Splintered Memory - By Natascha Holloway Page 0,78

haven’t even changed yet. Well obviously,” she said pointing to her jeans and boots and talking ridiculously quickly.

He hadn’t really been listening to what she’d been saying though. He’d instead been looking at the back of the woman to her right. He knew this was going to be Charlie, but she looked different even from the back. He noticed that she’d lost weight, and that she’d had her hair cut incredibly short.

Charlie turned round to face him, and he was momentarily stunned by how well both the haircut and the weight loss suited her. Charlie had always been beautiful, but Matt had never seen her look this stylish. She’d always been naturally pretty and very girl next door. She’d never been about flash clothes or trendy looks, but it seemed that they really suited her. He jealously wondered how many men she must have after her, aside from the guy that was stood with her.

He noticed as he continued to look at her that her hair cut shaped her face and framed her features. It looked styled but also understated, like she’d just woken up and had run her hands through it. Her eyes seemed bolder somehow with the hair cut, and her cheekbones looked more defined and prominent. Yet he knew the definition might have been from her weight loss.

From the front it was even more evident that Charlie was much thinner than he’d ever known her, but she looked amazing and it made her look taller. Matt couldn’t help but stare at her as he tried to look her over as subtly as possible, but he guessed that he’d failed at subtlety when she smiled at him. It was just that all of her clothes were figure hugging, and she’d looked really good in them.

“Hi, I’m Adam,” the guy stood next to Charlie said as he held out his hand to Matt.

Feeling very conscious that he hadn’t spoken Matt shook hands with Adam, but as he did he looked him squarely in the face and thought that he disliked this man intensely. He also wondered if he was aware that Charlie was married. That Charlie was actually his wife.

“Matt,” he said releasing Adam’s hand and then asking as nonchalantly as he could; “you’re here with Charlie and Claire?”

Adam nodded and said; “I drove them up from London this morning.”

London Matt thought. So that’s where Charlie had gone when she’d left Cheddar. He’d never imagined that she’d head there, or that she’d go and stay with Claire. In fact he wondered how that had even come about given that Claire hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in visiting Charlie after the accident.

“My better half,” Claire said moving to stand by Adam and looping her arm around his.

“I don’t disbelieve it,” Matt said smiling at Claire but also feeling a massive wave of relief that this guy wasn’t accompanying Charlie this weekend.

Claire returned his smile almost smugly, and he knew that she hadn’t missed either his comment or his look of relief. He really disliked her at times he thought.

“Your room keys,” the receptionist said.

“Come on,” Charlie said to Claire taking the keys from the receptionist. “We need to change.”

“Yeah okay,” Claire said smiling at Charlie.

“It’s nice to see you,” Charlie said lightly. Yet before he could reply she turned away from him with Claire and Adam, and he watched her walk away carrying her overnight bag in her hand.

Matt stood there dumbstruck. It’s nice to see you he thought. That was it he asked himself? Nearly ten years of marriage, and a fifteen year relationship in total before she’d walked out on him, and that was all she had to say to him now. She surely had to be joking he asked himself?

He shook his head and remembered that for her, he was just some moody guy that she’d had to live with for six months. He was just some good for nothing guy that had slept with her once and had then walked out on her. What had he been expecting he thought? Added to which, on thinking about it he hadn’t actually said anything to her. He’d just stood there looking her over and probably making her feel ridiculously uncomfortable. He shook his head despairingly.

“Matt, what are you doing?” He heard an angry voice ask him from behind, and he turned around and saw Bex stood in a big white dressing gown.

“Can you please go and attend to your best man duties, and ensure that Rich