Page 41 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

It’s fine, Anna mouthed, and then put her fingers into the sign of a heart and pointed to their daughter.

‘I feel dreadful that you’re here alone,’ Emily said when they were back in her suite.

‘I’m fine. Sebastián’s been great.’

‘Oh, please...’ Emily disparaged as she gingerly got back into bed. ‘Alejandro asked him to take care of you and he’s already belting back to Jerez to work. Did he give you my list?’

‘He did,’ Anna said, ever practical, and handed over what felt like half the contents of thefarmaciashe had been to, as well as the items of clothing Emily had asked for. ‘And I made this...’

Anna passed Emily the tissue paper package and held her breath as she opened it carefully.

‘Oh, Anna!’

‘I’m not sure there’s much call for cashmere blankets during a Spanish summer...’

She laughed, trying to make light of the gift. She had embroidered two otters, one dark and one pale, onto a mocha background, and stitched them onto a backing so both sides would be soft.

‘It’s perfect...’ Emily was tearful again, but in a good way. ‘Remember those otters at the lake?’

‘Willow adores them. I’m sure our girls are going to have lots of fun watching them together.’

‘I hope so.’

‘Iknowso,’ Anna said. ‘Your daughter is beautiful. And, yes, she’s early, but everyone seems very positive.’

‘Yes...’ Emily took a breath and gazed at the blanket. ‘This is gorgeous, Anna.’ She looked lovingly up at her friend and asked, ‘Would it be a lot of work to add her name?’

‘I can take it back home with me and do it.’

‘I mean, while you’re here.’

‘I can’t embroider a name I don’t know,’ Anna said, keeping her voice light while thinking of the mountain of work it would be to get it done in time. Not so much the embroidery, it was more restitching the backing without her trusty sewing machine. As well as that, the boutiques she’d seen here so far didn’t really look as if they would sell the type of silk thread she required.

‘Is it doable, though?’

‘Of course!’ Anna forced a positive tone, but it changed to one of pure delight when Emily confided the baby’s name. ‘That’s beautiful.’

‘It’s top secret.’

In all, it was a lovely visit, and Anna stayed for a couple of hours, watching as glorious pink flowers and balloons were delivered, until Emily headed off for some time with her baby.

‘I’ll be back tomorrow,’ Anna said, and hugged her friend.

‘Well, hopefully I’ll be better company. All I seem to do at the moment is cry.’

‘Please!’ Anna dismissed her concerns. ‘Remember when I had Willow? I was hardly swinging from the rafters.’

‘You didn’t cry at the drop of a hat.’

No, she had just been silent.

She had been hurting for the tiny baby that its father didn’t deign to visit. And so angry that her parents could consider her precious child a mistake.

No streams of pink flowers andIt’s a girl!balloons had arrived for her. And Anna’s only visitor had been Emily.

As she took the lift to the ground floor, Anna tried to work out where she might find sewing supplies in Marbella. She did some searching on her phone, but couldn’t find anything that looked promising. She knew Emily wasn’t thinking clearly, but Anna didn’t really want to be sewing on her holiday...

Stepping out from the cool air-conditioned hospital into the fierce midday sun felt like opening an oven door.

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