Page 104 of Plot Twist

‘Right,’ he said, standing up. ‘Enough of this drama. Let’s get to the memorial. Linda will go mad if we’re late.’

I checked my phone. ‘Drew’s on his way to pick us up. He says he’ll be outside in five minutes.’

Drew was in the driver’s seat, sporting his kilt. Adam and I climbed into the back seat of his car.

‘Thanks for the lift,’ I said.

‘Aw, look at you two being all civil to each other.’ Adam smiled. ‘Rae would be so pleased.’

Drew offered me a small smile in the rear-view mirror.

‘She would.’

‘Fuck’s sake, bagpipes?’ I murmured.

The tune was so hauntingly beautiful that tears sprang in my eyes almost immediately.

‘Linda loves a good bagpipe,’ Adam replied. ‘And Rae would love it. The drama of it all.’

The wail of the music floated across the Ayrshire countryside as we drove into the small estate where Rae’s extended family owned a holiday home.

Breathe, Becca.

I sniffed and moved my sunglasses over my face. I closed my eyes and thought of the doctor’s phone call earlier. Rae’s birthday gift. I never used to believe all that stuff about people watching over you when they died, even though I’d have liked to think of Mum having a good old nosey down at what I was up to. With Rae, somehow, it felt different. I could still feel her energy, as though it was part of me. It was hard to explain.

I held Adam’s hand for a moment in the back seat. I knew Rae would be pleased that we’d become firm friends, even if she’d never have admitted it.

‘We can do this,’ he whispered, squeezing it tightly.

‘We sure can, Big Bird,’ I replied as we took a moment, before climbing out of the car.

My whole world collapsed at the start of the summer. I couldn’t believe how alone I’d felt. I’d lost my best friend and felt like there was no one else in the whole world who would ever be able to fill that gap. And no one ever would. Nothing was the same without Rae. But friendship had blossomed in a series of unexpected places, from Adam and Drew to Bridget and Ellie, Eimear, and, of course, Riley.

Riley was always there, somewhere, in the back of my mind.

We were ready to face the music. The bagpipes. The drama. Adam was right, Rae would have loved this. I walked in the middle of the two of them, Drew and Adam, as we approached Linda and Jim. Some of the family had already arrived and were sitting outside, enjoying the August sunshine.

All her family and friends gathered in one place to celebrate her thirty-second birthday. If only she could be here to enjoy it. The fluttering panic in my chest had subsided somewhat over the summer. The gut-wrenching pain was still there, though. I wasn’t sure it would ever go. In a way, I could handle that. It showed how much I’d cared for Rae and how loved she really was.

‘Becca,’ Linda said. ‘There’s someone here to see you. A gentleman.’

‘Oooh,’ Adam teased. ‘A gentleman.’

And there he was, resting his foot against a tree at the side of the house. Riley. My heart thudded in my chest as I surveyed his familiar side profile.

‘He contacted me to ask for the memorial details,’ Drew explained in a low voice. ‘Hear him out, Becca.’

Adam squeezed my arm, while Drew walked towards Rae’s family. As I approached Riley, the sound of the bagpipes came to a halt.

‘He’s just warming up,’ Riley explained, giving me a small smile. ‘The bagpiper fella.’

I gazed up at all six foot something of him. Yup, still as handsome as ever. Still Riley.

‘I’ve had more of these grand gestures in one summer than I’ve had in a lifetime,’ I said wryly, as he stepped into a walk beside me. ‘Between you and Drew, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going.’

‘I’m so sorry, Becca,’ he said as we walked towards the grass area nearby, out of sight of the rest of the gathering. ‘I shouldn’t have left your flat like that. It just all got a bit much. I couldn’t stop thinking about Ivy. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to let someone into my life again.’

There was a small pause before I responded.