Page 77 of The Wedding Pact

Margot throws up her hands. ‘No worries. I get it. It’s too much to ask, especially when you haven’t been seeing each other that long. I’m sure Darian will think of something. Or maybe not. Maybe there’ll always be this distance between them and he’ll just have to live with it.’

The sadness in her eyes makes me reach over and rub her arm in sympathy. It’s clear how much she loves her husband and just wants him to be happy.

‘I’d hope Raffa would come around eventually,’ I say. ‘Once he’s got some brain space to take a step back and see what a great and supportive family he has.’

Margot’s brilliant smile is back now. ‘Hey. Maybe you’ll be joining it yourself one day,’ she says with warmth in her voice. ‘I’d adore having you as a sister-in-law.’

It’s my turn to be sad now. I’d love to be a part of this family, but there’s no way that’s happening. Not with my relationship with Raffa in the state it’s in. ‘Yeah, maybe,’ I say without conviction, hoping to draw that line of conversation to a close.

Margot obviously intuits this because she pauses for a second, then opens her arms and pulls me into a quick hug, then says, ‘Well, it’s been amazing to meet you. And to spend some quality time with you. Thank you for coming and being such a wonderful guest. It’s meant so much to me and Darian. But we’ll see you again when you and Raffa come to visit us all up north. You’ll both be very welcome,’ she says with hopeful determination in her voice.

She really means it too – the being welcome bit. We’re really wanted there.

Both of us.

Gloom washes over me as I realise I’m probably never going to see her, or any of these lovely people, again once we leave here. Not when they live so far away from me – but also because they’re Raffa’s family.

I don’t suppose he’s going to invite me as his fake date to any more of his family’s events and I can’t exactly just turn up to them on my own. Especially if he’s going to be there as well.

Not that he probably will go to any of them.

Frustration surges through me when I think about this.

How can he be so cold towards these amazingly warm people?

And how sad that he’s going to miss out on spending more quality time with them.

I would kill to be part of a family like this.

I say goodbye to Margot, leaving her to go back to her friends, and make my way back to the villa. I’ve just stepped inside when Raffa comes striding into the living area with a perplexed frown on his face.

‘Everything okay?’ I ask, walking further into the room to meet him.

His sigh is loud and drawn out, like he’s offloading angst. ‘No. It’s really not.’

‘Oh. Shit. Sorry to hear that. Anything I can help with?’ My heart is racing a mile a minute as I wait with wild hope in my heart that he’s about to tell me that’s he’s been thinking about making some changes to his life so he can accommodate a relationship with me.

‘Not unless you’re a mind reader with the ability to alter someone’s way of thinking,’ he says.

I blink at him, confused. ‘What do you mean?’

He rubs his hand over his eyes, looking more tired than I’ve seen him all week. ‘The deal I’ve been working on for the last six months is starting to wobble. I think someone else is getting in their ear and whispering a bigger number.’

‘Those damn numbers,’ I say faintly, my chest tight with disappointment. So it’s a work thing. Our thing isn’t even on his mind.

‘I know it,’ he says vaguely, staring down at his mobile.

‘Can you stop it from happening?’

‘I’m pretty sure I can if I get on a plane and fly back to London.’

‘What? Today? You can’t even spend one last day here celebrating with your family?’ I say without thinking.

He looks at me like I’m mad. ‘I’m sure they’ll understand. They probably won’t even notice I’m not here. This week was about Darian and Margot, not me. I’m just a bystander.’

My frustration grows. ‘You’re not. You’re family.’

‘Only kinda.’