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Closure. That sounded good. Closing the book on her absurdly cursed love life and moving forward instead. Understanding the mistakes she’d made, or what it was about her that made finding her happy-ever-after so impossible. Because this? This wasn’t what all those fairy tales and happy endings had led her to expect from life. And she wanted better for her future.
She wanted to find someone to share her life with. Someone who’d stick by her through the ups and downs, someone to come home to after a hard day at work, someone to love her just as she was.
Really, how hard could it be if all four of her sisters had managed it? Not to mention every cousin, friend and family acquaintance she had, except for Ruby. Dawn had attended so many weddings in the last ten years, they’d all started to merge into one.
And now it had been her turn at last and everyone had been so happy for her. And relieved, she knew—her family wasn’t good at hiding their emotions that way. They’d been relieved that at last Dawn was through that terrible run of bad luck and they could all stop worrying about her and get back to being blissfully happy themselves.
Except now it was all ruined.
‘Your parents were looking for you,’ Ruby said, her voice softer. ‘And your sisters. Plus, well, everyone you’ve ever met.’
Yet Ruby was the only one who’d actually managed to find her. Not that Dawn was particularly surprised by that. Ruby knew her—had seen right through her the first day they’d met and declared that they were destined to be best friends. And so they were.
‘I don’t want to see them.’ She loved her family, really she did. And she knew they loved her. But she couldn’t take the pity in their eyes one more time. That disappointment and—worse—that sense of inevitability. And she really didn’t want to hear her mother’s, ‘Not every woman is meant to be a wife and mother, Dawnie,’ speech. Because she knew that—of course she did. And if she’d chosen to be alone, to forge her own path through life, that would be great. But she hadn’t.
Six times now, she’d thought she’d found true love. She’d thought she’d found forever.
And six times she’d been wrong.
She took another, longer gulp of Prosecco, the bubbles stinging her throat as they went down.
Maybe her mother was right. Maybe it was time to concede defeat. To dedicate her life to being that crazy aunt who was always off on adventures, posting photos of her in exotic places with handsome men she never stayed with long enough for them to let her down.
It wouldn’t be a bad life.
‘What do you want me to do?’ Ruby asked. ‘Just say it, and I’ll make it happen.’
Ruby, Dawn decided, was the best friend a girl had ever had. Life would be so much easier if she could just fall in love with Ruby. Well, as long as Ruby loved her back, which wasn’t at all a sure thing. She wasn’t exactly Ruby’s type—she preferred blondes who played guitar, if her last three girlfriends were anything to go by. So, no, even Ruby couldn’t be her happy-ever-after. Not in a romantic way, anyway.
But she was still the best friend ever.
‘I need to get out of here,’ Dawn said. ‘I need to figure out what happened. What I do next. I don’t want anyone to worry about me or anything but I can’t stay here. I need to go find...closure.’
Ruby gave a sharp nod. ‘Closure it is. Give me five minutes. And finish that bottle while you’re waiting.’
