That wasn’t thinking his name. That was running a mental checklist to make sure she hadn’t left anyone off her list. She’d sent Raffa the type of card she would send to a close friend—a friend close enough not to need an update on her status, because he already knew enough about her life, and yet distant enough to suggest she was back in harness in her old life, and quite happily getting on with it.
Except for the yawning great crater in her chest where her heart used to be.
She wasn’t going to think like that...
Was the house always this quiet?
She looked at her phone and then remembered she’d turned it off. Her sisters were driving her mad by email, saying it was too close to the birth of the baby and she should turn her phone on. But she didn’t want to speak to anyone—unless that someone was Raffa. And as he wasn’t about to call...
* * *
Glancing out of the window at the fat flakes of snow tumbling down, she smiled wistfully at the thought of Raffa becoming a local hero. He’d certainly helped to put Skavanga on the map again. The Skavanga Diamond brand was already famous across the world, and the people of Skavanga loved him for it.
The town had been failing for so long, with Britt battling tirelessly to keep everything afloat, and then the consortium came along, and now it was like Christmas every day. They’d all worked hard to make Skavanga a success. There was a café at the museum now, as well as a playground for the children, and film installations showing diamonds in production from rocks to sparkling gems...
Ho hum...
The fire crackled, the snow pattered lightly against the window. Now what should she do?
Oh, come on! She’d eaten supper. It was almost bedtime. Wasn’t this the time she looked forward to the most? Not just for sleep and oblivion, and a chance to dream, but to get out her small hoard of baby stuff...to touch it, to fold it, to hold it to her face...
She could spend some time thinking about the twins before she went to bed. What could be better than that?
The twins Raffa didn’t know about yet.
Hugging her enormous belly, Leila bit her lip anxiously. Why couldn’t anyone tell her where Raffa was? He had to be the most elusive man on the planet. Should she leave him to enjoy the festivities in peace? Or should she keep trying those numbers Britt had told her to try? She didn’t want to bother her sisters again so close to Christmas. She looked at her phone. Small. Silent. Off. Described it to a tee.
But there was nothing to stop her trying those numbers one more time. If Raffa was busy at least he’d know she’d been trying to get hold of him. Picking the phone up, she stared at it for a few tense seconds, and then, closing her eyes, she held down the button to turn it on—
And jumped when it rang immediately.
‘Leila? Is that you?’
Raffa!
‘Where the hell have you been, Leila?’
‘Ha...aa...’
‘Is that any type of answer?’
Paralysed with surprise, she could hardly speak. Hearing Raffa’s voice had shocked her rigid. Hugging the phone so close to her face it must have left an imprint in her skin, she drank in the sound of his voice. He could have said anything— He could have ordered pizza and she would still have tears running down her face. Just to hear him... Just to know he was safe.