The Brilliant Light of Amber Sunrise (24 page)

“Every day. But I always have her here,” she said, tapping her chest. “And here,” nodding out toward the endless stretch of ocean. “She's forever making herself known, that one,” Colette said with a sad laugh. “Like always. We'll never really be rid of her, you and I.”

I put my hand in hers and she held it tightly.

“Are you happy?” I asked. She seemed to have to think
for a moment, but when her answer came it was with a certainty she usually lacked.

“Oh, yes. On days like this you can't help but feel blessed,” she said as we stared out at the sea together. “We were lucky to have had her for as long as we did. But even a day as beautiful as today must come to an end. Such a lovely day . . . Don't ever waste days like today, Francis. Don't let one second of them pass you by.”

We sat for a moment longer, hand in hand, staring out to sea, not speaking, not crying, just thinking, remembering, and smiling.

“Well, I'd imagine Julie's suitably frantic by now. What say we put her out of her misery and go and make me an honest woman?” said Colette, standing up.

I bent my elbow and let her slide her arm through mine.

“Come on,” she said, as we made our way back to the house together. “Best foot forward.”

Even Mum cried at the wedding. Chris wiped away a dignified tear when he saw me walking Colette down the aisle. I showed no such restraint. In fact, the only person who cried louder than me was Fiona, who bawled like a banshee when Colette and Christian had their first kiss as “life partners.”

The reception lasted all night. Dennis proposed to Mum, drunkenly, and then again in the morning once they were both sober. She said no three times before eventually relenting.

“Fine . . .”
she said, at breakfast the next day, “. . . but only until a better offer comes along.”

We didn't waste one second of that day. We talked about the past. We talked about the future. And we danced. And we sang. And we toasted absent friends, as the stars shone through the night sky, like Amber's last gift.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to my friends and family, particularly Dad, Nicole, and Jess.

Thanks to Mandy Dobson—my first and favorite reader—for the advice, the kind words, but mostly for Sammy.

Thanks to all at Corsair and Much-in-Little.

A special thanks to Broo Doherty and Sarah Castleton.

Thank you for reading this eBook.

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition March 2015

Text copyright © 2013 by Matthew Crow
Jacket photographs copyright © 2015 by Thinkstock

This work was previously published as
In Bloom
in 2013 in Great Britain by Constable & Robinson Ltd.

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Jacket designed by Jessica Handelman

Interior designed by Hilary Zarycky

The text of this book was set in Electra.

Library of Congress Control Number 2014946180

ISBN 978-1-4814-1873-7 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-4814-1875-1 (eBook)