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Margaret guffawed with amusement, and soon Olivia and Kitty were also crying tears of emotional release — but also laughter. Olivia threw her arms around Margaret and Bella and Isobel and they huddled close.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you.’

‘Well,’ said Margaret, ‘as I said earlier, we’re not daft and, well, I’ve been around long enough to know heartache when I see it. I knew in Italy that you were a wee soul and that something nasty had happened to you, and that a bloke was most probably responsible. Call it my pensioner’s intuition.’

‘Aye,’ said Isobel drily. ‘You should see what she did to my ex . . .’

‘Well, I can’t thank you enough. I love you and will always think of you as my Glasgow girls . . .’

‘Aw, I’ll totally take that as a compliment. I mean, I’m sure that’s a musical or a play or something, is it not?TheGlasgow Girls? But listen, you would have been fine, love. It looks like you’ve got some good friends here as well.’ Margaret pointed to Kitty.

‘Sorry, Kitty, I didn’t mean to exclude you ,’ said Olivia apologetically.

‘I know you didn’t, I’m just glad they were here. You’re not women to mess with,’ said Kitty, chuckling. ‘That was a masterclass in how to deal with an eejit. I feel like I’ve learned a lot.’

‘Well, we are experienced in it, isn’t that right, Isobel? You’ve had your fair share of eejits these past few years.’

‘Thanks, Mum,’ she said, in mock indignation.

‘Can you believe we saw that bampot on the ferry on the way over?’ said Margaret, who was now on a roll. ‘He tried to skip the queue when we were getting our cups of tea, remember? I told him to get to the back and he started gibbering on about how he’d just flown in from New York and was exhausted. I was like,Did ye, aye? Doesn’t mean you’re coming between me and my cup of tea.I think we were supposed to be impressed by him or something.’

Tears of laughter and relief were now streaming down Olivia’s face. She would never be able to tell these women, these friends, just what they had done for her. It had been transformational. ‘You are my Scottish girls,’ she said, pulling them all into a group hug. ‘You too, Kitty. Come on, you’re part of this.’

‘And by the way,’ said Margaret, ‘I pure take it back what I said about there being no talent over here. Are those two young men single?’

‘James and Logan?’ asked Olivia.

‘Aye, the ones escorting that tosser to the ferry.’

‘I’m afraid they’re taken,’ she said.

‘Well, isn’t that just typical?’

‘Aw, Granny. Honestly, will you behave?’ said Bella. ‘If it’s a new man you’re after, you’re in the wrong place. You need to get yourself to Corfu.’

‘I might just do that, darling. You watch this space,’ said Margaret.

‘Aw, Mum, you’re off your head and still a pure embarrassment.’ Isobel shook her head, then grinned. ‘But we still love you.’

Olivia was quiet, feeling completely overwhelmed with the surrealness of what had just happened.

‘Are you okay?’ asked Kitty.

‘I think so . . . I mean, I will be, once I’ve got over the shock,’ she said slowly. Then she looked at her watch. ‘Oh shoot, I’d better go and see the kids. I should have been there ages ago. I can’t let them down. Will I see you all in a bit?’ she asked Margaret, Isobel and Bella. ‘Sorry, I need to dash off.’

‘Don’t you worry, love. We managed to get booked into an Airbnb. We’re here for the weekend. You’re not getting rid of us that fast,’ said Isobel. ‘And we’ll be there cheering the wee ones on.’

Olivia grinned. ‘Brilliant. Make sure we can hear you.’ She turned to walk away, then ran back to Kitty and gave her a hug. ‘Thank you, Kitty, for everything. But most of all for believing in me and reminding me who I am.’

Chapter Forty-Five

Logan and James waited until they’d watched Patrick walk onto the ferry. Then they stood until it disembarked before they headed back to the games. James had a quiet word with his friend, one of the ferry staff, to keep an eye on Patrick and make sure he got off at the other end and didn’t try and pull any tricks.

‘What an utter bellend,’ said James as they walked back.

‘Part of me thinks that we should have got on the boat with him and quietly pushed him overboard,’ Logan muttered. ‘There’s a special place in hell for blokes like that.’

‘At least we were able to make ourselves useful for a change,’ said James.