‘That’s she’s The Nanny. Just the nanny. Like it’s a spell, or something. As though reducing her to just her job will somehow diminish her. You’re not trying to lessen her impact on you, are you?’ She gave a contented smile, pleased to have circled her argument. ‘You forget I know you too well, little brother. You never could keep any secrets from me.’
He was too tired to argue, the pain draining him. ‘I know what you’re doing, you know.’
‘Do you? What am I doing, then?’
‘You’re trying to divert me from Hanna, but I’m afraid you’re too late. We’re back together.’
Nina stared at him, for once lost for words. ‘. . . Does Hanna know?’ she asked eventually.
‘What do you –?’ he blustered. ‘Of course she knows! I’m not delusional!’
‘Well, you are concussed.’
‘I haven’t imagined this. She was very definitely in my bed a few nights ago.’
‘I see.’ She took a slow sip of her drink, watching him, assessing for the micro-movements that would supposedly tell her whether he was lying.
‘It can’t be that surprising, surely?’ he asked, offended by her evident disbelief. ‘She is my wife and the mother of my child.’
‘Mmm, but someone else’s too, though. That’s the bugger.’
He looked away, the words like razors, drawing blood.
‘Does Max know?’
‘He’s no fool. He must suspect. Hanna and I weren’t exactly discreet at the weekend. We went to the hotel for dinner; plenty of people saw us there together.’ An image of Bell at the sea club – all languid curves and drunken laughs, hanging off Mats – flashed through his mind and he physically shook his head, casting her out.
Nina frowned as she watched him. ‘But she hasn’t had the decency to tell him yet?’
‘It’s a difficult thing to do, Nina. She’s waiting for the right moment.’
‘Or she’s keeping her options open.’
He shot her a sharp look, refusing to go down this path. Nina loved to argue the way most women liked to shop. ‘She knows we can’t maintain this charade forever. It’s time the truth was out.’
There was a small pause as Nina absorbed the information. ‘Oh, so that’s why you’ve got them all coming here. This is your birthday present to yourself,’ she murmured, sipping her drink again.
‘I –’ He felt another spasm ricochet through his skull and he winced, emitting an involuntary gasp. ‘I’m fine,’ he whispered as soon as he could speak, knowing she would be looking at him with fright again. It was a minute before he had recovered enough to look back at her. ‘I’m fine.’
She watched him, knowing he was lying, knowing he wouldn’t let her help. She looked away, back into the ice cubes of her drink. ‘So how do you feel about seeing Max again?’ she asked, picking up the interrogation like it was a glove she had dropped.
‘I haven’t thought about it.’
‘That seems rather disingenuous. You two were like brothers when you were little. I used to feel quite jealous.’
‘I’m not interested in Max. Hanna and Linus are my only concerns. We can come to some arrangement, I’m sure.’ Bitterness inflected the words, his patience worn thin by the pain. He needed to lie down before they got here.
‘Pay him off, you mean?’ Nina gave one of her staccato laughs. ‘Ha! The apple really didn’t fall from the tree, did it? Daddy would be so proud.’
His head jerked up at her barbs. ‘Well, how do you think I feel, Nina? He was the closest thing I ever had to a true friend, and I woke up to find he’s got with my wife and taken my family as his own! I thought he was different; I thought he didn’t care about who we were and what we had; but he’s just like all the rest, trying to get a slice of the pie. He might not be able to get the penthouse or the boat, but my wife? My sad, frightened wife, told by the doctors she’s a half-widow? He wasted no time moving in, did he?’ His eyes glowed like night flares. ‘So don’t ask me how I feel about seeing him, or tell me he’s my brother. I owe him nothing. He took the best things in my life and made them his own. And now, when I take them back, it’ll be his life that’s destroyed. What’s coming, he knew would someday come. He’s always known it.’
Bell kept her eyes on the jetty, feeling her pulse quicken as they drew ever