She bowed her head, the memory and the pain and the guilt rushing through her.It was my fault, Ariston . It was entirely my fault she died.'She’d never said those words aloud—never even admitted her guilt to herself. And saying it now made her feel both empty and unbearably full at the same time. She bowed her head and tried to will back the tears.Oh, Lucette .’ Ariston ’s arms came around her and he pulled her towards him, her cheek against his chest. I’m so, so sorry.’He didn’t speak for a moment, and she simply rested there, listening to the steady thud of his heart, letting the grief subside.It wasn’t your fault, you know. You were twelve. You never should have had to bear that kind of responsibility.’I wasn’t a child. And it was my fault. If I’d gone to the hospital earlier, they could have given her antibiotics. brought her fever down. Maybe she’d have been taken away, but she’d still be alive.’ She spoke flatly, dully, knowing it was the truth and that nothing Ariston co

"It’s not Christmas yet," Lucette protested, even as she felt a tremulous thrill of excitement.‘It’s after midnight.’ Ariston sat cross-legged on the thick rug in front of the fire and patted the space next to him. We’ll open it together, so we can see at the same time.Lucette said, and a little bit awkwardly, because of her growing bump, sat next to him on the rug.Wordlessly, they opened the envelope, their fingers brushing as they withdrew the single slip of paper and read the single sentence in English the technician had written there.It’s a...boy!‘A boy...’ Lucette repeated, wonderingly.She felt jolted, almost unsettled. She’d been excited to find out the sex of their baby, but now that she knew, it made things more real and less real at the same time.She put both hands on her bump. ‘A son. We’re going to have a son.’ She glanced at Ariston , who looked as gobsmacked as she felt. "Are you happy?"I’m...overjoyed.’ He put one hand over hers, on top of her bump. "What abo

Ariston sat on the sofa across from Lucette , barely listening to everyone’s chatter. The stilted conversation he’d had with Antonios out on the steps replayed in his mind.It had been strange and unsettling to see his brother again, standing there in front of their childhood home, remembering the death of both of their parents, a decade of hostility and suspicion between them... Ariston had felt himself tense, his hands balling into instinctive fists. He’d seen from the set of Antonios’s jaw and his narrowed eyes that he felt the same.They could clear the air, they could forgive the past, they could say they were moving on, but the reality was that memories still clung. They still held power. And if he couldn’t move past things with Antonios, how could he with Lucette ?He wanted to tell her he loved her, wanted to trust that what they had was real and lasting. But the memory of her last rejection still had the power to hurt. To make him stay silent. They’d had just over a month t

At the end of January, Ariston came into the house, where she’d been browsing through a catalogue of baby toys, and asked if she’d come to the office with him.The office? Why?’I need your opinion on something.Surprised and a bit bemused, she walked with him across the estate to the long, low-lying building that overlooked the olive groves."What do you think of these?" he asked, and gestured to a box of olive-based bath supplies.Frowning a little, Lucette examined the items, noting the pleasingly thick glass bottles and the nutty smell of the olives."They feel expensive," she offered. Although they smell a bit more like cooking oil than something you’d want to put in your bath.’He nodded. I was afraid of that. I want to develop a new range of bath products to supply the Adair chain of hotels, but I don’t think these are up to scratch.’Lucette answered with a smile: "A little olive oil goes a long way, I suppose.""I could use your expertise here," Ariston said. If you’re wi

She spent a long time getting ready that evening. First she had a long soak in the tub, and then she did her nails, hair, and make-up before donning a new maternity dress of soft black jersey.It had a daring V-neck that made the most of her pregnancy-enhanced assets and draped lovingly over her bump before swirling about her knees. She’d put her hair up for the simple pleasure of being able to take it down again in Ariston ’s presence later that night, and had slipped her feet into her favourite pair of black suede stiletto heels.And now she waited—because Ariston still wasn’t home.He’d been due back at seven to collect Lucette for their date, but as the minutes ticked by, Lucette ’s unease grew. She figured he'd be gone the one night she'd decided to tell Ariston how she felt.It almost seemed like a sign, a portent of things to come. Or rather, not to come.At seven forty-five, she texted Ariston . At eight, she took off her heels and her earrings—both had been starting to hurt