Chapters (64)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Five Years Later
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
- Forty-nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-one
- Fifty-two
- Fifty-three
- Fifty-four
- Fifty-five
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- Canelo Crime
- About the Author
- Also by Sheila Bugler
‘But we weren’t a few minutes later. Come on, Rach. I’m hanging out for a Diet Coke. Let’s walk across to Tesco and get some chocolate and drinks. My treat.’
As they walked through the car park to the exit, a plane flew over the sky above them. Rachel turned her head, watching as the plane moved further away, gradually getting smaller, until there was nothing left except a trail of white against the clear, blue sky.
Epilogue
Five months later
New Year’s Day. Bright sunshine reflected off the still sea. An icy breeze skimmed over the town and along the seafront. Clodagh walked as fast as her pregnancy bump would allow. Seven and a half months and she was already huge. She couldn’t believe her stomach was capable of getting any bigger, although her midwife assured her that was a certainty.
She heard her phone ringing and answered it without checking the Caller ID, already knowing who it was going to be.
‘Adam, happy new year.’
‘Thanks. How are you guys doing?’
You guys. He’d taken to speaking about them as if the baby was already born. Something Clodagh found sweet and irritating in equal measure.
‘We had an early night,’ she said, patting her stomach. ‘Although your son was clearly up for a party. There was a lot of kicking going on.’
‘That’s my boy.’ Adam paused. ‘Everything’s okay, then?’
‘Since yesterday when you asked me the same question? Yes, Adam. Everything’s still okay. If it wasn’t, you’d be the first person to know about it.’
‘I know I’m fussing too much,’ he said. ‘But after everything that’s happened, this baby feels like a gift. I spend most of my time petrified something’s going to go wrong.’
‘That must be lovely for Georgia.’
‘She’s pretty patient,’ Adam said. ‘Although I do drive her mad half the time.’
Adam had only been with his new girlfriend for three months, but it was clear to anyone with a pair of eyes that they were crazy about each other. Ironic, considering that a few months prior to that he’d thought Clodagh was his true love. Not that she cared. With a baby on the way, Adam was always going to be part of her life. But her old feelings for him were gone entirely. She understood, now, why he’d been so controlling. His troubled relationship with Vivienne had damaged him. But understanding and forgiving were two separate things; Clodagh would never completely forgive him for the lies he’d told or the ways he’d tried to manipulate her.