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Back Stranger Save as PDF
Chapters (43)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Prologue
  4. SPRING
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. SUMMER
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. AUTUMN
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. Acknowledgements
  43. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Beth’s brow furrowed. ‘Isn’t that like illegal? You know, in case their kids are born with deformities, extra toes and things like that?’

‘I don’t have extra toes.’ She said it mildly, but they all heard the rebuke.

‘No, of course not,’ Beth conceded, and Mark, trying to smooth things over, said:

‘They might be distant cousins, right?’

A delicate pause and then she laughed, her eyes glittering with mischief. ‘I was just joking!’

Mark took a sip of water from his glass, watching her.

‘Really. I was just fucking with you,’ she giggled, and he stifled his discomfort at her casual use of the phrase. He caught the glance that Abi threw at him.

‘I’m surprised you’re even doing an exchange,’ Beth told Corinne. ‘It’s not like you need it.’

She was giving voice to what they all thought.

‘You are sweet to say it,’ Corinne exclaimed, reaching across to briefly wrap her arm around Beth’s shoulders, drawing her close. Mark saw his daughter’s cheeks flush with embarrassment, but Corinne was unperturbed. ‘But my English is not perfect. You will see.’

And it was true that she tripped over the occasional phrase, making funny little mistakes. Like when Mark asked about the phone call from Valentina the night before, hinting at some unexpressed reservation, Corinne had shrugged and said: ‘It was just cold toes.’

‘You mean cold feet,’ Mark said, gently correcting her.

Corinne blushed, putting her hand up to cover her mouth as she laughed, eloquent eyes moving quickly around the table.

‘You see,’ she told them. ‘There is still so much that I have to learn.’

She threw a glance at Mark as she spoke, and at the same time, she reached out and touched his wrist, her hand resting there for a second or two. Something conspiratorial in the gesture, the look, like she was trying to draw him in, which confused him as he’d done nothing to earn it.

He was glad when Abi suggested coffee, grateful for the distraction, attention drawn away from how disarmed he felt.

4

Abi had seen the touch and pretended not to notice.

But after dinner, she followed Mark into his studio, closing the door behind her.