Page 87 of After the Story

Mattie snorted. “Seriously though, we don’t need to make any concrete decisions right now. We can discover what works for us.”

Nell snuggled closer. “Us.” She savoured the feel of the word on her tongue. “Sounds perfect.”

Epilogue

Eight months later.

The grass was dry under Mattie’s bare feet as she strolled into Nell’s back garden. No, not Nell’s.Theirs.She wolf-whistled as Nell bent over to harvest fruit and vegetables at the bottom of the garden.

“Behave!” Nell shouted, with far too much merriment in her voice for her words to have any effect.

Mattie’s fingers drifted to her shorts’ pocket and the small jewellery box it contained. Her heart beat a little faster at the thought of what was to come. It was hard to believe that it was exactly one year ago today that she’d checked into Cove House. Thankfully, this August hadn’t seen the same scorching temperatures of last summer, but it was warm and dry. She glanced over the fence. Late morning was Angie’s busiest time. Breakfast finished with, she’d be checking out guests and remaking rooms for new ones. Mattie beamed. This afternoon, those new guests would include Simon, Julie, Angus, and Olivia. She and Simon had already agreed that they’d take everyone on a river boat and the steam train. Nostalgia, for sure, but they were creating new memories too.

She wandered over to the flower beds and one plant in particular. While the miniature rose Nell had gifted herfor Christmas stayed inside, the one she’d presented her on Valentine’s Day lived outdoors. Nell had insisted that they went into the garden and planted it the same day, despite it being February and damn near freezing.

“You’re exaggerating. It’s a balmy nine degrees, perfect for planting bare-root roses,” Nell had said. “They thrive when they’re planted in colder months because it allows them time for their roots to establish before the spring growth.”

“Who knew?” she’d said cheekily, and Nell had kissed her smirk right off her face.

“It’s called Mum in a Million. You said your mum loved pink flowers, and I know how special she was so...” Nell had shrugged awkwardly, clearly unsure whether she’d hit the right sentiment with her gift.

Mattie had cried a few tears of joy and gratitude. She’d checked on the plant’s progress each time she stayed at Nell’s. At the beginning, she’d alternately spent two weeks a month at her London flat and two weeks at Nell’s place but dragging herself back to the capital had only made both of them miserable. Last month, they’d given up all pretence, and Mattie had moved in permanently. Rosie was particularly delighted at the development, because she was currently “looking after” the London flat, getting an amazing deal on rent and working freelance shifts.

Next month was Nell’s fundraising ball and charity auction for the women’s refuge charity. Angie’s Women in Business group had stepped up with an amazing amount of support and Mattie had led the PR side of things. Mattie’s domestic abuse documentary had been well-received, garnering debate on daytime TV discussion panels. That was when she realised she’d found her niche: investigating what happened to peopleaftertheir story, the one that had propelled them into a brief limelight. Next on her list were survivors of a boating tragedywho were campaigning for a new law to prevent more accidents and deaths. After Christmas, she’d return to the quake-stricken zone in Turkey.

There’d been a few bumps in the road, mostly around Mattie’s lingering reticence towards the counselling sessions. Ingrained habits were hard to break, but with Nell’s unwavering support, she was slowly getting there. In fact, it was quite startling at how well they had got to know each other’s moods and needs. She knew how Nell needed time to decompress after work, pottering in the garden or taking a long shower. Mattie listened to political programmes on her headphones, because Nell hated them, but played her k.d. lang and KT Tunstall collections at full volume because they both loved them.

“How are the roses smelling this morning?” Nell asked as she walked up the garden path, arms laden with courgettes, runner beans, tomatoes, blackcurrants, and raspberries.

“Gorgeous.”

Nell put her crop of fruit and vegetables on the patio table and came over to her, then she bent to smell the scent from the profuse blooms. “Wonderful.”

Mattie fished the jewellery box from her pocket and held it out to her. “Happy first anniversary, sweetheart.”

Nell’s eyes widened as she opened the box to reveal the necklace. It was similar to the one that’d been lost when Mattie’s car crashed into the sea, except Mattie had designed it herself. This time, the two flower petals were shaped as conjoined hearts.

“It’s beautiful.”

Joy swelled in her heart once again. “I love you so much, Nell.”

Nell pulled her into a hug. “And I love you so much, Mattie.”

It wasn’t the first time they’d told one another, but each time they did so, it seemed to mean even more. Mattie clasped her hand as they headed for the house. “Ooh, raspberries,” she said.

“Behave!” Nell said for the second time that morning, trying in vain to smother her smile.

“You love it when you feed raspberries to me.” Mattie gave what she hoped was a winning coy smile. “Especially in bed.”

Nell’s eyes widened. “There’s no time for that. Shona and Lisa will be arriving soon, and we haven’t made up their beds yet.”

“But it’s our anniversary. Think about it. Raspberries. Plump. Juicy.” Mattie teased her finger over Nell’s breasts. “Just like these.”

Nell caved. “You’d better take that shirt off then. I’m sure you wouldn’t want raspberry juice stains.”

Mattie grinned. Friends, family, good times, and raspberries. Taking time to smell the roses was the best advice she’d ever taken.