He opened his mouth to deny it before letting his shoulders fall. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I was.’
Liv felt like a tight flower bud had opened, revealing its petals.
‘I’m getting divorced,’ Anthony said. ‘It’s something Harriet and I have been discussing for some time. I supported her through her father’s heart scare, and hoped we might get back together. But her mind is made up. I tried to hide my feelings for Essie and obviously did a poor job. Harriet called it anemotional affair. She’s probably right.’
Liv thought for a while. Lots of things made more sense now, Anthony’s evasiveness when she first met him, and how he wanted to say goodbye to Essie on his own.
Matilda said Essie drank too much and yearned for the only man she ever loved. Had the author been full of regret about how she treated Anthony? Was he out of reach because he was married to Harriet? Perhaps Liv had finally found Essie’s mystery love, even if the solicitor wasn’t a perfect template for Georgia Rory’s hero.
‘I’m glad Essie was with someone she loved at the end,’ she said.
Anthony placed his hand on hers. It felt warm and protective, two people connected in a moment rather than anything romantic. And Liv welcomed it. At that moment in time, she felt closer to Anthony than she did to Jake.
‘I’d love to think that, too,’ he said. ‘But I’d only be lying to you, and to myself. Essie hadn’t loved me for a long time. Not in that way. It was a one-sided affair, if you can even call it that. I was never enough for her, and I’ve always wondered who really captured her heart.’
As Liv sat with his hand still touching hers, she felt a vein pulsing in his wrist and asked herself the same thing.Did it mean Hank Milligan was the only contender left for the title of Essie’s greatest love? He was married to her for ten years, and by her side the night she won the Constellation Prize. Would he know why she dropped out of the public eye? In order to finally tie up the loose ends of the mystery, and to write the end to Georgia’s story, Liv needed to speak to him. He just might be the missing link to it all.
Chapter 25
Pine Trees
That night, Liv lay in bed listening to Jake snoring gently beside her. She marvelled at how soundly he could sleep, whereas her thoughts wouldn’t settle. When she closed her eyes, faceless figures chased her through mazes, up never-ending spiral staircases. She slept intermittently, sometimes not knowing if she was awake or not. When she buried her head in the pillow, different scenarios scuttled around in her mind.
What if Anthony didn’t announce Essie’s death at all? Did anyone actually need to know the author was dead? It would only distress and disappoint her fans. Could they both keep silent about the author’s death forever? Perhaps Liv could continue to do Essie’s admin and also write her books. There could be Books Twenty-one and Twenty-two, and readers would love it. Anthony said he was Essie’s rock. Perhaps he might want to keep her spirit alive, too. In Liv’s hazy state, it all felt possible.
However, as dawn broke and the bedroom filled with grey light, she was groggy and tired. She realized she’d been thinking crazily and her brain tossed new thoughts around instead. Would the inheritance from Essie allow her to carry on writing instead of cleaning?And what would she write? She’d been dedicating her life to Georgia Rory. What would Liv be without her?
As the bedroom grew even lighter, Jake began to shuffle around, and she got up and made toast and jam for breakfast.
Outside, the sky was gloomy. Rain specked the windows and dripped off trees. Liv put on a dress and blazer, adding black tights.
When she reached the block of flats, Liv stood on the pavement for a while and surveyed all the people milling around outside. Most of them were heading to their jobs, walking with impetus. She thought how her own purpose might end on November the first.
She flashed her electronic fob and entered the building, yawning as the lift doors started to close.
But then a hand appeared in the gap, followed by the toe of a snakeskin shoe. There was a flash of caramel hair as Chloe pushed the doors back open. ‘Hey, hon. Remember me?’ she smirked, positioning herself in front of the button panel so Liv couldn’t reach it. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’
Liv stepped back and pressed her back against the glass. The doors closed again and the lift shot upward.
Chloe looked composed in a Breton striped top, jeans and red lipstick. ‘There seems to be something missing from your outfit,’ she said, tapping a finger against her lips. ‘Oh, perhaps it’s a tie.’ She took the one missing from Essie’s desk out of her handbag, slipping it through her fingers as if playing with a toy snake.
Liv touched her neck, which felt bare. ‘You lied to my teenage son and trespassed on private property,’ she said. ‘How does that make you feel?’
‘Hey, don’t be like that. I didn’t know he was your son. You don’t look old enough to have a kid that age.’ The journalist’s lips straightened. ‘You act all high-and-mighty, but I heard you went to Croatia, supposedly with Essie. One of your bedrooms wasn’t slept in.’
Liv’s mind spun. How did Chloe know this? Did she have a contact at the hotel? She kept her lips sealed.
‘You can’t blame me for being interested. Shall we get a coffee and chat?’
‘Why would I want to do that?’ Liv snapped.
Chloe’s smile displayed a hint of menace. ‘Because I knoweverything, hon,’ she said.
Liv crept a hand to her stomach. What did she mean byeverything?
Chloe stabbed the button for the twenty-ninth floor and the lift shuddered to a halt. When the doors opened, she stepped through them and jerked her head. ‘Are you coming, or not?’
Liv snatched the tie out of Chloe’s hand and fastened it around her neck. ‘Yes, let’s go,’ she said.
