His hazel eyes flicker with what looks like amusement, which annoys me. What does he have to be so pleased about? With a sickening thud of my heart, I remember Suzy. Of course! The best man is supposed to get together with the bridesmaid, so he’s only following tradition. Not that Suzy was a bridesmaid exactly, or even present at the vow renewal. But someone like Alex would never allow a minor detail like that to get in his way.
‘I have to go,’ I say. ‘My parents are waiting for me, and I’ve been much longer than I expected.’
‘You weren’t here last night?’ he asks, his expression unreadable.
‘Yes, I was. That’s Brandon’s car.’
‘I see,’ he says quietly. ‘Well, say hello to Brandon for me, and I hope you have a lovely day.’
He turns and starts to walk away. I watch him go, my thoughts in a whirl. ‘Alex!’ I hear my voice say.
He turns to face me, his hands still stuffed into his pockets, his face asking a question.
‘This has my name on it,’ I say.
He smiles slightly. ‘Yes.’
‘Then why did you tell me to give it to my parents?’
‘You said that, not me.’
‘So, this is for me?’ I feel immediately embarrassed at the question. I can read, can’t I?
‘For you,’ he confirms at last.
I tear open the envelope and pull out a card. My eyes fill with tears when I see the picture. ‘How did you …?’
‘You gave it to me the first day we met.’
I look at the motor car and the riverbank. ‘It was only a sketch. I didn’t expect you to keep it, much less have it made into a card.’
‘It was the only thing of you I had left,’ he says quietly. ‘Of course, I kept it. When I heard you were coming home this year, I decided it was time I found the courage to talk to you. I know it’s too late for us now, but I still wanted you to have it.’
He gestures towards Brandon’s car. ‘I wasn’t sure last night. He said you’d only just met, then you said you’d known him for years. I thought you might be pretending he was your boyfriend to get rid of me, despite what Suzy said last night about you two being on the verge of getting engaged. So, I decided to take a chance today. But he brought you home, and I see he’s still here.’
I ought to feel angry. If I was the heroine of an old melodrama, I’d have slapped his face for making such crass assumptions, then stormed off. Instead, I’m surprised to feel a bubble of laughter rising inside me.
‘It isn’t a secret, is it?’ he says. ‘If so, I’m sorry I said anything.’
‘Actually, it is,’ I tell him. ‘It’s such a huge secret that Brandon will be extremely surprised to hear the news when he comes back later today to collect his car.’
He looks so astonished that I start to laugh again. I stop abruptly when I remember Suzy. No doubt they’re back together again, and he’s rushing off to spend Christmas Day with her.
‘You and he aren’t together?’ he says slowly.
I shake my head, biting my lip. ‘But it looks as though you and Suzy are.’
I don’t meet his eyes but stare at my footprints in the snow. I stamp my feet, suddenly aware of how cold they are.
When I raise my eyes again, I see him looking at me with an expression that makes my heart thud. I look away. This isn’t a road I’m ever going down again.
When he speaks, his voice sounds far away. I’m not sure whether it’s because he’s speaking quietly or because the blood is rushing through my ears at what seems like a hundred miles per hour.
‘Suzy?’ he says. ‘What do you mean?’
I scuff my toe in the snow, trying to make a mini snow angel but only succeeding at making something that looks like a buffalo.
‘When you and she went off to dance together last night, I assumed you might get back together.’