Page 77 of The Day After Christmas
Her friend’s shoulders slumped. ‘No. I suppose not.’
‘Forget what he said. He says a lot of things. And the thing is, we did talk about this when you got engaged if you remember. You said you knew he might always have some feelings for me but you were going to go for it anyway. Do you remember that?’
Bex frowned. ‘That doesn’t sound like me.’
‘Well, that’s what you said. And I’m not saying he does still have feelings for me, or anything like that, but you went into this with your eyes wide open. You know what kind of man he is. Are you sure you want to marry him, Bex?’
There. She’d said it.
Bex spun to look at her.
‘So, you don’t want me to marry him. I knew it.’
Felicity held up her hands. ‘That is very much not what I said.’
Bex’s eyes narrowed. ‘I knew you’d try and sabotage this. I’m going to go through with it. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.’
Felicity stood up but this time her feet carried her all the way to the door.
‘Then you’re going to have to do it without your maid of honour. I quit.’
She opened the door to three of the bridesmaids whose names she couldn’t even remember. Kirsty or Kristy or something, wasn’t it? Felicity felt the tears well up as she looked at their surprised faces but she just swallowed and pushed past them. ‘Good luck,’ she muttered, pulling out her phone to tell Sophie what had happened.
It was the right thing to do. Of course it was. So why did she feel so rotten?
CHAPTER 38
Felicity was sitting at home that night, licking her wounds, while Bobby Charlton purred away on her knees doing his best to cheer her up, when the doorbell rang. Standing on the front step was Bex, face lined with streaks of make-up, eyes red.
Before Felicity could even say a word Bex had thrown her arms around her neck. She resisted the urge to push her away.
‘Fliss… I’m so very sorry,’ Bex was murmuring into her ear, over and over again. Her long dark hair tickled Felicity’s nose. She patted Bex’s back tentatively – Bex was another non-hugger in her life so this was still relatively new territory – and waited for the hug to end.
‘It’s okay,’ said Felicity eventually, even though it wasn’t.
Bex pulled back and looked at her. Felicity couldn’t read her expression but then she had long felt like a stranger.
‘Come in,’ said Felicity, and led her friend, or whoever this person was, through to the kitchen to put the kettle on.
‘Is James here?’ said Bex, wiping her eyes.
‘No, he’s at work late today so he can be free for the wedding tomorrow. It’s just me.’
‘Oh. Good. I mean, not that I don’t want to see him of course.’
‘I know.’
They took their cups of tea through to the lounge area and Bex perched on the edge of the squishiest armchair, her feet placed neatly together on the floor, still sniffing. Felicity curled up on the sofa and tucked her feet underneath her. Immediately little Holly the cat came and sat on her lap. Felicity absently stroked her ginger-and-white fur and waited for Bex to speak.
‘I’m getting married tomorrow,’ said Bex, eventually.
Felicity huffed a laugh. ‘I know that.’
‘And I really need you to be there.’
‘I don’t think that’s appropriate, do you?’ Felicity had already planned a Saturday of sofa-surfing and a marathon of the BBC’sPride and Prejudiceif James would tolerate it. Her go-to hiding-place show.
Bex started to cry. Not dainty barely-there crying like her usual but more of those big racking sobs that shook her whole body. Felicity wondered if she actually wasn’t coping. Something was very wrong. ‘You’re my maid of honour,’ she said between convulsions, trying to get her breathing under control.
