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‘Not yet. He didn’t answer his phone. But he should be back from golf very soon. Would you like me to drive home and bring him back here?’

She looks relieved. ‘If you wouldn’t mind. It doesn’t feel right him not being here.’

I leave her lying with her eyes closed and walk as quickly as I can to the car park.

Chapter Ten

Dad’s car is in the drive when I pull up. I run into the house and find him sitting at the kitchen table.

He sees my face. ‘Annie? What's wrong?’

My legs give way, and I grab the back of a chair to steady myself.

‘Annie?’ he says again. ‘Sit down, love, and tell me all about it.’

I clear my throat. ‘I’m sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. Mum’s going to be fine, but she had an accident this afternoon. She fell down the stairs, and she's broken her leg. It's quite a complicated break, and she's having surgery this evening.’

He reaches for his coat. ‘Where are my car keys?’

I follow him to the door. ‘Are you ok to drive?’

He looks at my pale face. ‘I’m probably in a better state than you. Did you call an ambulance?’

‘Mum wouldn't hear of it,’ I say. ‘We managed to get her into the car, and I drove her there.’

‘And I was at the golf club.’ He closes his eyes. ‘The one time she needed me, and I wasn't there.’

‘But I was,’ I say. ‘You can't live your life expecting something awful to happen. But she wants to see you.’

He wipes his eyes. ‘Of course, she does. I'm never playing another game of golf!’

I give a shaky laugh. ‘She won't like that. She says it's the only thing that gets you out from under her feet.’

We find Mum lying in bed with her eyes closed.

‘Don’t worry. She’s had her pre-op meds,’ whispers the nurse. ‘She’s doing fine.’

I look at Dad, who’s staring down at Mum with such an expression of tenderness in his face that it makes me catch my breath. I’ve always thought of my parents as gently fond of each other, having been married long enough to have grown accustomed to each other’s ways and learned to accommodate themselves to all the little rubs and irritations of everyday life. But seeing his face as he looks down at Mum, I realise it’s far more than that. He really loves her, just as she is. I blink back the tears. I hope I find thatsort of love one day. Maybe I already have.

This thought brings me back to reality. Alex! I’m supposed to be meeting him tonight at the party. I should let him know what’s going on.

I pull out my phone, and Dad comes out of his reverie. ‘I don't think you're supposed to use those in here.’

‘I'll go outside. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Will you be ok?’

‘Of course,’ he says. ‘You should take some time to yourself. You look a little battered.’

‘I'm fine. It was all a bit of a shock.’

He squeezes my hand. ‘You did marvellously. I'm so grateful you were there.’

I leave him sitting next to Mum, holding her hand.

I step outside into the cold dusk. It isn't even five o’clock, and it’s already dark. I shiver in the cold night air. When I open my phone, I see a text from Alex. The sight of his name on the screen makes me smile, as it has all week. I’d better get used to it. I’m not going to see him for the next three months, so texting is all we have.

I try not to wonder whether he’ll visit me in Paris. Of course, he won't. He has his new job. From the sound of it, his firm is keeping him pretty busy. And we’ve only been together a week. It would be ridiculous to expect him to drop everything and fly to a different country to see a girl he's only known for a few days.

But I can’t help secretly imagining us walking hand in hand along the Seine on Valentine's Day and having dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower while he tells me how much he's missed me.

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