Page 91 of The Island Villa

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “Maybe there’s a way to fix this.”

“The only way to do that is to ask Cassie to withdraw this book. She won’t have signed a contract yet.” The thought of it made her feel ill. “How can I do that to my daughter? This is her dream, and I remember how that feels. How can I kill that dream? But I’m going to have to. For everyone’s sake, I can’t have that book out there.”

Andrew sat up. “There has to be another answer.” He turned to look at her. “You don’t want to celebrate Rob, but if you get rid of the dedication, then there is no hint of Rob. And who is Cassie Dunn to the reading public? You have to figure out what you want.”

What she wanted was for Cassie never to have written the book.

She caught sight of the clock on her nightstand and groaned. “We have ten minutes before they arrive for dinner. And I don’t know what to do.” She forced herself off the bed and into the bathroom where she splashed cold water on her face.

Andrew scooped up all the scattered pages of Cassie’s book and stuffed them into the bin roughly, as if he resented the pain those pages had caused her. That was Andrew, still good despite everything. He should have restored her faith in people, but he hadn’t really. He’d just restored her faith in him.

She did her best with makeup, although it was a half-hearted attempt. She pulled on a dress that usually made her feel good but not today. It was going to take more than a dress to rescue the situation.

She walked onto the terrace and for the first time in her life took no comfort from the froth of bright blooms that bordered the path. The heat of the day had settled into the evening, humid and oppressive. There was no breeze. Everything about the day seemed designed to make her sweat.

Adeline and Cassie arrived together, both of them laughing about something. They didn’t seem bothered by the heat.

Catherine felt sick because she knew that soon they wouldn’t be laughing. Still, she’d wanted her daughters to bond. That was one good thing at least. They had each other. And hopefully, whatever happened, that would last. They wouldn’t be alone.

It was Maria’s night off and the table was loaded with salads and delicious cold dishes that she’d prepared before leaving to visit a friend in the neighboring village.

Adeline pulled out a chair and flapped her hand in front of her face. “It’s hot this evening.” She sat down, her hair tumbling loose over her shoulders.

Catherine might have wondered at the change in her, but she had other things to think about.

Adeline was watching her across the table. “Are you all right?”

Catherine had done her best to hide the way she was feeling, but clearly hadn’t done a good job. Adeline had seen something in her face. Something Cassie hadn’t noticed. Perhaps it was because Adeline was more attuned to the signs of emotional trauma. She saw trauma all the time in her work, particularly in the beginning when she’d seen patients face-to-face. She’d told Catherine once that she preferred dealing with people’s issues from a distance and Catherine had understood.

She would have been happy never to look trauma in the face again. Unfortunately, she wasn’t being given that option.

But that was how life worked, wasn’t it? The bad invaded the good. It was like bindweed in the garden, wrapping itself around healthy happy plants, choking them. And no matter how hard you tried to get rid of it, tug it out at the roots and banish it, it always managed to grow back.

She swallowed. “I hope you both had fun today.”

“We did. You look tired.” Adeline didn’t seem about to let the subject drop. “Have you been working?”

“Yes. I’m coming to the end of a book. I almost have a finished draft.” She could have said that she hadn’t even opened her laptop, but then they would have looked for another reason to explain the fact that she looked pale and drained. It was only a brief respite of course, but Catherine grabbed it greedily.

“I’ve been reading Cassie’s book and it’s fantastic.” Adeline drizzled olive oil onto her salad and smiled across the table at her sister. “Still can’t get over just how good it is.”

Cassie was beaming too, delight and pride clinging to her like a suntan.

“I’ve been biting my nails all day. I was so scared you’d hate it.”

“I’m loving it.” There was fresh warm bread in the center of the table and Adeline leaned across and helped herself.

Catherine marveled that things could seem so normal on the surface while being so spectacularly wrong. She could feel Andrew’s tension. His foot moved under the table, tap, tap, tap, something he only did when he was very stressed. He was waiting for her to say something. She was waiting too, although she wasn’t sure exactly what she was waiting for. The right moment? What was that going to look like?

“I spoke to my agent this morning. We’ve accepted the deal.” Cassie looked at her. “And I have a favor to ask.”

Catherine had been waiting for the right moment and she had a feeling she was looking at it now.

She should speak, before Cassie had a chance to say anything else. But she wanted to stay in this moment where everything was still all right. She wanted to treasure those last precious minutes before she destroyed her daughter’s illusions. Who knew what would be in her eyes then? Hurt. Blame. Pain.

“It feels a bit awkward asking,” Cassie had obviously given up waiting for her mother to prompt her. “My agent, and the publisher, wondered if I could use your name. I’d be Cassie Swift. They think it has a nice ring. And you can absolutely say no, of course, but...”

“No.” The word shot from her lips, cutting through the warm atmosphere.

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