Page 127 of Worth Every Risk

“Sure.” Lucie bounces on her toes and I ruffle her hair. Glancing up at the nanny, I add, “Will you walk her over?”

“Of course, Mr Hawkston.”

“Great. We’ll see you later.”

Charlie and I make our way to the courts in the large private square garden opposite the house. It’s early evening, but still bright enough that the light won’t mask the ball in that strange way summer evenings do, as if there’s a gauzy film over the world. We have about forty-five minutes until that point, but before then we’ll be able to play.

Charlie’s as good a tennis player as I am, if not better. A skilled racket-sportsman. Highly coached, I supposed you’d say. A beautiful, graceful serve. Powerful forehand. He’s been a good player since he was eight years old.

He stops halfway to the grass courts, beneath a magnolia tree, its waxy green leaves arcing over his head. “I don’t want to play.”

I keep walking, looking over my shoulder at him. “We don’t have long before the light changes. Lucie’s coming to watch.”

Charlie’s lips fold inward, turning downward at the edges like a melancholy rainbow. “Have you heard from Aries?”

The question yanks against me, as though Charlie has hooked his finger in the back of my shirt to keep me in place. I stop walking and turn to face him. “No.”

“Have you contacted her?”

“No.”

“You didn’t tell her?”

A prescient tingle runs down my spine. “About what?”

“The strawberries. The party.” Charlie kicks the heel of his shoe into the ground.

“No.” I thought about it, but I didn’t want to drag her back into my family drama, not when she’d managed to extricate herself from me and all my baggage.

Charlie absorbs my answer for a few moments, fidgeting with the grip on his tennis racket. “I knew what they were doing before you threw them out.”

“You did?”

“Yes. I saw Hugo fishing a strawberry out of a glass of champagne in the boot room. Ben was there too. They were both at it, eating the strawberries as they talked about it. What they were planning.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. I left. They didn’t see me. He came back a while later and gave me a glass of champagne. I wouldn’t have drunk it.” My heart thuds and Charlie looks right at me. “But you took it off me. Even after the cake, and everyone saying what a fucking delirious prick you were, you still took it off me.” We stare at one another, the breeze rustling the leaves over our heads. “You stillthought she was right.” For a second, I don’t follow, and Charlie adds, “Aries.”

I think of the moment I’d seen Hugo hand Charlie that glass of champagne, and how I’d known something was wrong, even before I spat that strawberry seed out in the sink. “Yes. I believed her.”

Charlie inhales, long and slow. “Shewasright. Not about the cake, but about the twins. She thought they’d try and mess the party up, and they did.”

I think back to that night. “When I asked you where they were, you said you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t want you to make another scene. I thought you’d kill them.”

“I wanted to. I'd want to kill anyone who hurt you. I love you. You kids are more important to me than anything.”

Charlie looks at the ground, unblinking, but when he looks up and meets my eye, there’s an imploring look on his face. “I don’t want to live with Mum again. Not with Mark and Hugo and Ben.”

“God, of course not. I already spoke to your mum. I told her everything. There’s no way you’ll ever have to be with them again. I told her I’d call the police if they came anywhere near you. You can stay with your mum at her house if you want to, but not if she’s with Mark and the boys.”

“She still wants to be with Mark?” Charlie asks, his voice near breaking.

“She does,” I confirm, and the sadness that wells up in me is a mirror of Charlie’s.We’ve let him down so many times...

Charlie nods. He’s quiet, but then he looks at me, his expression serious. “Did you love her?”

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