Page 25 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

Willow gave a squeal of delight. ‘Can Nanny and Grandpa come?’

‘Just us.’ Anna smiled. ‘We’ll have our own little holiday and see the baby.’

A delighted Willow skipped off to find some hair ties to put in her little toiletry bag and Anna added the bikini and sarong to her case. It had looked so pretty in the shop, but in natural light the colour was more violet than red...an ugly kind of pink...

Anna laughed to herself, remembering Sebastián’s opinion of Mariana’s dress at the wedding. He was still a constant in her thoughts. She was nervous about the possibility of seeing Sebastián when she was in Spain, but tried to console herself that he would probably be out on his yacht and their paths would not cross at all.

It didn’t feel like a consolation, though.

‘What are these?’ Willow asked, standing at the bedroom door holding a slim, shiny foil package of pills.

‘Willow,’ Anna said calmly, ‘you know better than to touch someone else’s medicine.’

‘Medicine?’ Willow frowned. ‘Are you ill?’

Possibly in the head, Anna thought. Because there was no way she could justify, even to herself, her recent trip to the doctor to get the contraceptive Pill.

You hate him, she’d reminded herself.

And she hated herself every morning when she took a tiny tablet.

And yet she wanted him still.

He fascinated and confused her, and he angered her too, but most of all she couldn’t get that flash out of her mind—the look that had darted across his face when he’d heard her say ‘I love you, my darling’ to what he’d thought was another man.

On the morning both Willow and Anna were to depart, she dropped her daughter off at the vicarage.

Anna wore the same long skirt and flat sandals she had the last time she’d flown to Spain, but with a high-necked sleeveless top and the silver earrings that Emily had bought for her birthday.

‘That’s a bit dressed up for flying,’ her mother commented, when she saw the sleeveless top and jewellery.

Anna didn’t respond, just told her that Willow already had her travel sickness band on, ready for the car.

‘Mummy’s got travel sickness tablets too,’ Willow declared.

‘You’ve never been travel sick,’ her father said, frowning.

‘Just when I fly.’ Anna hid her blush by dropping to her knees to hug her daughter goodbye. ‘Have fun,’ she said as she held her. ‘And be good for Nanny and Grandpa.’

‘Do I have to be goodallthe time?’ Willow pouted.

Even Jean laughed.

Willow was a light in all their lives, and Anna kissed and hugged her fiercely.

Her father, who had always been gentler than her mother, announced her imminent departure. ‘Your taxi’s here,’ he said as he hoisted Willow onto his hip and gave Anna a kiss. ‘Don’t let me mix up your suitcases!’ he teased as he picked up one to take it out to the car. ‘Give our love to Emily and her husband.’

‘I will.’

Her mother’s farewell was less effusive, even though she gave her a small kiss on the cheek, she offered a parting shot as she walked down the path. ‘Make good choices, Anna.’

Anna felt her back stiffen. She wanted to turn around and say something—to point out that she was twenty-six and not a teenager going off to a school disco. Instead, she took a deep breath and decided, as she always did for the sake of peace, to just let it go.

She’d made only one terrible choice that they knew of, Anna thought as she waved goodbye to them all, but especially to Willow, whom she knew would wave until she was out of sight.

And just look at the gorgeous consequence.

The other terrible choice...

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