Typical Laura. She’d always been the sunniest of the three sisters; and it was because of Laura that Fizz’s signature jewellery range was based on sunflowers. Not just because they’d been Laura’s favourite flowers; Fizz saw her work as something to brighten someone’s day, just as Laura had always brightened everyone’s day around her. Of course Laura would always be there with them both, in spirit—and she’d be there with them as they carried out her bucket list.

  ‘A bucket list where you have fun is a really nice way to celebrate someone as special as your sister,’ Oliver said. ‘I assume you and Darcy are doing it together?’

  ‘Apparently we’re supposed to do it on our own.’ Maybe that was why Darcy had wanted to open the envelopes separately. Fizz lifted one shoulder in another shrug that she hoped looked casual. ‘We might not even have the same list.’

  He frowned. ‘Don’t you know that already?’

  ‘I haven’t opened mine yet.’

  His frown deepened. ‘Why didn’t you and Darcy open the envelopes together?’

  ‘Darcy thought it’d be better to wait and do it separately.’ Fizz aimed for toneless, but of course Oliver knew her too well. He’d know exactly how much that stung.

  ‘And the meeting was this morning?’ he asked.

  ‘Lunchtime. Darcy caught the first train from Edinburgh this morning. I met her at King’s Cross.’ And she’d tried not to feel hurt that Darcy hadn’t wanted to spend the whole of today with her. Her sister had a demanding job; and they both dealt with things in different ways. Darcy buried herself in work, and Fizz... Fizz had spent the rest of the day walking, lost in her memories and trying not to let the sadness overwhelm her.

  Clearly guessing what was in her head, Oliver reached over to squeeze her hand briefly. ‘You could open the envelope with me, if you like?’

  She nodded, not trusting the lump in her throat to let the words out and knowing he’d realise how grateful she was for that offer.

  She turned the envelope over, slid her little finger into the gap where the flap of the envelope wasn’t stuck to the back, and eased the flap open. Then she took out the folded piece of paper and placed it on the table between herself and Oliver, so they both had to turn slightly to read it.

  ‘“Fizz’s bucket list,”’ she read. Laura had doodled a bucket containing an uncorked bottle of champagne, with little bubbles popping out of the top.

  Oliver smiled and gestured to the doodle. ‘That’s lovely. I can almost see her sketching that.’

  ‘It feels like a hug,’ Fizz admitted. ‘She must’ve doodled something on Darcy’s, too.’ But so far her oldest sister hadn’t shared much: just that Laura had left little personal messages all over the bucket list.

  ‘“It’s up to you how you do this,”’ Fizz read, returning to the letter. ‘“On your own, or with someone else. And it’s up to you what order you do them in. Just do them within six weeks. Most of all, have fun. Love you, L.”’

  ‘Six weeks. Four items—that works out at one every ten days or so, which is doable,’ Oliver said. ‘Unless she’s asking you to climb a mountain or run a marathon, in which case you need to train properly first.’

  ‘She wouldn’t ask me to climb a mountain. She knows I’d worry about damaging my hands and not being able to work,’ Fizz said.

  She glanced back at the list. Each item was written in capitals and bullet-pointed with a sunflower.

  Do something that scares you.

  Fizz blew out a breath. ‘Laura said she wanted to push me. She wasn’t kidding: the first one is to do something that scares me. But, hey, nothing scares me.’ Well. One thing did. But she’d never admit that to a living soul, not even Oliver—because then she’d have to follow through. And she wanted to keep that bit of her life buried. ‘Something that scares me,’ she mused. ‘What exactly do I do with that?’

  Copyright © 2024 by Pamela Brooks

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  ISBN-13: 9780369738042

  Slow Dance with the Italian

  Copyright © 2024 by Scarlet Wilson

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