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Hastily diving into her bag, she grabbed her phone from one of the pockets, only to see Jamie’s name on the screen. The two best friends had gone an entire day without talking, which was highly unusual, but they would have to wait a little longer. Without a second thought, Holly ended the call, and looked apologetically at Maud.

‘Sorry about that,’ she said. ‘It was my friend Jamie. She’s the one whose hen do I was on when I met Evan, actually. She’s getting married in under two weeks, and normally, she is the most chilled person you’d ever imagine. We thought she’d be the same with the wedding, but recently, she’s started getting stressed. I think it’s the fact that a lot of Fin’s family are flying over from America, and trying to sort out that side of things would be stressful for everyone.’

‘Two of you with American fellas. Are they a popular choice at the moment?’

‘Actually, Fin introduced us,’ Holly said.

‘So they’re friends? That was why he was on the do? Did you say it was his villa?’

‘I know, it’s crazy—’ Holly stopped herself, remembering that she hadn’t wanted to spend the entire evening talking about herself. ‘Sorry, before Jamie rang, you were going to tell me about you. Why are you back here? What have you been up to?’

Maud nodded, once again, preparing to speak, when Holly’s phone buzzed for a second time. Yet again, it was Jamie.

Jamie was smart enough to know that if Holly put a call through to voicemail, it was because she wasn’t able to talk. The fact that she would ring again almost immediately afterwards meant there was something she needed to talk about.

‘I’m really sorry, Maud,’ Holly said apologetically. ‘She obviously needs to speak to me. Do you mind? I’ll just go outside. I’m sure it will be quick.’

Maud shook her head. ‘No, don’t be silly. Of course I don’t mind. You go. I’m fine with the little one here.’

Holly glanced down at Hope in the highchair. A waitress had already brought her some breadsticks, which she was chewing away on happily. Hopefully, the call with Jamie would be brief, and she’d be back before Hope missed her.

Outside and standing on the quiet back street of Bourton, Holly felt like she’d barely pressed dial on the number when her friend picked up.

‘Hey, is everything okay?’ she asked.

A short, sharp breath travelled down the line, quickly followed by Jamie’s voice.

‘No. No, it’s not okay,’ she said. ‘The wedding is off. It’s all off.’

27

Holly couldn’t stop apologising. She felt terrible. She had asked Maud to dinner, then turned up late and now was rushing out on her before she’d even had a drink. She was grateful they’d met at Maud’s hotel. At least she hadn’t had to travel.

‘I don’t know what’s happened,’ Holly said, as she bundled Hope back into the baby carrier, with the breadstick still in her hand. ‘All she said was that the wedding was cancelled. I can come back afterwards?’ she suggested, trying to salvage some of the night. ‘Then again, I don’t know how long this will take to sort out. You could come with us? Maybe you can help with whatever has happened.’

Maud shook her head. ‘Don’t be silly, dear. Your friend needs you. Go help her. I’m not going anywhere for a couple of days. Maybe I could catch you tomorrow evening. If it’s not a rush?’

Holly nodded. ‘Yes. Why don’t you get the bar to ring me at the sweet shop tomorrow morning? If you’re not planning on walking down? Or I can come up here?’

‘We will work it out, love. It’s not a problem. Now go help your friend.’

Holly wished she could drive. She wished she could put her foot flat on the accelerator and speed down to Jamie’s house. But she couldn’t. All she could do was walk as fast as the baby carrier would let her.

With every step, Holly’s mind raced. Had Fin had done something? That was why most people called off weddings, wasn’t it? When they found out something unscrupulous about their partner. But Fin? He adored Jamie, didn’t he?

Holly tried to play devil’s advocate. After all, she hadn’t been a great fan of Fin when she first met him. She hadn’t liked the way he swept into Jamie’s life, and they’d become so serious so quickly. Of course, with her and Evan now in the same position, she didn’t have a leg to stand on. Besides, all that had changed. Now, she thought the world of Fin. He couldn’t have been more wonderful with her and Hope and their initial living situation, when Holly had spent the first few months of her child’s life still living with them. Could she really have misread him that much?

When she reached her old house, Holly hammered on the front door. Immediately, Fin opened it.

Seeing Fin standing there all forlorn knocked the idea on the head of Jamie calling off the wedding because of cheating. After all, Jamie would hardly keep a guy around in the house after that. No, she would’ve kicked him to the curb.

‘She’s in the kitchen. With wine. I’ve had a glass too,’ Fin said.

Holly did a double take. Fin having wine shocked her even more than the wedding being called off. He was a man who lived on kale smoothies, quinoa, and other concoctions that she couldn’t name.

‘What happened?’ Holly took Hope out of the baby carrier and handed her straight to Fin, who was waiting with his arms out. Fin was undoubtedly Hope’s favourite uncle and there were almost as many toys in this house as in Holly’s.

‘It’s the venue. They called this morning—’ he started as Holly marched through to the kitchen where Jamie was indeed tucking into a large glass of red wine.