Yet again she’d been transformed.
She’d stepped away from the business to focus on her family and Emilia, a decision she didn’t regret. Having more time with the people she loved most had changed her entire outlook on life.
Family is not an important thing. It is everything.
Finally, she was taking her own (or, in truth, Colette’s) advice.
‘The place looks great. I’m surprised Antonio was able to let us have it with the amount of traffic that’s been going through here,’ Gabriel commented.
‘Hey, it’s still my company so I make the rules.’ Kim tiptoed up to him and kissed her husband on the cheek.
Antonio had since confessed what Kim already knew – that his wife had mistakenly submitted alternative documents to the planning department, which he’d tried to cover up at the meeting.
‘I didn’t know for sure until I saw the signatures,’ he’d told Kim, finally willing to admit that his beloved wife’s condition had gone beyond him, and that she needed professional care.Kim assured him not to worry, that she would do everything she could to help. She didn’t want to add to her old friend’s anguish by telling him about Emilia’s suspicions of an affair, as she knew he had enough to contend with.
‘You make the rules for the moment, at least.’ Gabriel smiled as he laid his hand on her swollen stomach. ‘Once this next one comes we won’t have nearly as much time for jaunts in places like this.’
‘I can’t wait to see my baby sister,’ Lily called out. She’d been on the grassy yoga area playing quietly with her dolls until she’d heard her favourite subject being discussed.
‘You really think it’s a girl?’ Gabriel said dubiously. ‘I was kind of hoping for a boy so that things might even out in this family.’
‘Nope. I want a girl.’
‘You’re biased, though,’ Kim teased.
‘Boys are icky,’ her daughter insisted, with a wrinkle of her nose.
‘Not all boys. Daddy’s a boy.’
‘Mommy, Daddy’s not a boy. He’s aman.’
‘But all men were boys once,’ Gabriel teased.
‘They’re still icky,’ Lily insisted.
‘Well, I certainly hope you won’t feel that way about our little man,’ Colette’s voice resonated from the courtyard. She stepped down onto the pool terrace with a tray of food in her hand, eight months pregnant and absolutely radiant.
‘Let me take it,’ Luca insisted as he hoisted the platter out of her hands and brought it over to the others. ‘You should not be lifting things.’
‘It’s just a silly tray,’ she laughed, winking at Kim. She’d begun to waddle a little, something Kim remembered only too well. She’d been like Donald Duck when was pregnant with Lily, but thankfully was a few months off that point yet.
She was so happy for her friend, though, and it was wonderful to see her looking so relaxed and happy.
The aftermath of that night had been a difficult time for all three of them, in more ways than one. But their friendship had got them through.
Colette and Annie’s heart-to-heart following the party had broken down all barriers, and enabled both women to see the man they both thought they loved for who he truly was.
Annie had been instrumental in helping Colette through her divorce, even offering her a room in Dublin for a while until she felt strong enough to return to London and leave Ed for good. And Colette in turn (and with some financial help and advice from Kim) had helped Annie with getting her business back on track.
Kim was still amazed at the revelations that had tumbled out the night of the party.
Who could have guessed that Ed – of all people – was Annie’s mysterious Romeo? And not only that but he had fathered Charlie and had promptly gone and set his sights on Colette before either of them knew about it. Granted, he hadn’t done anything behind her back, but for Colette it was still a betrayal. He’d concealed the truth and even worse, from her point of view at least, was that having promised Annie he’d be there for her if ever she needed him, he’d turned his back on her and Charlie when they did.
He didn’t make things easy on Colette, either, refusing to let her go, and had tried to drag out the legalities for as long as possible. But Colette, as always, kept things simple. She wanted nothing from him, other than to be free.
Even if she had wanted money as part of the divorce, there was little to share: a series of bad investments over the years on Ed’s part had bled their finances dry and left them practically penniless. That was why he’d refused to help out Annie financially, the first and only time she’d ever asked him.
Every time she thought about that, Kim felt for her friend and wished she’d paid close enough attention to their friendship, so that Annie would have turned to her instead. But she guessed if she had done so, then all the secrets they’d discovered that night would never have come out.
