Chapters (67)
- Cover
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- PART TWO
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- PART THREE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- PART FOUR
- 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
- EPILOGUE
- Mailing list
- A Letter from Kathryn
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Kathryn Croft
‘No. I came straight from the airport. I’ve been in Portugal with my parents.’ He looks away, stares past her.
She already knows Rob’s been away but admitting this serves no purpose other than to make him feel uncomfortable, so she keeps it to herself. He is already ill at ease. ‘Can I get you anything?’
‘No, thanks.’ He follows her into the kitchen. ‘I haven’t been here since the dinner party. It feels… odd.’
She freezes; she doubts there will ever be a time when she can think of that night without it sending shooting pains into her chest. ‘A lot seems to have happened since then.’
Rob sits on the sofa, rests his elbows on his knees. She can tell he’s about to say something important. ‘I’m not good at a lot of things,’ he begins.
‘That’s not true. You’re brilliant at your job.’ She can’t help interrupting him; she likes Rob, wants to build him up, help him find the confidence to realise he is worth so much more than Abby.
‘Thanks, but I mean other than work. I don’t have any special talents or anything, but one thing I’ve always thought is that I’m a pretty good judge of character. And that’s why I’m here. I don’t believe for a second that you came to our house that night demanding to know where Greg is with no good reason. I don’t think you’re that kind of person.’
His words float across to her, lifting her up, validating her. ‘I’m not. I don’t hurt people or mess with them. I truly believe Abby knows something about Greg.’
‘Can you tell me why you think that? I feel like I’m the only person who doesn’t know what’s going on, even though it’s clear something is.’
Rob is here because of his mother; Sienna doesn’t know what she’s said to him, but Lillian will have spent the last few days planting subtle seeds in his mind, causing him to doubt what he’s taken for granted. And now Sienna faces a dilemma. She should tell him exactly what she heard Abby admit to on the phone that day, but she already knows he won’t believe her. He won’t want to. The glasses he sees Abby through are distorted, and he’ll never take Sienna’s word for it, not without evidence. He’ll just go home to Abby, who will deny it, and they’ll both dismiss Sienna as mentally unstable. She can see it all so clearly now. No, she needs to be in control of this narrative, to remain someone who Rob will see as rational and logical. Strong. When Greg comes back and it’s all out in the open, she and Rob will have to navigate through the mess together.