Sophie hadn’t missed the astonished expression on his face.
‘She wants to make up for not believing you,’ she told him. ‘For taking your family away from you when you needed them the most. I think she wants to give that back but she’s afraid that you won’t want to accept the gift.’
Thegift…
‘Don’t move,’ he ordered. ‘I’ll be right back.’
His leather jacket was in the corner of the room they’d just left, where he’d shrugged it off before starting the messy work on the fireplace. Luc found what he was looking for in one of the pockets.
Sophie was sitting on the stairs when he got back. She put her phone back in her pocket fast enough for Luc to wonder what she’d been looking at. She seemed glad of an easy distraction, too.
‘What’s that?’
‘Something for you.’ He held out the small box. ‘I had a visit from Natalia and Henri this morning when they came to collect their album.’
‘Did they love it?’
‘They did. They also wanted to give me a message for you. They said they’ve known you long enough to know you’re not the person that Raven Vale thinks you are and they send their best wishes. They know what it’s like to live with scandal.’
‘They do.’ Sophie was opening the box. She gasped.
‘They found it a few days ago. It caught the sun and it was so bright they had to go and see what was caught between the rocks. They had the broken chain repaired.’
Sophie was staring at the diamond heart on the tiny velvet cushion.
‘It was Tom’s gift for you,’ he said. ‘He asked me what I thought and I told him that if I was going to give you something to symbolise how much I loved you, then this is what it would be.’
The blue of Sophie’s eyes was even brighter with the tears that were gathering. Her fingers were shaking as she took the chain of the necklace in her hands.
‘Can I do that for you?’
‘Please…’ Sophie handed Luc the necklace and gathered the curls of her hair into her hand to lift them out of the way.
‘Natalia said something else,’ he told her as he draped the chain around her neck. ‘She said you can’t go back to change things in the past and you can’t see what the future holds, so it’s the present time that matters.’ He fastened the clasp. ‘You need to embrace every moment of joy you find.’
Sophie’s fingers were on the diamond heart but her eyes were on Luc.
‘You bring me joy,’ she whispered. ‘I love you.’
Luc opened his mouth to echo her words but they evaporated as the door opened in front of them.
Hannah Baxter was there. A glance at Sophie told him that she’d known this was coming. That this was why she’d been sitting on the stairs, watching her phone.
Hannah wasn’t alone. Her father was beside her and Luc was a little shocked at how much Martin Baxter had aged in the last ten years. His hair was almost white and there were deep lines in his face. The warmth in his smile hadn’t changed however, although it was understandably tentative at the moment.
There was a palpable plea in their presence. A need for something only Luc could give them. He felt Sophie’s hand slip into the curl of his and suddenly it was easy to know what to do. How to take the first step into his new future. That anything was possible with Sophie by his side.
He smiled at these people – the closest thing to a real family he could have ever wished for.
‘Hi,’ he said, simply, not letting go of Sophie’s hand as he got to his feet. ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’
EPILOGUE
Luc was lining up what he wanted to capture in the first photograph of a very significant day in his life.
It was an oval brushed brass plaque, set into the wall beside the solid wooden door, with simple curved lines at the top that were instantly recognisable as a bird taking flight beneath a single flame.
PHOENIX HOUSE
