Seeing Chrissy giving her goodbyes, Rhona indicated she would go with her.

‘You’re not sticking around then?’ Sean sounded sorry.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner at my place,’Rhona promised.

Once out of the crowd downstairs, Chrissy said, ‘I’m assuming you still want to hear what happened after the strategy meeting?’

‘Why else would I follow you out when we’re going in opposite directions?’ Rhona said.

‘Well,’ Chrissy began, ‘Magnus had coffee with Janice and told her that Karen Marshall’s married name is Johnston and he believes he’s met her at the women’s recovery cafe in Raploch, Stirling.’

38

When Rhona let herself into the flat, the cat came bounding to meet her as usual. She’d set up a timer on his food bowl, which meant Tom got to eat when she wasn’t around, but he still associated her arrival with food, or maybe it was now more about company and affection.

Running before her into the kitchen, he sprang onto the table, waiting for whatever treat she decided to give him. Checking his food bowl, Rhona found it was by no means empty, so he certainly wasn’t starving. Nevertheless, she fished in the cupboard for the treats that Sean had introduced during her sojourn on Skye and, quite delighted by this, Tom bounded away with his prize.

Now what was she going to eat?

Rhona checked the fridge, but sadly the food Sean had bought was finished, which meant she was back to the delivery menus. She grabbed the Italian one and, calling the number, ordered a seafood pizza, while suddenly relishing the thought that tomorrow night someone would be cooking for her.

Having been assured that her pizza would be with her in twenty minutes, she decided to have a quick shower in the interim. Standing under the hot water, she allowed herself to think of tonight’s events, re-imagining her first sight of Liam standing taller than Sean. How her eye had immediately assessed him against the last time they’d met, noting the squarer chin, the still-thick mop of blond hair (one good feature he’d got from Edward), his tentative smile when he saw her.

I was too quick with the questions, she admonished herself. I let Edward get to me. When will I ever learn about that? This thought led to another, equally unpleasant: Edward Stewart, once he wanted something, was unlikely to give up until he got it.

When she’d announced her pregnancy with Liam, Edward had immediately decided he didn’t want a child. When she’d ignored his orders to have an abortion, he no longer wanted her. Later, when she’d already had the baby boy adopted, he’d made sure she would at no time reveal him as the father should she ever broadcast the fact that as a teenager she had borne a child and given it up for adoption. He’d denied Liam before he was born as he’d denied him after.

Why the sudden interest now?

Rhona stepped out of the shower and towelled herself dry, annoyed that her pleasure at seeing Liam again was being marred by the thought that Edward had some sort of plan for the son he’d previously denied or ignored.