A small boat puttered up the canal towards her. The helmsman gave her a jaunty wave and she nodded, tried to smile...and failed. She stared at the wake travelling across the water. Hal had broken her heart with his secrets and she couldn’t go through it again. If only Theo would talk to her, really talk to her, but he switched gears whenever things got personal and she was running out of time. Just that morning she’d been walking on air because he’d said he was missing her and there’d been that inkling of recognition...
She was falling in love with him, but she was scared because he was holding something away from her; something important. Maybe meeting Eline would help in some way...even if it was just allowing her to get a measure of what kind of person Eline was.
She bit her lip. Lotte had been so thrilled to gift her this job—always trying to pay back for the night of the assault—so there was no way she could turn it down. Besides, refusing to take it would make Lotte look bad with Eline, and there was no way she could do that to her friend.
A girl cycled past and threw her a cheery smile. She turned away, tears thickening in her throat. She didn’t deserve a stranger’s smile. Keeping this secret from Theo went against everything she believed in. It made her a hypocrite, but what could she do? She was trapped.
The airport lounge was busy. Theo parked his holdall between his feet, leaned his shoulder against the plate-glass window and gazed across the runway. The tinted glass robbed the blue sky of its vibrancy, but it couldn’t dull his excitement. That night he’d be seeing Mia, and he had a surprise for her!
He took out his phone and read Madelon’s message again.
Confirming for tonight—seven p.m.!
He hadn’t expected to see his sister until the following week, but her shoot in Athens had wrapped ahead of schedule. She was back in Amsterdam. They’d had a long talk on the phone that morning. He’d told her about Mia.
‘Can I meet her?’ Madelon had asked, and then he’d had an idea—a thing he could do for Mia that would show her how much he was thinking of her. He’d asked Madelon if she’d let Mia do an interview. An exclusive with Madelon Mulder was bound to give Mia’s career a boost. The style of Mia’s writing would lend itself well to the measured, in-depth kind of profile that Madelon’s work and interests merited. She’d be in safe hands with Mia.
Madelon had agreed readily, but she’d been bemused. ‘You’re in love with this girl, aren’t you?’
For a second his mouth had gone dry. Madelon knew him better than anyone and without even seeing his face she’d twigged something that he hadn’t quite twigged for himself. He’d been glad of his hectic schedule. Wall-to-wall meetings filled with absorbing discussions about complex issues had kept his thoughts about Mia on the back burner but now, watching planes slowly trundling over the tarmac, the truth of Madelon’s observation broke over him like a warm wave. He was in love with Mia. He’d fallen for her in the lobby of that London hotel. He’d stepped out of the lift, noticed her instantly... Her profile; her upswept hair; her neat, straight nose; milky skin contrasting with the dark stand-up collar of her jacket... When she’d turned, caught him staring, he’d almost lost his balance.
In the short time he’d known her, she’d brought him joy, the kind of joy he hadn’t expected to feel again. If only he could be the kind of lover she deserved. He wasn’t that man yet, but he aspired to be, would work hard to prove himself until the day came when he’d be able to share his whole story with her. Until then, he’d find a million ways to show her what she meant to him.
A female voice over the loud speaker announced that the plane was boarding. He called up Mia’s number, quickly tapped out a text:
Can pick you up tonight if you want. Let me know. Can’t wait to see you! Theo x
Madelon leaned against the stove. ‘If I’d known you were making your famous nasi goreng I’d have accepted your invitation for dinner!’
He speared a shallot with the point of his knife and held it up. ‘It’s not too late. I can make extra...’
She shook her head. ‘It’s tempting, but I can’t. I’m going to see Mama.’ Her face lit up. ‘I said I’d stay over so we can have a marathon catch-up. I’m going to take her breakfast in bed in the morning—spoil her a bit.’
‘She’ll like that.’ He started slicing shallots. His mother was going to be over the moon to have Maddie to herself for a few hours. Maddie was her baby, the one whose memories of all the bad stuff were the vaguest; the one whose anecdotes, about the movie world, were the most diverting. He peeled another shallot. ‘I took her to Concertgebow the week before last.’
‘She told me. She said it was wonderful.’
He threw her a knowing smile. ‘You know how she loves Mozart.’
After the concert, he’d driven her home. He’d always wanted to buy her something grander than the little house she’d chosen in the city suburbs, but she’d insisted that it was that house she wanted. She’d said it had a nice vibe, that it made her feel safe. Safety was still paramount to his mother, even after all this time. As usual they’d talked about Bram, shared their worries and their hopes...
‘Here...let me help.’ Madelon was nudging him along the table, pushing up her sleeves. ‘I feel useless just watching.’ She picked up a knife, started stripping papery skin
