mad,wondering about the real arsonist. She thought he would just track them downand challenge them about the fire, and get some closure that way.’
Hudson groans. ‘She wasn’t expecting him to avenge his mumin quite such an explosive way, with both of the women.’
‘Fen says Rory’s calmed down a lot now. Talking it all overwith Rob through the night obviously helped a lot.’
‘And Rob knew nothing about what his best man was up tountil Rory got back?’
‘Well, that’s the thing. He did.’
‘He knew where Rory had gone?’
I shake my head. ‘No, but he knew Rory was planning revengeon the two women, and he was scared for him. When Rory vanished, Robdeliberately told no one what his friend was up to, even Fen, because he wasworried they’d go to the police and Rory would be in trouble. He was protectinghis best friend, staying quiet. He knew Rory well enough to know that he hasn’tgot a violent bone in his body, so he knew nothing really bad would happen. Buthe also knew how angry Rory was and that there was no way he could dissuade himonce he’d made up his mind to find these women.’
