Free Let's Call the Whole Thing Off by Jill Steeples Page A

it might be something along those lines. You poor thing. But you’re still going to marry him, after what he’s done to you?’
    I shrugged, dropping my gaze.
    ‘I honestly don’t know what to do. That’s the thing. It’s all come as a complete shock. One day I was happily organising my wedding, the next I didn’t even know if there was going to be a wedding. I still can’t quite believe it.’
    ‘No, I bet. What a horrible shock.’ Mandy shook her head sorrowfully. ‘And you say the wedding is this weekend? It doesn’t leave you a lot of time.’
    I gave a weak smile, that familiar feeling of panic overwhelming me again.
    ‘Well, no one can tell you what to do. All you can do is follow your heart, trust your own instinct. Have you got any idea what you might do? And what about that boyfriend of yours, what’s he got to say about all of this?’
    ‘Well, I haven’t actually spoken to him,’ I admitted sheepishly.
    ‘What? Why ever not?’
    ‘I’ve not been able to face him yet. I only found out about it yesterday. I read it in my flatmate’s diary. Don’t ask!’ I said, clocking Mandy’s horrified expression. ‘She’s my best friend, she was supposed to be my bridesmaid, but they’ve been having an affair these last few months.’
    ‘She doesn’t sound much like a friend to me. What a mess!’
    ‘It is. I haven’t told anyone, apart from Ben and you now.’
    ‘Ben?’
    ‘Oh, he’s a good friend of mine, I’ve known him years. He was going to be best man at the wedding. He came round just as I’d found out about the cheating. I had to tell him, although it turned out he actually already knew about it. I had mascara streaming down my face and was about to murder someone, so it wasn’t difficult for him to coax it out of me. It was a good job he turned up when he did or else I’m not sure what I would have done. He insisted I stay at his place last night.’
    ‘Well, it’s a good job you had him to speak to. I can understand exactly why you wanted to run away, but really you shouldn’t be here.’ She gestured around her with her hands. ‘You should be at home, amongst the people who know you, so you can work out what it is you’re going to do.’ She gave a gentle squeeze of my hand. ‘What does this Ben think you should do?’
    ‘I’m not sure. He didn’t really say.’ An image of Ben, a crumpled smile on his face, flitted into my mind, and for a moment I wished he was here with me, drinking tea, holding my hand, giving me the benefit of his warm, caressing gaze. Maybe Mandy was right. Maybe I should go home and face them all: Ed, Sophie, Ben and my parents. I knew I had to do it sometime, I just wasn’t sure I could face it yet.
    I looked across at Mandy and smiled. Although I’d only just met her I felt as though I’d known her for years, as if I could tell her anything. ‘I know Ben wanted me to stay with him until the weekend but I didn’t want to be a burden on him. I think it’s difficult because although he’s my friend, he’s Ed’s friend too. I suppose he must feel a bit torn. I didn’t want to put him in an awkward position.’ Although the standing near-naked in his bedroom while he aimed a shotgun at my head was pretty much as awkward as it gets.
    ‘Well, it’s not for me to say, but I think you’d be better off talking to that man of yours, hearing what he has to say and then deciding what the pair of you are going to do. If you’re even thinking about calling off the wedding, you want to be doing that sooner rather than later so that you can get some of your money back perhaps?’
    ‘Oh, I’m not worried about that,’ I said spikily. ‘Ed can pick up the bill for the wedding. He earns enough. He’s the one who’s gone and kyboshed all the plans. No, it’s my mum I’m worried about. It will break her heart if it doesn’t go ahead. She’s been looking forward to it for months. She’s got the new dress and hat and shoes, the works.’
    ‘You