Fi couldn’t move.
She couldn’t even take a breath.
A heartbeat longer and this could have been excruciatingly embarrassing, but she was saved by a small human shape that appeared with a huge smile on his face.
‘TatieFi…’
It was five-year-old Theo, Julien’s son and Ellie’s stepson, and he was closely followed by the rest of her family. Bonnie was in her mother’s arms, dressed in a pale pink sleepsuit dotted with red hearts.
‘She’s socute.’ The urge to reach out and touch one of Bonnie’s tiny hands was irresistible. Her hand was actually starting to move towards her niece as Ellie smiled proudly.
‘Would you like a cuddle?’
Fi’s hand stilled. The urge now was to make it into a fist. Instead, she held it up in a universal ‘Stop’ signal. She was smiling, too, but shaking her head at the same time.
‘No,’ she said, in mock horror. ‘I don’t do babies. I’ll cuddle a foal any day of the week but human babies are too scary.’
Ellie laughed. ‘You’ll get used to them.’
Lili was also being carried by her mother and she had a fairy dress on – a mossy green froth of tulle that was embroidered with bright flowers and had butterfly wings attached to the back. Both baby girls had soft headbands on that looked like daisy chains. Jeannie looked like the proudest grandmother on earth as she kissed Fi and beamed at Lili.
‘Isn’t our Lili a wee poppet? She’s the dead spit of Laura at that age. I should have brought photos.’
Any lingering awkwardness at Fi’s reluctance to hold Bonnie went unnoticed as more greetings were exchanged.
‘You lookgorgeous,’ Ellie told her.
‘It’s the same dress I wore for Christmas. The only dress I own, in fact. I bought it for your wedding.’
Ellie’s wedding to Julien that Fi had found an excuse not to attend in the end because, despite loving that her sister had found such a happy ending to a heartbreaking time in her life, it had been too daunting to be a part of the celebration.
Thank goodness the black tiered dress, tights and ballet flats had been amongst the clothes she had hastily stuffed into her holdall before she escaped her room above the stables. Fi was also grateful that she’d always worn her favourite necklace – a silver horseshoe on a long chain. It was the only accessory she possessed now but it was all she needed with what was a remarkably flattering dress.
She knew she looked as good as it was possible for hertolook.
And that gave her an odd frisson of something that felt like relief. Because, although she didn’t shift her gaze from her sisters and their babies, she knew thathewas still looking in her direction.
Even the thought of looking back was sending enough colour into her cheeks to feel noticeably warm. How ridiculous was that? Fi knew perfectly well how invisible she was to men in general and to attractive men in particular. With a firm shove, she sent her thoughts in a different direction, reaching into the pink gift bag.
‘This is for you, Lili,’ she said, lifting out the soft toy. ‘Happy birthday, sweetheart.’
Lili’s face lit up and she reached for the toy.
Theo gazed up, his eyes wide with admiration. ‘C’est un âne!’ he exclaimed.
‘A donkey,’ Ellie nodded.
But Theo was too excited for an English lesson. ‘Tout comme Marguerite et Coquelicot.Papa,’ he called to his father, ‘regarde!’
Julien was coming towards them.
So was Noah. And the beautiful stranger.
‘There’s a book for you too,’ Fi told her niece.
But Lili wasn’t listening. She was watching her father coming towards her. Her face lit up in a huge smile and she held both arms out towards Noah, dropping the toy donkey. ‘Pa-pa,’ she crowed.
Theo swooped to pick up the toy and Noah took Lili from Laura’s arms, but he was smiling warmly at Fi. ‘We’re so glad you could come,’ he said. ‘It’s good to see you again, Fiona.’
