Page 132 of The Grand Duel

Take a late lunch with me.

Who’s she taking a late lunch with?

“Sure,” I eventually say, looking up at Scott in the mirror. He shrugs, clueless. “Can I give you a lift?”

“I have a lift.”

I look out the window, the feeling in my gut foreign and not one I like. “Well, if you need a lift home,” I tell her, the office coming into view beyond the glass.

I hear her laptop snap closed and her seat belt unbuckling. “I won’t.” I turn to look at her, finding her waiting for me with a twisted smile on her face. “But if I do.”

Is this because I rejected her?

I nod once and then climb out of the car, waiting for her to pass me before shutting the door and following her to the main doors of Charles Aldridge.

She barely makes it to her office before Luna has cleared the gate and is on her.

I attend my afternoon meeting and then make the drive out to Lowerwick Estate to check in on Scarlet. The house is a beautiful property on the outskirts of London, just under an hour away from my home.

I drive down the lane and park next to Nina’s car.

The dogs pant and climb over one another in the back of the car, desperate to be freed so that they can explore.

I step from the car and let them out, watching as they disappear on a sprint for the fields.

When I walk into the house, I pause, appreciating the quiet but also hating it. Mostly because it’s a house that’s earned its noise.

For a long time after leaving for university, Mason refused to visit, leaving Scarlet to look after her dad alone until his death, and yet the second his sister needed him, when Lance went away and she gave birth to Ave, Mason came home. And with him he brought a family.

With the most lived-in rooms all empty, I make my way up the stairs and to Ave’s room. When I walk in, I find her asleep. I lighten my steps and walk to where she lies, leaning down on the side of the cot as I watch her sleep.

She’s the split of Scarlet, but I know that under those lashes she has her dad’s green eyes.

I can’t help but ache for my friend when I look at his daughter who, not for our lack of trying, he has no idea exists.

I stare at her, knowing there’s nothing more I can do but still feeling sole responsibility for this tiny, beautiful little girl to know her dad.

“I should have known it was you.”

I turn to find Nina leant in the doorway. When I put my finger to my lips, she smiles and walks to where I’m standing, hugging my side. “Did you have a good time away?”

“It was okay,” I say, glad she can’t see my face. “You on auntie duties today? Where’s Mase?”

“Yep. Mase had a late meeting with a new client and an early start tomorrow, so he’s staying in the city tonight.”

“You’re not staying with him?” She normally would.

She looks up at me, giving me a sad smile. “She had a rough day today,” Nina says, referring to Scarlet. “She didn’t say much, but I think she may have lost a patient.”

“Where is she?”

She looks towards the garden beyond the window where Scarlet and Mason’s parents are both buried. “If she’s not out there, she’ll be at the lake.”

I nod and look back towards Ave. “I’m very jealous, you know.”

“I know.”

I smile and knock her shoulder with mine. “Ellis okay?”