Luis looks at her curiously. “Have you eaten this evening, Ari?”
She gives him an odd look. “What?”
“You’re really thin for a woman twenty weeks pregnant. No wonder we had no idea. Are you eating well? Getting enough vitamins?”
She shrugs. A look crosses Luis and Sebastian’s faces, and Sebastian grabs the menu.
“Ooh, tamales,” he says, but Luis makes a face.
“No,” Luis says. “No food from here. Let’s take her home. I’ll feed her.”
Later, with food in her belly and a warm cup of tea pressed into her hands, they ask about the baby’s father once more. Ari feels better about the world — nothing feels as bleak as it did earlier. The cloak of sadness that has covered her since Tom’s departure feels lighter, and she smiles easily, stroking the curve of her bump and telling Luis and Sebastian all about Tom and their six-month romance.
“Tom’s father is sick, but he’s coming back for me,” she finishes, pulling out the queen of spades playing card and showing it to them proudly. It’s a token of Tom’s love, she reminds herself. How could she have ever doubted him?
“But what if he...” Luis begins, but Ari cuts him off.
“He’s coming back for me. Coming back for us. He promised.”
* * *
Tom’s hand was cool in her own, and Ari shook it with a feeling of utter and complete detachment. There was a loaded silence in the room, and it suddenly occurred to Ari how ridiculous this all must seem.
Tom was here and she was here and their daughter stood behind them, and everyone in the room seemed to know it except for Tom’s blushing bride-to-be, who smiled sweetly all the while. Abruptly, Ari dropped her hand, brushing it against her thigh.
“I’m Ari,” she offered, although how she spoke through a dry and brittle throat was a mystery to her. “Ari Lightowler.”
“Ari,” Tom said softly, and he gazed at her with eyes that seemed full of... not wonder, not quite awe, but something else.
Regret,her mind immediately offered.He’s looking at you with regret.
Regret that he ever met her, probably. Regret that she was here today, to ruin his bride’s special moment. Standing taller, Ari cleared her throat. She would be the height of professionalism, the wedding planner of the century. She would be so professional, in fact, that he would never look at her and see the Ari he’d known in Europe. Tom might regret having romanced her, once upon a time, but he would never regret hiring her, she decided viciously.
“This is Mr De León,” Ari carried on, “he’s here to design yourbride’sgown,” she emphasised the word bride, letting it hang in the air for a moment.
She was a professional, but still, she wanted to see him squirm a little. She’d given birth to his child and had earned a moment of pettiness.
His child.Reaching out, Ari took Reine’s hand, gently pulling her daughter to her side. Reine cuddled into Ari’s waist, and Ari ran a hand over her daughter’s soft hair.
“This is Reine,” Ari said calmly, though her heart was hammering inside her chest. “My daughter. I’m so sorry I had to bring her with me,” she caught Tom’s eyes and held them bitterly. “I’m a single mother. I had childcare issues.”
“No, that’s... um... that’s fine,” Tom stammered, and he dropped Ari’s gaze. Ari watched as his eyes darted suddenly over Reine, and she found herself holding her breath.
Please love her,her heart inexplicably begged.Please love her as I do.
But Tom said nothing, staring at Reine dumbly. His face was still and impassive, devoid of any emotion, and he made no move to talk to their child. Behind her, Ari felt both Sebastian and Luis take a possessive step forwards. They were ready, Ari realised, to pounce into action at any moment.
Not that they needed to. Pushing her son out of the way with a look of pure exasperation on her face, Marnie Somerset dropped to her knees next to Reine, brushing a stray hair gently from the girl’s eyes.
“My, my, my,” Marnie exhaled. “Oh my.”
In Marnie’s voice and face Ari found the emotion she’d been desperately searching for in Tom. Her daughter’s grandmother stared at Reine with the awe and wonder Ari had hoped for, and Ari saw the older woman’s face soften as she smiled at the small girl.
“I’m Marnie,” she said gently, “and you must be a very tired little lamb.”
“Yes,” Reine admitted, still clinging to Ari’s hips.
“She’s had a hell of a long day,” Luis admitted, stepping forward to run his hand over Reine’s head, affection in his voice. “Quieres dormir un poco ahora, mi sol? Necesito trabajar, pero el tío puede llevarte arriba a tu habitación.”
