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Becca didn’t bother to hide her emotions, and I could tell from one look at my niece’s face that this parting would be particularly hard for her.
I opened my mouth to address her, but she barely nodded in my direction before running past me and wrapping her arms around Nat’s waist.
“Please don’t go,” she said, her words muffled against her jeans. “Gran’s not all bad, I promise. She says she just gets cross, and things come out that she doesn’t mean, but you mustn’t consider it true.”
The three of us looked at each other, wide-eyed with concern at her words, which had shocked us into silence—a first, it must be said, for all three of us.
The silence didn’t last long before Nat knelt in front of Bex, reaching out to set her hands on the little girl’s shoulders. “Becca, if you are playing with your friends, and one of them does something nasty, is it your job to make sure they behave or do you think they should be responsible for themselves?”
Becca tilted her head to the side in thought. “They should be responsible, of course. It’s always your own job to be respectful.”
“Exactly,” Nat said, nodding. “And it’s the same when we grow older. We need to be careful with our words the same way we need to be careful with our actions, and if we hurt people, then we should apologize. If Gran says something that hurts your feelings,” Nat went on, “it’s important for her to say she’s sorry, but you should never apologize for being hurt. Will you promise to remember that?”
She nodded at me solemnly. “I will, but only if you promise we can stay with you on the beach that Uncle Spencer told me about.”
I couldn’t help the snort that escaped me at that, but I managed to turn it into a cough. Thankfully, Bex didn’t notice because she focused on Nat’s lovely, serious face.
Nat didn’t smile, though. Instead, she held out her hand, pinky extended.
“This is a weird handshake,” Bex said after Nat hooked her pinky through her tiny one.
“It’s a pinky promise,” Nat said with a soft laugh. “It’s the most sacred of all promises and cannot be broken. And I pinky promise that, as soon as you are able, you can come to stay with us on the beach.”
“And I pinky promise,” Becca responded, her face falling into the same serious expression that sat on Nat’s face, “that I’ll remember never to say sorry for my own hurt feelings, especially if Gran is the one who hurt them.”
“Excellent,” Nat said, grinning at her. “I couldn’t have put it better myself.” Without another word, she released her hold on Bex’s pinky and reached forward, pulling her into a tight hug.
In the meantime, I turned to my sister. “Are you going to tell me how you knew we would get an early start?”
She tilted her head to the side. “Maurizio’s outside. Becca and I were having breakfast when we heard the car pull up. So, I figured it was you.”
“You figured right,” I said, reaching forward and pulling my little sister into my arms. “So, what was said? I’m sure Heidi has her version of this disaster.”
“But of course,” Sloane rolled her eyes. “And you know I understand it’s the opposite of what transpired.”
“Indeed, I’m sure Heidi was irreparably insulted by Nat at the wedding?” I couldn’t resist laughing with my sister when she nodded to confirm I was correct. “I will ensure that everyone knows the truth about what happened yesterday. However, Nat’s sanity is my priority, and I’m getting her out of here.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. She doesn’t deserve that, nor do you, Spencer,” she said, almost with some authority.
I kept my expression light. “I’m going to miss you, you know?”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “I’m the coolest sister you have.”
I turned to look at Nat, who met my eyes over Becca’s shoulder. She got to her feet, but Bex held onto her hand tightly. She reached for her suitcase and purse but didn’t let go of the child’s hand as she started making her way to the front of the house.
“Will you talk to Stephen and Nadia when they get up?” I asked Sloane as we headed down. “Make sure they know we aren’t running away from them.”
“Don’t worry,” Sloane said, grinning up at me. “They’re busy ensuring that they’re very, very married. They’ll be preoccupied for at least three days, so I’m sure they’ll be good with a text.”
“Still,” I said, turning to look at her, “if they ask—”
“Don’t worry, I’ll say that you had to make sure that you made it back to London for work,” Sloane said dryly. “Trust me, they won’t mind. They will only be coming up for air when they land in Seychelles for their honeymoon.”
“Nothing like imagining my brother having sex,” I said, curling my lip. “And first thing in the morning? My breakfast should settle well.”
“Oh, grow up,” she said. “Like you haven’t been doing the same thing with your wife the entire time you’ve been here? I know if I had a partner as singularly attractive as her, I’d never leave my goddamn room.”
“Wow, I never knew—”
