Wedding Belles (19 page)

Clover puts her arm around me. “Happy birthday, Beanie. Make a wish.”

“I wish things could stay exactly as they are right this second forever and ever,” I say.

“Me too, Beanie,” she says. Her face is lit up by the candles and her eyes are sparkling, but they look sad too.

“What is it?”

“Later,” she tells me. “We have cake to eat first, babes.”

I’ve stepped outside the tent to get some air. The Golden Lions are taking a break, and Seth is talking to Polly. I spot Clover sitting under one of Gramps’s big old oak trees, her back leaning against the trunk. Brains is by her side.

“Hey, Amy,” Brains says. “Keep my gal company, will ya? I have to ramp up the tunes in the tent again. You and Clover did the best job today. Nice work, babes.”

“Thanks, Brains.”

He gives me a kiss on the cheek. “You know how special you are to Clover, right? Never forget it.” He walks off toward the tent, and I sit down carefully beside Clover, hoping the grass won’t damage my dress.

“Don’t worry about your dress,” Clover says, reading my mind yet again. “It’ll be fine. I do love a good wedding. And Sylvie and Dave look so happy.” She sighs dreamily and rests her head on my shoulder. “Beanie, there’s something I have to tell you. I can’t put it off any longer.”

“What is it?” I ask, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

“Brains asked me to marry him again.”

“And?” I ask eagerly.

“I said yes.” She shrugs. “Not right now, but sometime in the future. We belong together, me and Brains. Like Sylvie and Dave.”

“Clover, that’s amazing news!” I shriek. “Congratulations. Have you told Mum yet?”

“No, I wanted you to be the first to know.”

I feel all warm and glowing inside. I grin at her. “Thanks.”

She smiles back, then her face drops. “Beanie, there’s something else. I don’t really know how to say this. I’ve been offered an internship at
Vogue
in New York. Brains is going to be based there for a while with the band, recording their new album, so it’s kind of perfect. I don’t want to leave you, Beans. But . . . well . . . it’s just such an amazing opportunity.”

At that moment I finally understand what Mills meant by saying
If you love someone, you have to let them go
. I can’t hold Clover back any more than I could force Seth to go out with me. Like Seth, Clover has to choose her own path, and she will come back to me when she’s ready. And when she does, I’ll be right here, waiting for her.

I take a deep breath and even though it hurts, I say, “New York! Of course you have to go, Clover. Are you crazy? Can I visit?”

“Abso-doodle-lutely, Beanie.” She beams, her eyes twinkling.

And right then I realize how much this means to her and how worried she’s been about letting me down. How could I stop her from going? Mills is right — Clover is destined for great things.

“That’s part two of your birthday present, in fact,” she adds. “A trip to the Big Apple in the summer, to stay with me. We’ll have such fun, Beanie.”

My heart almost leaps out of my chest. “Seriously? I can’t wait. That will be brilliant.”

“Are you sure you’re OK with me going? Honest to Betsy?”

“Yes,” I say, plastering my brightest smile on my face. “I’ll miss you like crazy, Clover, you know I will. I love you to bits. But I’ll be all right. I have Mills to talk to, and I’m back with Seth now. You were right, Clover, as always. Besides, there’s always e-mail and Facebook and stuff.”

She hugs me. “Coola boola. I’m so glad Seth finally came around. I knew he would. And I’ll miss you too, Beanie. Every second of every day. I’ll always be your number one fan, no matter what. And you have to keep writing — you have a gift. I’ve talked to Saffy, and if you’re willing, she’d like you to babysit the problem pages while I’m in the U.S. of Amazing. What do you think? ‘Amy Green, Teen Agony Queen.’ Has a certain ring to it.”

“On my ownio?”

“Yep, you’re ready to fly solo, little bird. Up, up, and away. But you’ll always be my best friend, Beanie. That will never change, I promise. Always and forever.”

This is the last Amy Green book, and I must admit I’m very sad typing these final words of thanks. I’ve loved every minute of writing Amy and Clover’s story and I’d like to first of all thank YOU, my dear reader, for sharing their journey with me.

Like organizing a wedding, writing and publishing a book is a team effort, and
Wedding Belles
would not have been possible without a lot of people’s help. My name may be on the cover, but my second thank-you goes to my wonderful editor, Annalie Grainger, who has championed Amy’s story from the very start. She knows the characters so well that she could easily write her own Amy Green adventure. Luckily Annalie and I are continuing our own adventures together, as she will also be editing my brand-new series.

My heartfelt thanks must also go to the amazing team at Walker: Gill, Maria, Jo, Sarah, Paul, Hannah, Jill, Molly, Sean, Hanna, Heidi, Katie, Sarah, Kate, Jan, and all the team. The wonderful Conor Hackett, Mr. Walker Books in Ireland and
Wedding Belles
’s best man, is also a joy to work with.

Thanks to my family: Mum, Dad, Kate, Emma, and Richard; and to my own crew — Ben, Sam, Amy, and Jago. Plus my dear friends Tanya, Nicky, and Andrew.

I have a wonderful support network of writing and book friends in Ireland, and I’d like to especially thank Martina Devlin, Judi Curtin, Marita Conlon-McKenna, Tom Donegan, Kim Harte, Grainne Clear, Claire Hennessy, Vanessa O’Loughlin, Oisín McGann, David Maybury, and Jenny and Aoife in CBI for their friendship and help.

Philippa Milnes-Smith and Peta Nightingale are the kind of agents you dream about — smart, kind, funny, and great at their jobs. I’m blessed to have them on my team.

I must mention my original teen editor and fount of all knowledge, Kate Gordon. Kate has been part of Team Amy right from the start. She’s now heading toward college — clever girl — but I know she will always be an Amy Greenster at heart.

This book is also dedicated to my Young Editors: Alice Mountstephens, Niamh Brennan, Iseult Murphy, Ellen Byrne, and Sophie Schouwenburg. They all did a brilliant job on this book. And I promised that I would say hi to Emma Quigley because she asked me so nicely.

As an ex–children’s bookseller, I know how important (and cool) booksellers are. Thanks to everyone who has been so good to me over the last six years: David O’Callaghan at Eason, the fantastic Dubray gang, and the gangs at the Gutter Bookshop, Raven Books, and Bridge Street Books.

And finally to the unsung heroes of the book world, the librarians. I have the great pleasure of working with the lovely Marian Keyes on a regular basis, and I can tell you, the libraries of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown are in good hands.

Thank you, all of you, for making my writing and book life so full of joy.

Readers, please do drop me a line. I love hearing from Amy Greensters. My e-mail is
[email protected]
. Or check out the Ask Amy Green fan page on Facebook.

Best always,

Sarah XXX