‘It is sad, Miguel. Fucking sad.’ She spoke with a quaver to her voice.

‘Oh God, Merrin, I didn’t mean . . .’ He felt a little sick that she might think he had meant her. You idiot!

‘Forget it.’

As she put her foot down, he replayed his words and wished he could take them back.

CHAPTER NINETEEN MERRIN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

MERRIN

Merrin had thrown herself into her work, trying to block out the feelings of longing not only for Port Charles, but also for the life she had lived there before she became a marked woman. It had taken all this time for her to realise just how much she had lost, and all through no fault of her own. She was still angry.

And now it was Valentine’s Day. Merrin wondered how Ruby and Jarvis might celebrate their first Valentine’s as a married couple, six months after they had wed. But she was too busy to think too hard about it, intent as she was on giving their guests the best possible experience, even though she herself thought the whole thing a little ridiculous, unable to get into the swing of celebrating the deep love that she knew for most to be a temporary state.

It was always a popular event at Milbury Court. The private dining rooms were fully booked, vases of red roses adorned every table and the spa was chock-a-block with lucky couples enjoying being pampered. Merrin hardly had time to come up for air, as her to-do list seemed only to grow in length. She stared at the rather corny card with a rabbit on the front holding a large heart – hardly romantic, and grabbed in a hurry from the Tesco garage. It now nestled under the reception desk, while she wondered what to write to Miguel. As she reached for a pen she decided to go with something comic, still keen to avoid the romantic, mushy stuff, which had no real currency and could fade as quickly as the ink dried. She had just started to write when the hotel door opened and a mane of tawny blonde hair appeared. Putting the lid back on the pen, she rested it on the card and painted on her greeting smile.

The woman was about her age, but beautiful. Shiny and polished in a way that made Merrin wish she wasn’t always in a navy wool trouser suit, white shirt and the gold-and-navy cravat favoured by the hotel chain that issued her uniform.

‘Hello! Hello! God, it’s cold out there.’ The woman dumped two large leather overnight bags on the floor and rubbed the tops of her arms. ‘I should warn you to prepare for chaos!’ she said lightly, as she trod the two shallow steps and swept further into the reception.