Page 80 of A Secret Escape

“I meant it when I said this has been the best day ever.” She turned to look at him. “If I had just one wish—” She broke off, embarrassed when she saw his quizzical look. “Ignore me. It’s a game Milly and I used to play when we were kids.”

“And if you had one wish?”

She stared across the landscape. “That I could do this every day. That this was my life.” The moment she said it she felt foolish. There was no way he’d understand. He’d think she was crazy.

He took so long to respond she thought that maybe he wasn’t going to, that he really didn’t have a clue what to say to her, but then he gave a shrug and passed her the last of the chocolate.

“It could be real life, Wend. All you have to do is stop messing around with that pathetic career of yours and get yourself a proper job as a look-alike. You’d be sorted.”

He scrunched up the wrapper and stowed it safely back in the backpack, and she laughed and ate the chocolate and realized that even when you took into account the high points of the last few years—the awards, the accolades, even the beginning of her relationship with Justin when she’d thought she was in love—this was still the best day she’d had in a long time.

She couldn’t wait to get home and tell Milly all about it.

She smiled on the journey back and was still smiling when he dropped her back at the boathouse.

“Thank you for a perfect day.” On impulse she leaned across to kiss his cheek.

“You’re welcome, Wendy. Anytime you want to climb into the back of my van, just call me.”

She was going to do that. And that in itself felt like progress. A new step in her life.

She all but danced her way up the path and opened the door. “Hey, Milly, where are you? You will never believe what happened. I never thought I could laugh about it, but—” She broke off as a man emerged from the kitchen.

Richard.

Her stomach dropped.

Oh no. No, no,no!

All the happiness, the joy, the optimism she’d felt only moments earlier drained out of her.

Shock flickered across his face as he recognized her. “You! You’re here.”

Milly emerged from behind him. “Yes, and you need to make sure you don’t say anything to anyone, Richard. Thanks for dropping Zoe home. Have a good journey back.”

Richard didn’t budge.

“This certainly answers some of the questions I’ve been asking myself.”

Milly sighed. “What questions?”

Nicole was shaking.

She wanted him to leave. She wanted him to stop talking. “You’ve changed over the past few weeks, Milly, and I was wondering what had happened. What was different. And now I know.” He didn’t shift his attention from Nicole. “You’re the reason she’s started being difficult and confrontational.”

Milly’s eyebrows rose. “Richard—”

“And I don’t need to ask what you’re doing here. You’re hiding out, keeping a low profile because you’ve been playing your games again.Ruining other people’s relationships instead of trying to find one of your own. How many marriages are you going to destroy before you find yourself a new hobby?”

“Richard!” Milly was aghast. “What iswrongwith you?”

“Wrong withme?” Finally, he turned his head to look at her. He stared at Milly for a long moment and then gave a short laugh. “You don’t know, do you? She hasn’t told you.”

Nicole’s heart was pounding so hard she thought her chest might explode.

They’d been friends once, she and Richard. He’d sneaked her into the hospital when Milly had just given birth to Zoe. He’d once challenged a photographer who had stuck a camera in her face during a private dinner. And yet somehow they’d reached this point.

She wanted to turn back the clock. She wanted to have another chance. She wanted to make different decisions, different choices, anything that might have prevented her from finding herself where she was now.

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