Free If the Dress Fits by Daisy James Page B

studiously avoiding looking in their direction – ‘and as a friend. And I might as well add as a fashion designer, too. You heard, didn’t you? Delia is this village’s one-woman Twitter feed.’
    Nessa nodded, her amber lashes sparkling with empathic tears, but she knew Nessa was not going to stand aside whilst she slipped into self-obsessed oblivion.
    ‘Yes, I heard, but it’s not the end of the world, Cal. So you didn’t make it to the pinnacle of the pile this time, but you
did
make it to the shortlist. That, my girl, is a fantastic achievement and one which two hundred and fifty others would have died to achieve. Your aunt was so proud of your talents.’
    ‘Oh, Ness, all I want to do now is sell the shop and slink back to my old life, hide in the familiar routine of eighteen-hour days and as little contact with the outside world as I can get away with. Is that so awful?’ Callie paused to blow her dripping nose on the tissue offered by Nessa and take a gulp of her beer. She managed to pull herself together and produce a weak smile. ‘My plan is to block out my grief in a whirlwind of crazy schedules, deadlines and prenuptial angst.’
    The evening passed in a swirl of shared memories, snippets of recent gossip and several more pints of beer. After a while Callie began to relax and enjoy herself. She even managed to giggle at one of the stories Nessa told her about dating a guy from the golf club who had helped her to ‘improve her swing’.
    ‘Ah, I see Little Miss Dior has decided to grace us with her presence. Thought you couldn’t wait to get back down to the bright lights of the big city? What are you still doing here loitering in the dull Yorkshire backwater that you used to call home? Oh, is that beer? I thought designers of bridal couture only drank vodka martini – stirred not shaken, if you please?’
    ‘Theo…’ cautioned Nessa.
    ‘It’s okay, Ness. Hi, Theo. I’ve decided to stay up here for a few weeks to sort out some of my aunt’s things and then, yes, you’re right, I’ll be gone.’
    ‘So, I did hear right. You
are
selling the shop. Why are you so keen to permanently erase any memories of your past, Cal? Do I take it from your change of heart that you failed to win the coveted wedding gown competition?’
    Callie felt warmth flood her face, but it was accompanied by a flash of white hot anger.
    ‘What business is it of yours, Theo? We’re not a couple any more. You don’t know what I’ve got going on in my life!’
    ‘I know you left your friends behind to pursue your dreams without so much as a backward glance. What sort of person would do that?’
    ‘One who was betrayed by her boyfriend!’
    Theo held her eyes for a moment, his irises glinting silver with resentment. ‘You know, Callie, I’m tired of you throwing that golden nugget in my face every time we meet.’
    Callie felt Nessa squeeze her arm.
    ‘I did not betray you, Callie, but you betrayed your friends. These wonderful people’ – Theo cast his hand around to include Seb, Archie and finally Nessa – ‘who loved you and whom you hurt badly when you left in a fit of fury to focus on your ambitions in London.’
    Callie met Nessa’s moss-green eyes and a coil of guilt wound through her veins. She opened her mouth to reply but Theo was still speaking.
    ‘I may have made a mistake, but at least I know who my friends are. I would never treat them with the disdain you have by eradicating them from my life, only returning when I
have
to and only staying long enough to extinguish every connection I had with my childhood.’
    Theo slammed down his half-finished pint on the green baize of the snooker table and strode from the pub, his long stride assisting in his speedy exit.
    Nessa patted Callie’s hand as Seb and Archie wound in their necks, closed their mouths and set up another game of snooker.
    ‘He went crazy when you left, Cal,’ Nessa whispered.
    ‘I find that hard to believe. He had an army of