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
It occurs to her that maybe he still loves his ex-wife, but not even alcohol prompts her to go there. ‘I can imagine—’
‘I really hope you can’t. I hope you never have to know what it’s like. What a mess it makes of everything.’ He stares at her and his eyes glaze over. ‘You and Rob seem solid, though.’
Solid. Yes, that’s what they are. Or what Rob is, at least. She feels anything but that; more like a wave on the ocean, no foundation, never knowing quite where it belongs, or where it will end up. ‘Yes,’ she agrees. ‘We were friends for a while before we got together. I think that helps. We already knew each other’s faults.’
Greg ponders this. ‘Friends. Interesting. Sienna and I weren’t, not really. And probably still aren’t.’ He looks at her as he takes a sip of gin.
If they were having this conversation under any other circumstances, she might feel uncomfortable, almost as if she is betraying Sienna by absorbing Greg’s words, allowing them to flood into her and make a permanent home inside her. But she decides that their agreement to do this in the first place means social norms have taken a back seat.
‘Friends talk openly to each other, don’t they?’ Greg continues when she can’t find an answer.
She has to defend Sienna. ‘Yes, but she’s a very private person, despite being so, well, open. I might not have known her that long, but I’ve worked that much out.’
‘To the outside world, she is, sure. But I’m on the inside. It’s a very different thing to be on the inside.’
The thread of the conversation is lost on her; if Greg is saying that he knows Sienna too well, then that contradicts his assertion that they aren’t friends. She’s confused now. ‘All I know is that Sienna’s been a brilliant friend to me,’ Abby says. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without her these last few months.’
Greg looks her directly in the eyes, piercing her with his intense dark stare. He’s an attractive man – the sort of attractiveness that creeps up on you, that you don’t know is there until it’s bowling you over, chiselling away at your control. Above anything, it’s his personality. Even after drinking all evening, he’s somehow still in control of himself. Dignified. ‘Whatever it is that you’ve gone through, you’d have been fine without Sienna. You’re a strong woman, Abby, I can tell that about you. You don’t need anyone but yourself.’