He looked stunned. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I know you’ve been meeting Mandy. I know you told her not to call the house. You said you didn’t want me to find out.” She was crying now and thinking that Alix had been right. She’d been right all along, and Christy couldn’t bear it. “You’ve let us down, Seb. You’ve let us down.” She caught a glimpse of his stricken expression before he closed the gap in a couple of strides and dragged her into his arms.

“I know I have. I know, but I’m going to fix it. Please don’t cry, Christy. Damn, where are the tissues?” He glanced round and in the end gave up and wiped them away with his fingers. “I didn’t want any of this to happen, but I’m handling it. Don’t worry. Nothing is going to change. It’s going to stay the way you want it. The way you like it.”

How could it not change? Was he expecting her to pretend it wasn’t happening?

Even she couldn’t ignore this.

How much could she forgive?

She sobbed against his shoulder, breathing in the warmth of him, the strength of him. She scrunched her fingers into the front of his T-shirt as she asked the question she had to ask. “Do you love her, Seb? Do you love her?”

He thrust her away so suddenly she almost stumbled. “What are you talking about?”

“Mandy. Do you love her? I need to know.”

“Love her?” He stared at her in disbelief and confusion. “What sort of a question is that? You’re not making sense.” He stopped. “Wait. You think I’m having an affair?”

“You admitted it! And as if that isn’t bad enough, you also admitted that you never planned to tell me. So if it isn’t love, what is it, Seb? A bit of fun? Distraction? Am I boring? Is living in the countryside driving you crazy?”

“Stop.” He gave a brief shake of his head, as if to clear it. “I’m not having an affair. Who would put that idea in your head?” His mouth tightened. “Pointless question. Alix.”

“This has nothing to do with Alix. I haven’t discussed our relationship with her.”

“So you came to that conclusion by yourself.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “That hurts more than it probably should. I guess a guy can’t shake off his reputation that easily.”

And now she was the one who was confused. “You’re not having an affair?”

He let his hand drop. “Do you really think I’d do that to you? To us?” Something about the way he was looking at her made her squirm and feel small, as if she’d let them both down with her assumptions. She wanted to tell him that she’d spent hours thinking of alternative explanations, but in the absence of anything else and with the evidence that he was lying, she kept circling back to that one.

And now she didn’t know what to think. He hadn’t actually denied it, had he? He’d given her a nonanswer, and Alix’s voice was so loud in her head that she wanted to cover her ears.