bad news?”
“Not bad news,” I said, though in a way it really, really was. “Most people would see it as good news.”
I watched the cogs fall slowly into place. Her eyes opened wide. “You are kidding. Really?”
I nodded and we started to laugh.
“This is wonderful.” She hugged me tightly. “Congratulations. How many weeks are you?”
“My last period started on May sixteenth, so that makes it seven weeks. A pregnancy is dated from the first day of my last period, right?”
Annie nodded. “That confused the life out of Patrick when I got pregnant.” She laughed. “He was convinced I was wrong and tried to challenge the midwife. She soon set him straight. Have you told your mum yet?”
I tried not to think of how that conversation would go, if Tom was the father. “No, I’m trying not to tell anyone, just for a bit longer.”
“Until the scan?”
I wondered how she’d react if I said, No, until the DNA test results come through to tell me whether the father is my husband or my husband’s girlfriend’s husband. I could only imagine the silence that would follow.
Instead, I said, “Just the usual thing to do, isn’t it?”
“It’s such good news. I won’t say a word. Shall we tell people you’ve got a bug?”
I nodded. “Tell them it’s catching; that way I won’t have to see anyone.”
“How’s Harry? He must be over the moon.”
I smiled. “He just keeps saying he can’t believe it.”
“I won’t say a word to Patrick,” she said. “I’ll let Harry tell him when he’s ready.”
I agreed but as she carried on chatting, so excited by my news, I couldn’t help thinking: If the father was Tom, what would happen? I’d have to tell Harry. There was no way I would keep that from him. But what would he do?
At the thought of his reaction, at his disappointment and sadness at not having this chance to be a father, I wanted to put my head down and cry. He would leave me—I knew that. He wouldn’t be able to watch me bloom with someone else’s child. I couldn’t blame him.
CHAPTER 35
Ruby
When I saw Harry kissing Emma on their doorstep, I knew that it was all over between us. I know it sounds crazy but until that time I’d had daydreams where he’d call me and say he was so sorry. He’d tell me it was all a mistake, that he should never have let me go. In my dreams I’d put up a good resistance, but eventually he’d wear me down and we’d live happily ever after.
But when I thought of the way he leaned toward Emma and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, just as he had with me the first time he kissed me, I knew that wasn’t the sign of a man who was coerced into staying with his wife. My daydreams were just that, an avoidance of real life. I was never going to be with Harry and that was his choice.
I brushed the tears from my face and found some resolve from somewhere. Once the house was sold, I could move away. Far away. That moment couldn’t come soon enough, but right now I had to find a job.
So by eight o’clock I was back in my flat, smartly dressed and ready to respond immediately to any job offers. I sat at the table in my living room, looking through the agencies farther afield, given I seemed to be barred from the local ones. I knew from experience that as jobs came in, they’d update their websites, and I was going to be ready for them. I’d spent Sunday honing my résumé. I still hadn’t heard from the other jobs but knew I had to give them time. It was a numbers game. The more applications I made, the more likely it was I’d get something.
Oliver rang at nine o’clock.
“Ruby, I’ve been thinking. There might be some jobs at my place,” he said. “Shall I put your name forward?”
“That would be great,” I said. “Anything will do at the moment. I’m