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Evan lifted his head from his computer, a look of concern on his face.

‘Crap, I did it again, didn’t I? Pushed myself into your life. You know, I’m sure he won’t even ask about it. They never mentioned the double date again.’

‘It’s fine,’ Holly said, standing up and planting a kiss on his lips. ‘I like that you’re friends with my friends.’

What she didn’t like was the fact that a life with Evan meant not seeing him so much of the time, this lifestyle of grabbing a few days here and there, when they could. And it wasn’t like the three of them could stay in the cottage long term. There was only just enough room for Evan and his giant suitcase. Holly could only imagine what it would be like if he wanted to move everything else in, too. Besides, she couldn’t ask him to move in permanently, anyway. That would be ridiculous.

Since the time he had come back drunk, he hadn’t mentioned anything more about their long-term future. Certainly not wanting extra children. And with the wedding and their imminent separation at the front of both their minds, it was hard to focus on anything else.

‘Whilst we’re discussing when I come back, Hols, there’s something I want to talk to you about,’ he said, only for Hope to let out a sudden squeal from her highchair. A second later, her plastic plate hit the ground, scattering the remains of her dinner on the floor.

‘Okay, I’m coming, I’m coming.’ Holly turned back to Evan and darted across to Hope, swallowing hard. Why did thosewords ‘I want to talk,’ fill her with so much dread? A thousand possibilities whirred through her head.

‘Hey, you, what’s going on?’ Holly said, picking up the plate and the scraps of food. ‘Are you ready for some fruit now?’

After tidying up the mess, she grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and began to chop it up, keeping her back to Evan as she did so. Whatever serious conversation he wanted to have, she hoped she could delay it a little longer. After all, it wasn’t like he’d bring up anything serious on Jamie’s wedding day. Would he?

68

‘Crap.’ Evan spun around in the bedroom, knocking the lampshade that was hanging from the ceiling and sending the light fitting spinning for the second time in five minutes.

Holly had initially thought it would be easier to get ready at home, rather than at Jamie’s. After all, Jamie already had a full house, as her mum was over, as well as Zahida and Naomi.

Besides, Holly needed to make sure Hope was suitably fed and ready with changes of clothes and snacks for the day. The real reason she had wanted to stay at the cottage, though, was to give her and Evan a little more time together before he left the following day. How someone could feel such a mixture of elation and sadness at the same time was a mystery to her. But that was the state she was in.

Unfortunately, the three of them trying to get ready in the same cramped space, with only one bathroom, was a disaster waiting to happen. Along with the light fitting taking a continual beating, Hope had immediately got lipstick on her first outfit, and while Holly was trying to find something else for her to wear, Evan was busy crawling on the floor.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked, trying to step over him.

‘The button just popped off my cuff,’ he said. ‘Hold on, don’t move. It’s there.’

After reaching under the bed, he stood back up with the small, white button in his hand and frowned.

‘I guess I have to sew it back on. Do you have a sewing kit?’

‘It’s fine,’ Holly said, lifting Hope up with the one-handed manoeuvre she’d now mastered, and placing her on the bed. ‘I’ve got a needle and thread here. I’ll have it back on in a second. Give me the button and take your shirt off.’

Evan offered her a small smirk, only for Holly to raise her eyebrows in response. This wasn’t the time.

As instructed, Evan stripped off his shirt and handed it to Holly, just in time to reach down and grab Hope before she tried to throw herself off the edge of the bed.

‘Can you take her downstairs? I just need a bit of space to do this.’

With a wide grin, Evan looked at Hope.

‘Come on, trouble. Let’s give Mum a bit of space.’

When the room was empty, Holly took a moment and sat down on the edge of the bed. She wasn’t going to let her sadness seep into Jamie’s day. After all, it wasn’t like it was permanent. Evan would be back in just over a fortnight, although he wouldn’t be able to stay anywhere near as long this time. Hopefully, she could sort the shifts at the shop to make sure she had plenty of time with him. She could always get Drey back in, or hire another person for a couple of days, if that was what it took.

Pushing back the thoughts, she opened the drawer to the bedside table and shuffled a few items around in search of the small sewing kit she kept there.

It didn’t take long to find, but the moment she moved to lift it up, a white envelope dropped from the edge of the drawer. Holly didn’t move. Her hand remained poised to pick up the sewingkit, yet all she could look at was the envelope, now lying flat, with her name penned in beautiful, cursive writing staring up at her.

Somehow, she hadn’t thought about the letter Maud had given her since she slipped it into the drawer over a week ago. But now that it was there in front of her, Holly wondered if that had been deliberate. Opening the envelope would mean admitting that Maud would soon be gone for good, and that was something that Holly didn’t want to face. But then, Maud technically hadn’t told her to wait till she had passed away to open the letter. Just until she wasn’t in front of her. What if there was something Holly needed to read, to talk to Maud about before it was too late?

‘Is everything okay?’

Holly turned around to find Evan looking at her from the doorway.