He opened his eyes to redness—the flank of a bus in the other lane. That was what love did. Filled in the view so you couldn’t see around it or through it. There’d been a time when he’d thought Eline would walk through fire for him but instead she’d betrayed him when he’d needed her most. He’d wanted them to be perfect. He’d wanted one perfect thing in his life, but she’d ripped it up, thrown it away.
He’d vowed never to let anyone hurt him like that again, but somehow someone had... It wasn’t a big, devastating kind of hurt, more of a little pinprick, but it ached just the same, maybe more for being so unexpected.
In a parallel dimension he must have been nurturing a vague hope that he’d see Mia again. The thought of it gave him a head rush and, as he got out of the cab and paid the driver, it suddenly struck him that in spite of everything that had happened in his life he still believed in love.
Mia felt an arm sliding around her waist, the press of lips against her neck. She caught the distinctive scent of Lotte’s perfume and a second later there came the soft, musical accent whispering into her ear. ‘Guess who might be coming tonight?’
She wriggled free so she could see her friend’s impish face. ‘If it’s someone important, I should have been told...’
Lotte gave a little shrug and widened her eyes. ‘Well, it’s not definite, but...’ She leaned in, whispered, ‘Madelon Mulder!’
Mia nearly dropped her champagne flute. Madelon Mulder had been involved with the Saving Grace women’s refuge in Amsterdam for many years. After winning the best actress gong at the Sunshine Film Festival, for her breakthrough performance in Chris Van Kooten’s lauded movie Going Home, the twenty-nine-year-old was beginning to attract attention from the press, which could only benefit the refuge by association. Mia dipped her chin, keeping her voice low. ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me?’
Lotte tugged her arm, steering her away from the guests mingling in the middle of the function room. ‘Because we only just found out. Madelon’s only in Amsterdam for a few hours so there’s no time for an interview. She’s on her way to Athens to start shooting a new movie, but her agent said she wanted to drop in for a quick photo op to publicise the work of the refuge.’ Lotte hitched the camera strap higher up her shoulder and faked a swoon. ‘I love her. Do you think she might fall in love with me while I’m taking her picture?’
‘Everyone falls in love with you.’
Lotte frowned. ‘Don’t be disingenuous. You know what I meant...’
Mia sighed, slipping her arm around Lotte’s shoulders. ‘I don’t know, Lotte. My grandmother used to say that what’s meant for you won’t pass you by.’
Lotte twisted round, her eyes wide and wounded. ‘You’re telling me I was meant to be assaulted?’
‘No! I didn’t mean...’ She bit her lip. She’d been talking about finding love, but Lotte had twisted it, made it about that night... She shuddered involuntarily, remembering the darkness and the pouring rain, the strangled sob, the sight of Lotte struggling with the big man... That terrible night had brought Lotte and her together, forged a friendship between them that she knew would last for ever, but if their friendship was the silver lining then now wasn’t the time to mention it. Lotte was on the edge of tears. It was a side she didn’t reveal to anyone else, but Mia saw it all too often. To the rest of the world Lotte projected strength and spirit. She liked to shock people with her forthright manner, but Mia knew the truth. She knew how Lotte’s spirit had been broken, how she still looked over her shoulder even in the day time.
She gave Lotte’s arm a squeeze. ‘Of course you weren’t meant to be attacked. That’s not what the saying’s about. It’s about good things, like love... It’s about destiny.’
‘Destiny?’ Lotte turned to face her. ‘I don’t believe in all that “written in the stars” crap, Mia. I never have, and I don’t understand how you can believe in it either after losing your mum and dad...and after Hal ripping Ash off like he did, breaking your heart.’
Mia bit down hard on her lip. Lotte wasn’t trying to upset her, she knew that, but it was hard to hear the layers of her pain being piled up like mattresses in the fairy tale. The Princess and the Pea. Her mum used to read that story to her when she was a little girl, but she couldn’t hear her mum’s voice in her head any more. It had faded away. Hal and everything that went with him would fade away too, in time. One day, even Lotte might stop seeing menace in the shadows. She looked away, staring into the milling crowd with unseeing eyes. For some reason Theo drifted into her thoughts. Green eyes. Warm smile. She drew a breath, braved Lotte’s gaze again. ‘You’re all out of faith. I understand. Most of the time, I’m the same, but sometimes...’ She gave a little shrug. ‘Don’t you just want to believe that there’s a reason for it all? That something good can come out of the bad stuff?’
Lotte stretched out and took her hand. ‘You’re the only good thing, Mia. You get me...put up with me, even when I’m a mess.’ She stepped closer. ‘I wish...’
The wide blue eyes held her, and for a moment Mia wished that she could make Lotte’s dreams come true, but she’d never be able to do that. She smiled softly. ‘You’ll find your lobster, Lotte... One day.’
Lotte huffed a sigh and then her mouth quirked. ‘Well, I’m not going to find her if I don’t start working the room.’ She lifted the camera strap off her shoulder, looping it around her neck. ‘If I hear any more about
