Page 19 of The Summer Swap

She couldn’t hear what Amelie was saying but judging from her body language and the way her face turned puce as she shouted, it wasn’t anything polite. Heads turned as people tried to locate the source of the commotion.

Cecilia stood still, transfixed by the drama unfolding below.

Two security staff stepped forward and Cecilia saw Todd give a quick shake of his head and gesture to them to stand back. He wiped his face with his other hand and tried to take Amelie’s arm, but she shook him off and said something in reply that made his shoulders tense.

Cecilia’s heart ached for him. She had no idea what had happened between them, but she refused to believe that Todd was to blame. Even if he was, she would still be on his side. She adored him. Whatever he’d done or hadn’t done, she was in his corner.

She scanned the crowd again, wondering if Kristen was aware of what was happening. Cecilia knew how important this event was to her daughter. The last thing she needed was more family drama.

At first there was no sign of Kristen, and then she spotted a swirl of blue and saw her daughter in the rose garden talking to a man who had his back to Cecilia. From Cecilia’s vantage point it didn’t look like a casual conversation. Like most artists she was observant, and there was something not quite right about what she was observing now.

Cecilia squinted to get a better look. Who was it? Not Theo, obviously. He wasn’t coming, and, anyway, Theo was taller than this man, who seemed to be eye level with Kristen. Theo had wide shoulders and slightly messy hair because he could rarely find the time to get it cut. This man had close-cropped hair and was standing really close to Kristen.

As she watched, she saw Kristen reach out and touch the man’s arm in a gesture that could only be described as intimate. He was clearly someone she felt comfortable touching.

Celia found herself repositioning the pieces of the puzzle that had been forming in her head. Kristen’s newly highlighted hair. Kristen’s slim figure and new dress.

And she felt a ripple of alarm because she knew what this was.

She recognized the signs. If Kristen and the unknown man currently standing in her garden weren’t sleeping together yet, they would be soon. And then what? What did it mean?

Cecilia felt shaky.

Kristen, having an affair? Why? Was she unhappy in her marriage? Had Cecilia missed something? Had Theo cheated on her, and this was about revenge? Or was this a delayed reaction to Cameron’s death?

She had a thousand questions and no answers.

Sickness swirled in her stomach because this was a trigger for her. Even after all these years, it was a trigger.

Cecilia took another look out of the window and from her vantage point high up in the house she saw something else. She saw Theo’s car pulling into the long, tree-lined driveway and heading toward the house. No. That wasn’t possible, was it? Theo was at the hospital saving lives. Theo wasn’t coming to the party.

But as he parked and stepped out of the car there was no mistaking him.

And unless Kristen ended her assignation in the next two minutes, Theo was about to find his wife in the rose garden with another man.

First drama with Todd, and now drama with Kristen. Should she stay? She hadn’t thought her absence would make much difference, but now she was wondering.

Should she message her daughter?

She was about to reach for her phone when she saw Kristen appear alone from the rose garden and head toward the area where champagne was being served in long-stemmed glasses.

There was no sign of either Todd or Amelie, who must have disappeared while Cecilia was watching Kristen.

And now that Kristen had moved, Cecilia could finally see the identity of the man she’d been talking to.

She gasped and stepped back so suddenly she knocked her calves against a chair.

No. It couldn’t be.

But it was. She recognized him instantly. And she had no need to ask herself what he was doing here.

Jeff Singer.

And now she knew exactly who had been asking those questions about The Girl on the Shore.

Oh, he was clever. So clever. Cameron had known that and hadn’t trusted him. And he’d been right not to do so. If Cameron were still alive, this man wouldn’t have been allowed to set foot in the place. She hated him, and Cameron had hated him, too.

But Cameron was no longer alive, and the presence of this man wouldn’t raise a single question. He was an art editor, known for his often brutal opinions and blunt commentary. He was famous in the art world, having worked at an auction house and then as an art dealer before following in his father’s footsteps and finding his way into journalism. It was logical that he would be on the invitation list. His presence here wouldn’t be a surprise to any of the other guests, but it was a surprise to Cecilia (the fact that he dared set foot on her property made her blood boil), although it shouldn’t have been because she was acquainted with his ruthless ways and underhand tactics.

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