‘Come on, Kate. What do you want to tell me? Get it over with.’
Her shoulders seemed to relax for a few seconds, and she made eye contact before speaking again. ‘Anton has asked me to marry him, and I have said yes. We’re choosing the ring next week, and I would like to tell Freya on her birthday as a sort of a surprise present. But I wanted you to be the first to know.’
Married!
It was as though someone had tipped an ice bucket of chilled water over his head.
He had always known that this was possible. They were both single now, and she was a lovely woman who enjoyed her social circle in London. But dating a French banker was a lot different from becoming engaged to one.
He was happy for her—happy that she had found someone who loved her and she could love in return—but he had not expected to have to face the reality of that possibility so soon.
It was as though the thin line which still connected them as friends who had become lovers, then friends again, suddenly seemed to stretch thinner and thinner, until it was almost at breaking point.
They had worked hard and talked through the night so many times to keep their friendship alive for the sake of their daughter. Suddenly it felt as though he was losing control.
And there was not one thing that he could do to change it.
She was looking at him now, her upper teeth taking the edge from her perfect lipstick. Expecting some response. He had to say something. Anything.
The air between them positively crackled with tension.
Flicking back his hair, Max dropped his head and laughed out loud.
‘Married? No! Wow—that’s wonderful. Congratulations, Kate. I am happy for you. Anton is a very lucky man. Can I be your manly maid of honour?’
Until that moment he had not even noticed that Kate had been holding her breath, but her gentle giggle told him everything that he needed to know. She had been nervous about telling him. Nervous that she might upset him. Knowing that it would upset him—which was so crazy that it made his head spin. Their marriage had broken up because of his obsession—his failure, his neglect. She deserved a chance at happiness.
‘No. You cannot be my maid of honour, but thank you for your understanding, Max. This is an awkward situation, isn’t it? It’s only been three years since we split up, and here I am getting married again.’
Instantly he stretched out his hand and gave her fingers a quick squeeze, before drawing back and replying with a smile. ‘It’s okay, Kate. Really. I’m genuinely happy for you. The last few years have been tough on you, and I haven’t been around much to help. You deserve to be happy. Anton seems like a steady bloke, and he would be an idiot not to be crazy about you. Good luck to you both.’
He raised his water glass in a toast, just for something to do with his hands, while his head caught up with the implications.
‘So when is the wedding? Are you planning a spectacular event or something small and cosy?’
‘A huge extravaganza, of course! Anton’s family have offered us the use of their château in Provence, and are paying for everything as their wedding gift. You should see the house, Max—it is totally stunning and the perfect setting for a wedding. It’s really going to be magical.’
‘A château?’ He coughed and spluttered. ‘Well, that will be quite a change from your first wedding. That old hall was freezing.’
‘I know!’ She laughed, then ran a hand through her hair nervously. ‘As for the timing …? That is my next piece of news. I know I’m about to suggest something which will probably upset you, because—well, we are planning to have the wedding next spring, and I would like Freya to spend the whole summer with us at the château in France this year.’
Max put down his glass and took a breath, counted to five before answering. ‘I thought we agreed at Christmas that Freya would spend all of the summer holidays with me at the cottage, since you refuse to let me take her to the island? That way you can have some personal time with Anton.’
‘Yes, we did. But that’s all changed now, Max. Anton’s family only meet once a year at the château, to spend the summer together, and I know they can’t wait to meet her.’
Kate was beaming across at him with such delight that the warmth in her voice went some way to melting the ice that had started to form around his heart.
‘You need not worry about her being on her own at the château. Anton has lots of young nieces and nephews for her to play with, and she will be totally spoiled. This is the first chance she will have to meet all of Anton’s family. Her new family. She’ll love it,’ Kate said.
Max sighed out loud and fought to keep a caustic mixture of anger, loss and disappointment out of his voice. ‘Well, that ties it. How could she possibly choose between a French château, being spoilt rotten with a whole new family, and roughing it in my nana’s ramshackle old cottage in the middle of nowhere, with only her old dad to entertain her? The fact that I have been planning this holiday since Christmas doesn’t really feature, does it? Even if it means that I won’t have any time with her before she goes back to school in September.’
Kate looked sympathetic but determined. ‘I know this is hard on you, but having Freya with us this summer will make her feel part of the plans for the wedding. Part of the changes in our life, I suppose.’
Max tapped his fingertips on the table before giving in with good grace. ‘I don’t like this, Kate, but I suppose it isn’t about what I want any longer, but what is best for Freya. And then what happens? Are you planning to stay in the London house after you marry?’
She nodded. ‘Anton has a great job here in the City. There’s plenty of room, and Freya wouldn’t be moving away from her school and her friends. I think that this is going to work, Max. I really do.’
Max rearranged the cutlery on the table as he formed his next question, his eyes focused on the perfect alignment of the knife and fork set. ‘I trust your judgement, Katie—I always have. I know that you wouldn’t make Anton part of Freya’s life unless you were sure that he was going to be a positive influence. But what about me? Where do I fit in?’
A lump formed in his throat as he asked the question he most dreaded hearing the answer to.
‘How soon do you think it will be before my daughter starts calling Anton Dad?’
Kate grasped his fingers, forcing him to lift his head, then lowered her face and looked up into his eyes.
‘Anton knows that you are part of our lives. He is very fond of Freya—yes, she will be sharing her home with him, and seeing him every day, but she knows who her father is. I’ll make sure that she never gets confused about that.’
He nodded, not trusting his own voice at that moment. ‘Thanks, but I think that we should both be there when you tell Freya about the wedding. Help her to understand that I am not going to walk out on her, or pass her over to Anton like some unwanted gift. I am still her dad and I will always love her. That doesn’t go away.’
He’d tried to keep the pain out of his voice, but Kate looked at him in concern. ‘She knows that. We raised a very clever little girl. This is about what is best for our daughter. But shall we talk about that later? Let’s enjoy our meal. I hear that they have a wonderful new chocolate chef …’
The stunning aroma of bubbling grilled cheese and meaty pasta sauce saved his day as the waiter presented their food, blocking his view of the woman who had paid the price for his obsession with a cocoa farm.
The woman who was about to present their daughter with a new live-in stepfather.
She smiled at him across the table. ‘Now. Tell me all about this conference on organic cocoa that you are whizzing off to at the end of the week. Cornwall, isn’t it? It sounds so