“I’m glad you came.” The whole situation felt painfully awkward, but she kept her tone warm. “I wanted to thank you for your kindness to Zoe.”

“Oh—” Avery looked thrown “—of course. She’s a special girl. A credit to you.” Her gaze skidded to Richard, as if to check what he was making of all this.

“She loved the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It made her day. And it also made her determined not to give up drama, so I’m grateful to you for that.”

Avery sat down at the table. “She enjoyed it. I saw her mouthing the words. And we talked about it a little bit afterward. She told me about her friend and how difficult it has been.”

Milly delved into her bag and pulled out two tickets to Zoe’s play. “It’s an outdoor performance, so we’re hoping the weather holds, but I do hope you’ll both come. There will be a group of us there cheering her on. I think it would be lovely for Zoe if you were both there too. United front and all that. Family.”

Avery glanced at Richard, who looked nervous.

“When you say a group of you, will that include your mother?”

“Yes.” Milly smiled. “But I’m sure you’re not afraid of my mother, are you, Richard?”

“She’s a formidable woman,” he muttered. “Are you sure she won’t try and kill me in public?”

“We’re watching a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, not Macbeth,” Milly said. “There will be no murders, and I’m sure you’ll be fine. Things change, Richard. Relationships change. It’s part of life. My mother knows that.”

And now she knew it too, and not only because her blossoming relationship with Brendan had given her a glimpse of a future she hadn’t envisaged for herself.

At some point she’d finally realized that she wasn’t to blame for Richard leaving, any more than she was to blame for her father leaving. People were complicated, and often unpredictable, and sometimes what they wanted changed, and you couldn’t control that. Sometimes you needed to accept the way things were instead of wishing for something different or trying to turn the clock back.

“I do hope you’ll come.” She stood up, keen to get back to her life now that this final job was done. “I think it will be a special evening.”

Chapter 29Milly