Added to those things, there was the wedding to plan with Dave, which was the most fun of all. Having shied away from commitment for so long, suddenly she couldn’t wait to marry him, now that everything was out in the open. Telling him her secrets had been like presenting him with her soft, vulnerable underbelly, but he hadn’t wavered or let her down, not for a minute. If anything, his love was like a protective wrapping around her, healing old hurts, making her feel safe, happy and adored. Rachel Mortimer sounded lovely, too, didn’t it? A whole new reinvention to come.

In a rush of enthusiasm, they’d gone ahead and booked the Register Office for a Saturday in early spring. Theirs was to be a small do – ‘Well, as small as you can get, with all the Mortimers,’ Dave acknowledged wryly – but she was really hoping that her mum and brother would want to join them for the occasion. Coming up to Yorkshire had been a way of cutting herself free from the past, but she’d cut herself off from her own family, too, in the process, bar the odd birthday and Christmas card to say that she was okay. Now that her life here was moving to a more permanent footing, she felt she might dare bring her two worlds together at last, build a few bridges. You might not like the past, but you could come to terms with it, she had realized. You could eye it dispassionately and see how far you had travelled. Besides, they would be happy for her, she was sure. Happy enough, maybe, even to permit her niece Chloe to be a bridesmaid, she hoped.

‘Things are looking up for me,’ she’d written in ‘Save the Date’ cards to them both recently. ‘I feel as if I’ve been given this wonderful new start up in York, and I’m so happy. I’d absolutely love it if you could celebrate our Big Day with us. Perhaps we could get together before Christmas too, so that you can meet Dave? He’s a really great person.’

A blank page, a second chance, a whole new chapter, Bunny thought, as she went about her day, feeling a distinct sense of optimism. Whatever this next chapter might contain, she had a feeling it could be her best one yet.

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One