She stopped breathing. Her heart felt as if it was being squeezed. “Oh, Dad—”
“She stood up and I thought she was going to leave me to pull myself together, but instead she picked up the phone and ordered two cups of strong coffee, and when they arrived she met the person at the door to take the tray, so that they didn’t see me.”
Now she was the one with tears in her eyes. “That was thoughtful.”
“Yes. She put the coffee in front of me, along with a plate full of chocolate biscuits and said she knew what it was like trying to get through a day while dealing with grief and sleepless nights. That’s when I found out she had a daughter, too. Madeleine. She was two years old.” He stared into the distance. “We talked about the pressure of being a single parent. She told me she’d lost someone she loved, too, in difficult circumstances. She was easy to talk to and a good listener.”
“And what happened then?”
He shifted and looked at her. “I thanked her for the coffee and her kindness and apologised again for losing control. Then I stood up to leave. She stopped me. Asked me where I was going. I said I assumed the interview was over. Who would employ someone struggling as much as I was? I wanted to spare us both the awkwardness.”
“But she didn’t let you leave?”
“No. And I remember exactly what happened next. What she said, word for word.” His voice was rough with emotion. “I said something like, you’re looking at a man on the edge, and she saidI’m looking at a man who cares. A man who iscommitted to his family. And that was it. She gave me the job. She told me not to worry about juggling work with parenthood because we’d make it work somehow.”
Evie’s eyes burned with tears. “She said that?”
“Yes. And you started to cry at that point—I had to take you to the interview—and her little girl arrived and was intrigued by you. You liked her and you stopped crying. I remember she gave you her toy giraffe to hold and you wouldn’t let go of it.”
“And that was Madeleine? But—” she broke off “—wait—if she was two and I was a baby—” And then she remembered what Abby had told her. “Abby is Madeleine?”
“Yes. Madeleine Abigail. Back then I just knew her as Maddy. We all did. Alexandra started using her middle name when they moved to Boston. I suppose she wanted to leave it all behind.”
“So you knew Abby?”
“Well, she was two years old,” he said dryly, “so I wouldn’t exactly say I knew her. Alexandra was living in the hotel at the time and she had a nanny for Maddy. Abby,” he corrected himself. “She let me share the nanny whenever I needed to. That extra flexibility was exactly what I needed.”
Evie blinked to clear her vision. “So she helped you.”
“More than that. She saved me at the lowest point of my life. I owe her everything. She enabled me to work and still be there for you. She gave me hope.”
Was that what she’d seen in that look they’d exchanged? Gratitude? A debt never forgotten?
No, it was more. Something deeper, she was sure of it.
“If you worked together for a couple of years, you must have got to know her.”
It was a moment before he answered.
“Yes,” he said finally. “I knew her well. In the end we were friends.”
Friends?
“Did you know about her dad?”
“She told me the story. That he left when she was eleven. I knew how badly it affected her, but it happened long before we met. When I first saw that man loitering around the hotel it didn’t cross my mind there could be more to it than a developer deciding whether he was interested or not.”
“Will you be spending some time with her now she’s here?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to her.” He turned away and smiled at a woman who was approaching. “Mrs Slater. Are you off to lunch? I called the restaurant to confirm, and your table is all booked for midday and it’s the one by the window as you requested.”
“Edward, what would I do without you?”
They chatted for a moment and Evie waited. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Abby and her mother walking across the driveway towards a taxi.
Abby spotted her and waved and Evie sprinted across to her. “I’m sorry to ask this,” Abby said, “but would you mind if I took a few hours with my mother? It’s been a rough morning, and—”
“It’s fine,” Evie said. “Of course. What do you need? Can I get you anything?”
