Page 16 of The Perfect Summer Wedding

‘So, I did hear right. Youareselling the shop. Why are you so keen to permanently erase any memories of your past, Soph? Do I take it from your change of heart that you failed to win the coveted wedding gown competition?’

Sophie felt warmth flood her face, but it was accompanied by a flash of white-hot anger.

‘You know that’s confidential. What business is it of yours anyway? We’re not a couple anymore. You don’t know what I’ve got going on in my life!’

‘I know you left your friends behind to pursue your dreams without so much as a backward glance. What sort of person would do that?’

‘One who was betrayed by her boyfriend!’

Noah held her eyes for a moment, his irises glinting silver with resentment.

‘You know, Sophie, I’m tired of you throwing that golden nugget in my face every time we meet.’

Sophie felt Nessa squeeze her arm, so she remained silent.

‘Like I’ve told you a hundred times before, Sophie, I did not betray you, but you betrayed your friends. These wonderful people’ – Noah cast his hand around the sung to include Seb, Archie, and finally, the insinuation that hurt Sophie the most, Nessa – ‘these wonderful people who loved you, and whom you hurt badly when you left in a fit of fury to focus on your ambitions in London.’

Sophie met Nessa’s eyes and a coil of guilt wound through her veins. She opened her mouth to reply but Noah was still speaking.

‘I may have made a mistake, but at least I know who my friends are. I would never treat them with the disdain you have by eradicating them from my life, only returning when Ihaveto and only staying long enough to extinguish every connection I had with my childhood.’

Noah slammed down his half-finished pint on the green baize of the snooker table and strode from the pub, his long stride assisting in his speedy exit. Nessa patted Sophie’s hand as Seb and Archie wound in their necks, closed their mouths, and set up another game of snooker.

‘He went crazy when you left, Soph,’ Nessa whispered.

‘I find that hard to believe. He had an army of star-struck young women buzzing around him like bees to a honey pot. I’m sure he forgot about me straight away.’

‘He went looking for you.’

Sophie’s heart bounced. ‘What do you mean?’

‘To London.’

‘Noah came to London?’

‘Yes. Of course, Claire respected your wishes and refused to divulge your address. But she loved Noah as much as she loved you and Seb and Dom. She struggled with your decision to cut Noah from your life, so she told him you’d gone to London. He didn’t knowexactlywhere you were, but he went anyway.’

‘I never saw him.’

‘It’s big place, Soph.’ Nessa laughed, but there was no joy in her reaction. ‘When he came back, he didn’t say much. We didn’t ask, either, because we knew he hadn’t found you, and how devastated he was about that. Over the next few months, he threw every last crumb of his energy into making The Razorclaws a success. As you know, they’d just signed their recording contract, so they were caught up in a mad frenzy of songwriting, recording, and touring which I think helped him to ease the pain of losing you. But Sophie, he always loved you. Noah without Sophie by his side took some getting used to for all of us. He still loves you.’

‘No, he doesn’t.’

Nessa studied her. ‘Have you been over to pay your respects to your parents since you’ve been back?’

‘Oh, Ness, you know how hard that is for me.’

‘Come on.’

Nessa drained her pint, jumped from her seat, and linked her arm through Sophie’s so she could pull her to her feet. She nodded across to Seb and Archie and guided her friend out of the pub.

‘Where are we going?’

‘Wait and see.’

The night sky was swathed in velvety blackness with scant pinpricks of scattered stars. The cool, fresh air sharpened Sophie’s senses, and she loved the feeling of having Nessa so close to her. For a moment she felt like she’d never left Somersby. They were still the two mischievous teenagers making their way to sit on the wall of Reverend Aubrey’s churchyard to exchange secrets, divulge confidences, sneak sips from a bottle of cider, and giggle at the childish antics of Noah, Seb, Archie and Dominic. Boys, eh?

‘I’d forgotten how beautiful it is here. Seems I forgot a lot of things, not just Noah.’

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