Final Score: Part One (Game On 5)

, and that came with an acceptance that any relationship she had would be a lot different. Everyone knew she still missed him, and she would for the rest of her life, but it had gotten easier for her, and a large part of that was down to Miguel.

“They’re happy though, right?” Bree asked. “They seem happy.”

I nodded. “Yeah. They’re happy. I think if they weren’t in this for the long haul, they would have ended it by now.”

“That’s true. Now we just need to get Bryce fixed up with someone! Honestly, I thought Bethan might be the one.”

“They weren’t together long,” I pointed out. “She was sweet, though. Better than Sarah.”

Bree screwed her face up at the mention of his ex-wife. “Hated her. How she managed to find someone else so fast is beyond me. Bryce deserves to find someone new.”

“I’m not sure he’s even ready.”

Bree giggled. “You think he has some wild oats to sow?”

“Maybe.” I laughed. “But not really. He might act that way, but he’s a big softy. I think he wants what he had. Family life.”

I could relate to that. I wasn’t in the exact same position as him, but already life felt unsettled, and I wanted my stability back.

But I wasn’t allowing myself to think about that. I was at Bree’s for a little bit of make believe and imagining that nothing had changed.

It took over an hour, but Bree was finally happy with what she’d done, and she allowed me to look in the mirror at her handiwork. She smiled as she handed me the mirror, and my jaw dropped in to my lap.

“What do you think?” she asked.

I had to take a minute to stare at my reflection. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to do my own make-up, or how to hide my flaws and enhance my good points, but Bree had somehow managed to take it to a whole new level. My skin looked smoother than it had ever looked before. My eyes had been dusted with a stunning smoky brown with a tiny hint of glitter, and a very subtle touch of eyeliner had made my eyes look slightly bigger. My cheeks had been contoured to highlight my cheekbones, and a very soft pink blush had been applied. My lips were also pink – a shade quite close to my natural shade, and enhanced with some pink lightly sparkled lip gloss.

“If you don’t like all the sparkly bits, I can change them. Or I can change any of the colours if you don’t like them. I just figured, since you don’t wear huge amounts of make-up, this would be pretty subtle but classy, and-”

“Bree, I love it.” I continued to stare at myself, and I couldn’t help it, I pictured myself in my wedding dress and veil and… with my hair styled… I’d look amazing. I pushed out the ever-constant thought that it might all be for nothing. I had to stay positive. I had to be as confident as Deanna and Mitch that Radleigh would come back to me.

“Really?”

The nervousness in her tone made me glance up at her. “It’s absolutely perfect. How can you sound so worried?”

“Because you’re my best friend, Leah. And this is for your wedding. I don’t want to get this wrong.”

“You haven’t.” I placed the mirror down and stood up. I took her hands in mine and grinned. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

She let out a sigh of relief, as if she finally believed me. “You’re so welcome. Now… let’s do lunch and keep talking!”

That was exactly what we did. Bree removed my wedding make-up, and I let her re-apply every day make-up to my face. As it turned out, that was a wise move because after an incredible day with Bree, I got an unpleasant surprise when I got to Mitch and Deanna’s.

I spotted the unfamiliar car in the driveway as I entered and the sight of the overly flashy sports car caused my stomach to turn over. I wasn’t sure Radleigh’s parents knew anyone who would drive something so obnoxious and although I prayed with everything in me that they did, when Mitch opened the door and let me in, I could smell her perfume immediately.

“Oh God, really?” I muttered.

Mitch rested his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Leah. She knows Radleigh will be home soon and… at least if she’s here we can keep an eye on her.”

I knew Radleigh would be home soon too, and I was sort of hoping to catch him before I took Jessica home. I needed to see him. Needed a moment to be wrapped up in his strong arms and remind myself that everything would be okay. Now I just wanted to grab Jessica and run because the awkwardness of us all being in the same place at once didn’t bear thinking about.

“Did she bring the kids here?” I asked.

“No. She left them with a friend. She says she needs to talk to Radleigh about something.”

“She couldn’t have just called him?”

Mitch shook his head. “She’s trying to build some bridges here. She apologised to us for turning his life upside down, and… she’s trying.”