Page 24

I nod. “He is pretty yummy.” I get a flash in my mind of what he looks like now. The piercing blue of his eyes, and the way he holds my gaze, even when I’m too nervous to look at him properly. He’s always had the ability to make me feel like he’s staring directly into my soul.

“I don’t like blond boys,” Maddie proclaims, wrinkling her nose.

“You’re too young to like any boys,” I counter, trying not to chuckle.

“Did you get his autograph?” Verity asks.

I shake my head. I think he would have laughed at me if I asked for his autograph, but maybe I should have, for prosperity’s sake and for his reaction.

“No, I didn’t think to ask. I was surprised to see him in the shop. I’ll try to remember the next time a minor celebrity comes in.”

“I could have made you good money at school for that autograph.” Maddie sounds so earnest that it makes me giggle.

“I’m not that desperate for money. The shop is doing well enough. Nothing for you to worry about, Maddie-Moo. If the wedding dress trend keeps up, maybe I’ll even be able to buy a house one day,” I joke.

“Your father would be so proud of you, Delilah.” Verity beams at me. There’s a wistful look in her eyes, a little cloudy and reminiscing. She always looks like this when she’s thinking about my dad. Their love affair may not have been for the decades she wanted, but I know how much she adored him, how much she misses him.

“I’m sure he’d be proud of all his girls,” I reply.

I don’t say anything else because my throat gets a little too tight to continue. It always does when I have to talk about Dad. His death was so unexpected. He wasn’t sick; he was in good health and full of life. He was walking on a lunch break, taking his usual route by the river. He spotted a young woman in the water, having difficulty after jumping in to rescue her dog. Dad went in to help her, but it cost him his life.

I was at work when Verity called to tell me what happened. She didn’t want me to hear anything about it on the news, connecting the dots that the place where the tragedy occurred was Dad’s favourite place to walk. It’s been five years, but it still feels so senseless. The only comfort I could ever take was that there’s another family out there who still have their daughter, as my dad managed to save her before he got into difficulty himself.

“Speaking of William, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that it’s coming up to the anniversary,” Verity says.

“I remember the date.”

“Maddie and I were thinking about doing something special to remember him. We thought it might be nice to get away for a girls’ weekend, maybe go somewhere he loved. What do you think? Would you come with us?” Verity cocks her head as she waits for me to answer. We may not be super close, but I appreciate the offer and that she always goes out of her way to ensure I’m still included.

“Yeah, if I don’t have any classes booked that weekend. I’ll check on Monday and get back to you,” I promise.

Before she can reply, the waitress arrives with the drinks. She puts the three glasses of orange juice down in front of us, flashes us a big beaming smile, and then leaves us in peace.

“I thought you said I could have a milkshake,” Maddie grumbles as she reaches for her glass of juice, looking at it like it’s full of poison.

“I thought you might want dessert afterwards, so an orange juice would be better,” Verity reasons.

Maddie pouts but takes a sip of her drink. I try not to laugh when she takes a long suck through the straw, clearly liking the juice more than she wants to give away.

“Please say you’ll come with us, Dee. Maybe you could ask Felix to come too,” Maddie suggests once she pushes her glass away.

I shake my head. “It’s up to your mum. I’m sure it would be a good weekend for just us three.”

“It’ll be boring,” she whines.

“I’ll try not to take offence to that.” I laugh. “Though I will tell Felix that he’s more fun, in your opinion.”

“I don’t mind if Felix comes along with us. Unless there’s somebody else in your life who you would like to bring along with us instead,” Verity suggests.

“Smooth way of asking me if I’m dating somebody.” I grin at her.

Verity likes to take what she calls a “healthy interest” in my love life. She’s often trying to fix me up with people she knows, usually sons of her friends who are somehow still single despite their alleged amazing attributes. The last two were recently divorced, something I’ve not wanted to wander into. It isn’t like I have a stellar dating history, but even I know somebody who’s recently divorced—or in the middle of one—isn’t my best option. Verity has stepped up in her questions about my love life since my last relationship ended six months ago. Alex was nice, but he had a wandering eye—and, as it turned out, wandering hands.

Just another instance where I ignored the red flags.

I never saw them with Joseph either.

I’m sure other people manage to learn their lesson after the first time, but I never did.