Splintered Memory - By Natascha Holloway Page 0,74

We don’t want to be late,” Claire said unzipping the back of Charlie’s dress for her.

***

Charlie had looked in the mirror at her hair, and she’d been impressed with what the stylist had done. She’d always had rich thick brown hair, but she’d never done much with it. She’d worn it long for as long as she could remember, and aside from having had some layers cut into it a few years back she’d never really done anything more adventurous. She’d just never felt the need to.

The hairdresser had cut her hair short at the back, cutting the hair right into her neckline, and had then shaped the rest in a short style that was feathered and shaped round her face. The style included a fringe, which Charlie had never had before and had been nervous about. Yet the effect of the fringe and the style the hair dresser had chosen for her was impressive, and according to Claire she looked more beautiful than before and she only hoped that Adam wouldn’t agree with her.

Charlie had found herself looking at her reflection wherever possible for the remainder of the day, finding it strange each time that she did she didn’t instantly recognise herself.

The hair style was definitely worth it Charlie had decided, after receiving her fourth or fifth compliment after having only been in the office for twenty minutes. She’d also thought that if the looks that she’d been getting from some of the men in her office were anything to go by, then she must’ve been looking okay. She’d only hoped that Matt would agree with their assessments.

Charlie didn’t know why she wanted Matt to see her as attractive at the wedding. She knew that he would be there with Emily. Yet for some reason she did, and she knew that he was the reason why she’d had her hair cut in the first place. She also knew that he was the reason why she’d bought a ridiculously expensive outfit for Rich and Bex’s big day, and why she wasn’t sleeping.

The night before the wedding, Adam assured her that it was natural to want your ex to see you and be filled with remorse at ever leaving you. As he said this though, Charlie looked across at Claire. Claire avoided her gaze, and Charlie couldn’t help but wonder what she’d said to Adam. Not wanting to go into it, she said nothing and Claire quickly changed the subject. Charlie only hoped that this topic of conversation didn’t come up at the wedding.

She went to bed early to pack, and to try and get some sleep. They were driving up to Worcester for the wedding first thing tomorrow morning in Adam’s new jag, and she knew that once they arrived she would inevitably at some point see Matt. She’d then have to speak to him, and probably also to Emily.

Matt

The lead up to Rich’s wedding had been strange to say the least. Everything in his life had been going well up until about two months ago. Work was good, he was out of rehab, and life with Emily was okay. For the first time since Charlie’s accident, he’d begun to feel happy again. A feeling that he had at his lowest points thought that he might never experience again. Yet for the past couple of months something had been off, and he could only attribute this to Rich’s upcoming nuptials.

Emily had been unusually clingy, even for her, and very attentive in the bedroom. Matt wasn’t complaining about her bedroom behaviour, but he was worried that her clingyness was a reaction to Rich and Bex’s wedding. He was concerned that maybe she was hoping that if she was the perfect girlfriend, then he might consider proposing to her. From what he’d heard from the boys, girls got weird when it came to weddings.

The idea of her thinking this though made Matt feel incredibly uncomfortable. Not only was he still married – well legally he thought as he acknowledged in his mind the fact that he currently had no idea where his wife was living, he also knew that he didn’t want to get married again.

Living with Emily was one thing. Although in truth he knew that this had only come about because he’d needed a support system to come home to from rehab, and at the time she’d seemed more preferable than having to ask Rich or his parents to come and stay with him. The idea of her becoming his