She shrugged. ‘Nope. I haven’t heard from him for a few days. Judging by what he’s said on the phone to Daisy, he’s left Singapore and now he’s swanning around Kuala Lumpur with his new girlfriend and her jetset family. Still can’t get over the news that he had another family that he’s just ignored. I can’t stop thinking of the boy Jamie, his son.’

‘I’d say he’s been better off without having Lawrence in his life,’ said Steve.

Besides her mother and Mel, Grace had only shared this bombshell about Lawrence with Steve. They’d developed a kind of divided friendship, keeping business and personal matters in separate boxes as much as possible. Steve was always calm, never probed too deeply, but he was supportive and sympathetic when needed. So far neither had made any romantic overtures apart from Steve’s gentle kiss the night he’d given her K’tut’s painting, and Grace was happy to take things slowly. She didn’t want to damage their friendship or their compatible working relationship.

As she waved goodbye and headed across the hotel lawns, Steve immediately started making a call on his phone. Grace wondered what the urgency was, but then again, everyone seemed busy all the time at the moment.

After walking the short distance to her villa, Grace went inside, dropped her bag on the table and called out, ‘Daisy.’

‘Out here, out here, c’mon, Mum!’ She sounded excited.

Daisy and Tina were sitting by the pool, talking to a third person – Grace gasped, speechless for a moment, as Melanie stood up, arms lifted jubilantly above her.

‘Surprise!’

‘Mel!’

The two women raced to each other, hugging, jumping up and down, laughing and exclaiming as Daisy clapped and danced around them, and Tina smiled smugly.

‘How . . .? Mum! You knew about this!’

‘Of course she did,’ Mel said, laughing. ‘You didn’t think I’d miss the party of the year, did you?’

‘But you said you were busy doing some lectures somewhere . . .’ Grace said in a rush.

‘I did say that, didn’t I? Well, here I am. You should thank your mum really, for pulling it all together.’

Grace looked fondly at her mother. ‘You knew this would cheer me up, didn’t you?’

‘Mums always know the right medicine.’ She smiled as Daisy hugged Grace.

‘Surprise, Mum! Are you surprised?’ the little girl said. ‘Really?’

‘You bet I am. And it’s the best surprise ever.’

On cue, Sri and Kamsi came out with a tray of champagne glasses, a decanter of fresh orange juice and canapes.

‘Perfect timing,’ said Grace. ‘Thank you.’

‘Yep. Steve alerted us,’ said Tina. ‘He just rang.’

‘He’s in on this too?’