pointed to the comfortable couch that sat in one corner, in front of the wall-mounted television.
I’d spent many an hour slouched there as a kid, watching TV or playing on a handheld console while my mother chatted with Diana. Even when I’d moaned at being dragged over, I’d enjoyed it. Diana’s home was picture-perfect except for this one corner she’d created for Mia and Beau—here, things were a little shabby, a little imperfect.
I sank down into the sofa with a sigh, while Diana went around to start the coffee. First, however, she put a full tray of fudge in front of me. “I just made this.” A huge smile.
“You know the way to my heart.”
Laughing, she left me to my addiction.
“Thank you,” I said, after a piece of the rich concoction, “for the big bag you sent over.”
“Oh, Aarav, you never have to thank me.” A soft smile. “You’ll always be Nina’s boy to me, and I’m happy I can give you joy in this small way.” Spooning the ground coffee into the coffee press, she said, “Have you had lunch? It’s after twelve.”
“No, but I had a late breakfast.”
A courier came to the front door just after the water finished boiling, and she went to grab the package. Her expression was drawn when she walked back in, her features tight. “Diana?”
Normally soft lips pressed together, she put the package on the counter. “It’s from Sarah. For Mia’s birthday next week.” She didn’t say anything else until she’d brought over the coffee tray and a plate of cake. “Sarah still emails regularly with the kids, and sends them gifts, but she won’t reply to a single message I send.”
“It’s been a long time.” I didn’t know the origin of the estrangement between the sisters, but I knew it had happened while I was a young teenager. Sarah had been living with Diana and Calvin for a number of years by then.
“I thought she’d forgive me after a while, but . . .” Picking up the press, she poured me a black coffee, and I leaned forward to add the sugar myself. “From when she was a child, she could hold a grudge like no one else. I still wish her happy birthday and merry Christmas every year, and every year, she ignores me.”
“I’m sorry.” According to my memories of her, Sarah had been much younger than Diana, more child than sister.
“Thank you, honey. One thing I’m happy about is that she seems settled into a really nice life. Mia keeps me updated and she says Sarah has a senior job in insurance. She’s thinking of getting married to her long-term boyfriend, and lives in a nice town in the South Island. She’s living the kind of life I always wanted for her.”
She took a sip of her coffee. “I used to worry about the kids trying to bring us together and being knocked back—Mia and Beau can be terribly sweet when they’re not being teenagers—but thankfully, she’s become like a distant relative to them after all this time. They love her, but they don’t really know her.”
Shaking her head, she said, “Enough of that. Have a slice of this lemon-coconut cake—I’m trying a new recipe for a contract with a local boutique restaurant.”
“You’re expanding the business?” She’d always been adamant about being a one-woman show.
“With the kids becoming more independent, I have a bit of time on my hands.” She pushed across a slice of cake. “Anastasia thinks I should relax and go to salons and do some shopping, but can you imagine me living that life?” A good-natured laugh, her beautifully dark blue eyes sparkling. “Have a bite. Tell me what you think.”
“It’s amazing,” I said after all but inhaling half the slice.
“You need feeding up, Aarav. What’ve you been doing to yourself?” With that, she put another slice on my plate.
“Hard living and whiskey. Oh, and a packet of your fudge a week.”
She scowled at me, but her lips were twitching. “You always were charming. That’s what Nina used to call you when you were a toddler. ‘My little charmer.’” Her expression softened, grew sad. “I can’t believe she was there all this time. So close to us and so alone.”
Cake suddenly lead in my stomach, I gulped several mouthfuls of the coffee. “Did you see anything that night? The night she disappeared?”
Cupping both hands around her mug, Diana looked inward. “I’ve been thinking about that since you told us the police had found Nina—Calvin and I talked