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‘Miss Langston, we think your mother could use some support to see her through this second stage. Are you able to be with her?’
The lifeline wasn’t one she wished for but she grasped it all the same. ‘Yes. I can be there this afternoon.’
‘Excellent. We look forward to seeing you.’
She emerged from her suite after a quick shower and hastily donned jumpsuit and sandals to find Ramon pacing the living room.
As she’d predicted, seeing him in the sunlight, knowing what he’d been doing with Svetlana in the stairwell last night, was almost too much to bear. Every instinct screamed at her to launch into him, but she needed her energy for her mother. ‘The doctors think I should be there for my mother. I want to go.’
Brooding eyes watched her for a second before he nodded. ‘We’ll head to the airport after breakfast—’
‘No, I prefer to go alone. I don’t want to overwhelm her with company.’
He frowned. ‘Suki—’
‘The doctors checked me out yesterday. Everything’s fine. You’re beginning to smother me and frankly I could do with some room to breathe.’
His jaw gritted and his eyes darkened. ‘Bueno. I have a project to finish in Havana for the next few days. You can have that time.’
‘Thank you,’ she said stiffly.
Breakfast was a silent affair with Ramon eyeing her darkly in between tossing back steaming cups of espresso. The moment she forced down her toast, she stood from the table.
The porter had already headed down with her single suitcase. Behind her, Ramon prowled hard on her fast-clicking heels.
His hand stayed the door before she could open it. When she refused to look at him, he caught her chin in his hand, raised her gaze to his.
Her breath caught at the dark storms swirling in his eyes. Again she wanted to ask the burning questions that trembled through her. But her mother needed her.
‘I’ll arrive at the end of the week, Suki. So get as much breathing done as possible because come Friday morning, we will talk.’
Her hand tightened on her handbag, the alien weight of the ring cutting into her finger. ‘I’m sure we will. Goodbye, Ramon.’
He didn’t respond, only stared at her for a fistful of seconds before he let her go.
Her body operated on automatic while her mind churned for most of the journey. By the time Ramon’s plane landed at London City Airport, she’d worked herself back to her original conclusion. She needed to talk to Ramon, give him a chance to explain. But she was also sure of one thing. Regardless of what he said, there would be no future for them without love.
Svetlana might have thrown a spanner in the works short term but, unless she could find a way to live without Ramon’s love, she might be the one to call time on this thing.
* * *
The private hospital where her mother was receiving the next phase of treatment in East London was so state-of-the-art, it was almost futuristic.
Her mother was looking much healthier than Suki had seen her in a long time, but minutes after she arrived Moira Langston dissolved into tears.
‘Mum, what’s wrong?’ she asked after handing her mother a box of tissues.
‘It’s crazy, isn’t it? It’s only now, when the possibility of getting better and having my life back is in front of me, that I can’t help thinking about the past. Don’t get me wrong, this infection I’ve picked up that could derail the treatment is also responsible for my sorry state, but...’ Moira shook her head, silent tears filling her eyes.
Suki reached for her hand. ‘Everything will be okay, Mum.’
She eyed Suki. ‘Will it? Why have you been crying?’
Suki gave a watery laugh. ‘Solidarity?’ she tried.
‘Has it got something to do with that rock you shoved in your bag before you walked in here? Or the pregnancy glow in your cheeks?’
Suki grimaced. ‘I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I just—’
