Page 56 of A Kiss under the Stars
I nod, seeing the same shock on his face that I felt when Irealised it was her handwriting on the envelope.
‘Does she... does she want to see us?’
‘Yes, she does. She’s desperate for a reunion.’
The news hits him with the force of a double-decker bus. Iwatch his face crumple with emotion, and for a while, he can’t speak as thetears start slipping down his face.
I pull my big brother into a hug, stroking his back andfeeling his whole body racked with sobs.
‘Have you seen her?’ he gasps at last, pulling away. ‘Is sheokay?’
‘I think so.’ I try to smile, feeling my own composureslipping alarmingly. ‘She... still had that purse I made forher when I was about twelve. Oh, Dylan, am I dreaming? Is all of this reallyhappening?’
At last, right there in that scruffy lay-by, I break downand sob in my big brother’s comforting embrace. And in the back of my mind, I’mthinking:Liam made this happen. He brought Dylan back to me.
Maybe – just maybe – things are going to turn out okay, afterall...
*****
We talk, Dylan and I, well into the night, and it’sgetting on for two in the morning by the time my buzzing brain is ready forsleep. Dylan read his letters and got tearful again, and we talked a lot aboutMum. He told me he forgave her a long time ago and would welcome her back in aheartbeat.
I’d already laundered all the bed linen so I could make upthe beds when it came to putting the house back on the market – so tonight,Dylan is able to go straight upstairs and sleep in his old bed. We say goodnightand I wander downstairs to my nest on the living room sofa and I lie there forages, thinking about everything.
It’s been a day of enormous surprises – all of them goodones for a change.
I can’t believe how great it feels to have Dylan back. Therewere times I thought I never wanted to see him again, I was so angry at him forleaving. But now that I know more about what motivated him and how he did itfor me and to get himself sober, that fury has completely melted away. I can’thelp feeling really proud of him for the way he’s helped his friends, Grace andBenjy, to get back on the right track.
And then there’s Liam...
The last thing I decide as I finally feel myself sinkinginto sleep is that I’ve got to see Liam and thank him for bringing Dylan backto me...
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
It’s busy at the radio station the following lunchtime– people coming and going as I wait for Liam to appear – and I’m a littleworried he won’t have time to talk.
But as soon as I start telling him that Dylan is back, hesees the emotion in my face and guides me over to a discreet corner of thereception area where we can have a little privacy.
‘So he decided to find you,’ Liam says, his eyes shining.‘That’s brilliant. I wasn’t sure he’d be brave enough. He was so worried youwouldn’t want him back in your life after everything that happened. But thingsare fine now?’
I nod. ‘More than fine. They’re great. And obviously I haveyou to thank for that.’ I smile shyly at him. ‘You’re a star, Liam. You reallyare.’
‘Aw, shucks.’ He grins, waving away my praise.
‘He’s gone back down to Chichester. Work meetings. He leftearly this morning but he’ll be back tomorrow.’
‘Fantastic. I couldn’t be more pleased for you. Look, whydon’t we nip out and grab some lunch and we can talk some more. It’s prettycrazy in here right now, and I could do with a break.’
I nod eagerly. ‘That would be great.’
My heart is beating fast as Liam quickly lets Nat know wherehe’s going. She pops her head round the studio door and gives me a big beamingsmile and a thumbs-up, and it occurs to me how silly I was to think that Liamwould kiss me and show that he liked me, while also carrying on with Nat. Iguess I was just emotional and overreacting. But I’m slowly starting to believethat Liam really is one of the good guys.
It feels so good, sitting beside him in his car, as we chatabout his trip with Nat down to Chichester to find Dylan. My brother hadmentioned when he called the radio station that he was starting a job with asmall accountancy firm down there, so it wasn’t difficult for them to track himdown. Liam tells me he’d wanted to speak to Dylan face-to-face to convince himthat coming back into my life was a good thing.
‘I hadn’t been able to persuade him on the phone. So Idecided to hop on a train and go down there, and Nat offered to come with me tohelp me look for him.’
I grimace guiltily. ‘I’m... sorry I was abit cool with you. When I saw you going to the station with Nat, I didn’t knowwhat to think – especially when you fibbed and said you weren’t evenatthestation.’
He groans. ‘Oh, don’t remind me. I said the first thing thatcame into my head because I didn’t want to tell you what we were doing. I wasworried you’d get your hopes up and then Dylan wouldn’t want to come back.’
