Free Wedding Belles by Sarah Webb Page A

Best friends forever.
    I shake my head, pressing my lips together to stop myself from crying again. “I’m all right, Mum, honestly.”
    “You’re clearly not. What it is, pet? Come on, you can tell me.”
    My bottom lip starts to wobble.
    “Amy, please, you’re worrying me. Is it about Clover’s trip to New York? Or Polly?”
    I shake my head. “No. It’s Seth. We broke up.”
    “Oh, Amy, I’m so sorry. I’ll miss him. He was such a nice lad.”
    “Mum! It’s not about you.”
    She winces. “Sorry, sorry, you’re right. And I know there’s nothing I can say that will make things any better for you. Breakups are rough at any age. There is a pot of posh chocolate ice cream hidden behind the French fries in the freezer if that helps.”

I’m sitting in my bedroom with Mills, digging a spoon into the pot of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie. It’s later the same day. She came by after the parade. I couldn’t face food earlier and I barely ate anything at dinner, but I feel a bit better now. And funnily enough, like Mum said, the ice cream is helping my mood a little.
    My mobile beeps and I check it, telling myself it’s definitely not Seth before I look at the screen (even though a tiny fairy of hope is still flickering around in my head). I was right — it’s Clover. HEY, BABES, YOU’VE FILED THAT ARTICLE, RIGHT?;)
    I groan.
    “Who is it?” Mills asks.
    “Clover. I was supposed to write this article on kissing for the
Goss
. I’ll have to tell her I can’t do it. I hate letting her down, but . . .” I trail off.
    Mills’s eyes widen. “An article for the
Goss
? By yourself?”
    I nod.
    “Wow! That’s amazing, Amy. Your very first solo article.”
    “But I can’t do it.”
    “Why not?”
    I shrug. “You know.”
    “Seth?”
    I nod.
    “Ah, Ames, writing an article for the
Goss
is a big deal. You can’t let breaking up with Seth ruin things for you. Clover won’t always be around to hold your hand and it’s a huge opportunity to show the magazine what you can do without her help.”
    “What do you mean? Clover’s not going anywhere.” Does Mills know about New York?
    “It’s only a matter of time. This is Clover we’re talking about — the coolest girl on the planet. Once she’s got her degree, do you really think Dublin will be big enough to hold her? I bet she’ll get job offers all over the world — Paris, London, New York — ”
    “Clover loves Dublin,” I cut in quickly. “And she loves working for the
Goss
. She’s not going anywhere.”
    Mills goes quiet. She just sits there, gazing down at her hands. After a few seconds, she lifts her head and says, “Sometimes if you love someone, you have to let them go, Amy.”
    “That doesn’t make any sense.” But is Mills right — is Dublin too small for Clover? Does she need to spread her wings? New York would be so exciting, and in my heart, I know she’d be crazy not to take that
Vogue
internship. I wish I’d plucked up the courage to ask her about it the other night. What if she does go? What will I do without her? Especially now that I’ve lost Seth. I couldn’t bear it if Clover left me too.
    “Clover loves Dublin,” I say firmly. “But it’s true that the kissing article is an amazing opportunity and I don’t want to let Clover down. Will you help me, Mills? Write it, I mean.”
    “Of course. What are friends for? At least we do know what we’re talking about now.”
    I type THE ULTIMATE TEEN GUIDE TO SMOOCHING, BY AMY GREEN into the computer and then read it out loud to Mills.
    “What about ‘Kissing with Confidence’ as a title?” Mills says.
    I smile to myself.
    That was the title I suggested to Clover a long time ago for one of her articles. I secretly wrote to her, looking for kissing advice, signing my name “Samantha.” She knew it was me. “Who else would give me an idea for an article, complete with a perfect title, Beanie?” she asked me.
    She never wrote the article, but she did