“Now for the happy ending to all of this. Ryan and I are dating! Jess, the minute I arrived I felt there was a spark between us. You didn’t warn me he was so super cute! Anyway, it turned out that he feels the same way (lucky me) and we’ve just gotten back from an incredible overnight stay at a luxury hotel.
“I’m obviously taking it slow and not letting myself fall for him too much, too soon, but I have to admit I’ve fallen for him quite a lot. He is so generous, so caring, and such a genuine person. Who would have thought that I would find someone so special in this small seaside village where I was just hoping to get on my feet and earn a bit of extra cash!
“Anyway, I wanted you to know first.
“Write soon, I can’t wait to hear your news!
“Love, Cassie.”
She checked the message quickly and then pressed Send. She was sure Jess would be thrilled to hear about her good fortune, although Cassie reminded herself that she must be careful about what she shared, as her life had become so magical that some people might be jealous.
As Cassie started her next email, she heard the front door open.
“Hey,” she called, getting up from off the bed. “That didn’t take long.”
She hurried down the corridor.
Cassie stopped in her tracks as she saw that a stranger had just walked in.
A tall, slender, well-dressed woman with shiny brown hair was wheeling a suitcase inside.
When she heard Cassie she spun around and stared at her, frowning.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Wait a minute,” Cassie said, feeling completely unsettled and on the back foot. “I should be asking you that. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
She wondered if Ryan had locked the door when he left. There was a guesthouse a block away and she wondered if that was where this rather rude mystery woman had meant to go.
“Oh, I’m very sure about that.”
Folding her arms, the woman looked Cassie up and down in a way that made her feel awkward. It seemed as if this woman was entitled to be here. At any rate, she believed she was. Cassie wondered if Ryan might have a lawyer’s appointment, or some other business arrangement. She’d have to phone him and tell him that the person he was meeting had arrived here.
“So, what are you doing here? Are you a cleaner?” the woman asked.
Intimidated by her stare, and not wanting to offend her if she was Ryan’s friend or business associate, Cassie capitulated.
“I’m not a cleaner. My name is Cassandra Vale, and I’m staying here and helping with the children.”
The woman frowned.
“Ryan never told me he was hiring anyone.”
A dark suspicion was starting to form in Cassie’s mind.
“I’m sorry, could I ask for your name?”
“Trish Ellis,” the woman told her, sounding impatient. “I’m Ryan’s wife.”
As Cassie stared at her, frozen in shock, the woman brushed past her and headed toward the master bedroom, her suitcase wheels whirring over the wooden floorboards.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cassie stared after her, aghast at the bombshell the woman had dropped.
This was Ryan’s ex-wife. Did Ryan know she was going to be here? Why had she just walked in and not called first? And why on earth was she disapproving about him hiring staff? It wasn’t as if she was around to look after the kids.
Then another horrific thought struck Cassie.
Trish had headed straight for the master bedroom, and in the craziness of the previous morning, Cassie couldn’t remember if she’d made the bed after sleeping there the other night. After the power had gone out, she probably hadn’t even thought of it. If Trish had come to pack up the rest of her clothes, she would notice that both sides of the bed had been slept in, and that the covers were rumpled.
Cassie didn’t want to have to explain that she had been sleeping there. It could get awkward or even acrimonious and it might put Ryan in a difficult situation.
She tiptoed along the hallway, treading as quietly as possible over the shiny wooden boards. From inside the master bedroom, she heard the bathroom door close. Quickly, Cassie opened the bedroom and peered inside to check.
To her relief, the bed had been made. Very neatly; Ryan must have done it yesterday.
Then a realization hit Cassie and she felt physically jolted as she saw it.
She and Ryan had slept under pale blue bedding. She remembered it vividly. Now, there was a cream duvet and beige pillowcases on the bed. Ryan hadn’t just made up the bed, he’d changed the sheets completely. Why? There was no reason to have done that, unless he’d known Trish would be arriving, and if so why hadn’t he told her?
With another shock, she realized Trish had put her suitcase on the ottoman and opened it. It wasn’t empty, as Cassie had expected. It was full of clothes. Packed full of shirts and folded blouses and a toiletry bag and a few pairs of shoes in clear plastic holders.
From inside the bathroom she heard the toilet flush and she turned hastily away from the door and hurried back to her own room, not wanting to be caught peeking.
She collapsed on her bed, her head spinning from confusion. What was happening? She felt as if someone had taken her familiar world and yanked it sideways so that nothing was as it seemed.
Then another thought hit her, this one the most shocking yet.
When she was introducing herself, Trish hadn’t said she was Ryan’s ex, or that they were separated.
She had said she was Ryan’s wife.
Cassie’s head shot up as she heard the heels click past her bedroom. Trish must be on her way to the kitchen. Much as Cassie didn’t want to have
