One Hundred Proposals. Holly Martin

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СКАЧАТЬ the question is, why would he stay?’

      ‘He likes working for our company. It’s his now too, he’s built it up to what it is.’

      ‘Ok, I can see he would have some kind of loyalty towards you and the company, but I think there’s another reason.’

      She stared at me, her pale blue eyes unblinking.

      ‘Well it’s not me is it?’

      She stared at me. Thankfully, then the timer on the oven went off indicating our pizza was cooked.

      Jules smiled as she got to her feet. ‘Just think about it.’

      She went into the kitchen. As if I could do anything but think about it.

      *

      I sat on the tube, staring at my bag, feeling the envelope burning through the leather onto my lap. My mind had been filled with Harry all night, and why he would turn down such an opportunity and the job in America, but all thoughts of him had been wiped clean when Jules handed me this envelope at the end of the evening.

      The train rattled to a stop at another underground station.

      A letter from Jack. Jules had found it amongst his things. There had been one for her and one for Bella too. She hadn’t opened it, of course, she gave it to me to read at the end of the night. She obviously wanted me to read it then and there but I wanted to be alone for that. I promised to tell her what it said after I’d read it.

      Now my hands were itching to tear it open, but not here, not with the late night Friday drunks and party goers. I just wanted to get back home as quick as I could to my little flat to be alone with Jack’s words.

      What had he wanted to say to me all those months before? Why didn’t he say it in the last few days? Everything had happened so quickly. From the time he was diagnosed with leukaemia until the day he’d died had been just six months. But he had been fit, strong and laughing almost to the very end. He had never let it get him down. The last week had been awful, where he had deteriorated before our very eyes, but even then, even in the last few days he had still kept his humour. We had been with him at the end, all of us. Mum and Dad had flown over from New Zealand, me, Jules, Harry, Badger and a huge number of his friends had stayed with him as he just went to sleep and never woke up.

      And now, here was a message from him.

      My train arrived at my stop and I hurried up the steps and along the streets. It was quiet in this part of town, even though we were very central. The old Victorian style street lights lit the way ahead with sporadic puddles of light. The green was deserted but I habitually looked over to Harry’s house as I walked down the opposite side. The downstairs light was still on, but then he was always a night owl. I ran up the steps to my front door and then up the stairs to my top floor flat, whipping out the letter as I closed the door behind me.

      I stared at the letter in my hand. I wanted to open it and devour the words inside that Jack had written eight months before. But I was scared as well. I started pacing the lounge. Suddenly I didn’t want to do this alone. I grabbed the phone and dialled Harry’s number. It was late but he was still clearly awake.

      It rang several times before he answered. He sounded croaky.

      ‘Hey.’

      ‘Hi, are you busy?’

      He paused for a moment before he spoke. ‘Are you ok?’

      I was silent. It was pathetic really, needing Harry to hold my hand as I read the message from beyond the grave. But I knew that opening this letter would unleash a whole heap of emotions, and I didn’t want to be alone when that happened. But Harry had been there for me so many times over the last few months – at the funeral and afterwards – just holding me when I would suddenly burst into tears, and the lovely day out he took me on the day before just to cheer me up. I was suddenly hesitant about asking him again.

      Though my silence spoke volumes.

      ‘I’ll be round in two minutes.’

      I tried to protest but it was quite clear Harry was no longer there.

      There was a muffled noise and Harry obviously hadn’t realised he hadn’t hung up properly.

      ‘Don’t look at me like that. I know you were warm and cosy but Suzie needs me,’ Harry said to someone, probably Sexy Samantha. I winced.

      I didn’t know if she said something to him or was just giving him the evil eye but Harry carried on talking, clearly as he was getting dressed.

      ‘I know, I know! I’m sorry. You know you’re the most important woman in my life, heck the world. I know I need to get my priorities sorted, but Suzie is pretty damned important too.’

      I smiled, hugely flattered, although that wasn’t going to go down well with Sexy Samantha.

      ‘Look, just make yourself comfortable and I’ll be back real soon.’

      I heard him give her a quick kiss, then another muffled noise as he no doubt picked up his phone.

      I heard his footsteps run down the stairs and his front door slam and the phone went dead.

      Crap. The last thing I wanted was to come between him and his girlfriends. He would be pissed off when he got over here to find the only thing that he had left his hot girlfriend for was a stupid little letter.

      I heard the key in the lock and then his footsteps as he ran up the stairs towards me. Crap, crap, crap.

      He appeared in the lounge, took in my worried face and in a second was across the room and holding me in his arms.

      ‘Oh Harry, I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have called,’ my voice was muffled as my face was pressed into his wonderful hard chest.

      ‘Yes you should. You always should.’

      ‘I didn’t realise I was interrupting a night of passion.’

      He pulled back a bit to look at me in confusion.

      ‘I heard you on the phone, talking to Samantha.’

      He laughed. ‘I was talking to Jemima.’

      For a second I wondered if he had moved on already from Samantha to a new woman – it wouldn’t be the first time – then I remembered his beloved cat.

      ‘I was asleep, she was lying on my chest. She wasn’t impressed about being moved.’

      I laughed. ‘Well, please send her my sincerest apologies. And I’m sorry to you too, I didn’t mean to wake you.’

      ‘Oh, don’t worry about it.’ He shrugged.

      ‘It’s nothing though, nothing serious.’

      He was going to hate me.

      ‘It’s obviously something or you wouldn’t be calling me.’

      I sighed and pulled away completely. I picked up the letter and showed it СКАЧАТЬ