The Kristallis Baby. Natalie Rivers

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      Carrie picked up her denim jacket and sporty backpack from an alcove by the front door, then stopped and scanned the room for Lulu. She was desperate to get out of there, but she couldn’t forget about her friend—especially when she had been so upset earlier. She spotted her almost immediately, hurrying down the staircase looking determined, in freshly applied make-up and dressed to kill in a slinky silver cocktail dress.

      ‘I’m really sorry,’ Carrie said, as soon as Lulu reached her. ‘I couldn’t get the phone.’

      ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Lulu said, sounding remarkably calm considering her previous histrionics. She was looking across at Darren, who was talking and joking with a group of men. ‘I’ll get it myself. He can’t have listened to the message yet, or he wouldn’t be looking so happy.’

      Then, without another word for Carrie, she walked across the room towards her husband. Carrie looked after Lulu for a moment, hoping everything would turn out all right, but she couldn’t stay any longer. Apart from her desire to get as far away from Nikos Kristallis as possible, she had to hurry—because she was already late picking up Danny. She turned and left through the front door.

      The blast of cool air on her face felt good, and she took a deep breath as she hurried down the marble steps of the swanky London town house to the street below.

      It was a relief to be out of there, away from the piercing gaze of Nikos Kristallis. She’d felt his eyes burning a hole in her back all the way across the room. She shivered, imagining the predatory intensity in his expression as he’d watched her walking away from him.

      She set off down the street quickly, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked. Her fingers were surprisingly shaky as she buttoned up her denim jacket, and she had to resist the urge to look behind her to see if Nikos Kristallis had also left the party.

      Why was he in London? Had he come to finish off what his father had started at the funeral? Maybe he wanted her to sign legal documents saying she would never pursue a connection with the Kristallis family?

      She shook herself sharply and forced herself to put it all out of her mind for now. She couldn’t be upset when she picked up Danny. It wouldn’t be fair on him.

      It was a long walk to his nursery, but with any luck she’d be able to hail a black cab. She turned the corner onto the main road and, amazingly, the first taxi she tried for pulled over. She gave the driver directions and climbed inside, suddenly uncomfortably aware of his eyes on her exposed legs. No wonder she’d got a cab so easily.

      A few minutes later she paid the driver and jumped out into the crowd of London commuters hurrying along the pavement. She ducked into a doorway and pressed the buzzer.

      ‘It’s Carrie Thomas,’ she said into the metal grille. ‘I’m so sorry I’m late.’

      With a long low buzz the lock released and she was into the building. Up one flight of stairs, and another security door later she was into Danny’s nursery.

      ‘Danny!’ she cried, dashing over and picking the baby up.

      Tears suddenly pricked in her eyes. It felt wonderful to hug him tight. She was sure she couldn’t love him any more than she did, even if he was her own son.

      Nikos Kristallis had wasted his time coming to London. Leonidas had always said he never wanted Danny to have anything to do with his Greek family. He had even made Sophie promise that if anything ever happened to him she’d never let them get their hands on him. Now, after meeting Cosmo and Nik, it was easy for Carrie to understand his reasons. And the least she could do for Sophie was to keep the promise she’d made to her husband before they were killed.

      ‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said, kissing the top of Danny’s head and looking over his tousled brown hair into the face of the nursery assistant who had been sharing a picture book with him.

      ‘That’s all right,’ the girl said. ‘We’ve been having a nice story—haven’t we, Danny?’

      ‘You’ll find the penalty for a late pick-up added to your bill, Miss Thomas.’

      Carrie winced at the sound of the nursery manager’s voice, but she plastered a smile onto her face before she looked round. She could hardly afford the nursery bill as it was.

      ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Plewman,’ she said. ‘I got held up.’

      ‘Hmm.’ Mrs Plewman was unimpressed, making no attempt to hide her disapproval as she took in the short skirt of the sparkly red dress and the high-heeled sandals Carrie was still wearing. It was lucky she’d buttoned her denim jacket up to hide the lowcut front. ‘I’m not running a charity here, Miss Thomas. Make sure it doesn’t happen again. I’ve got my staff to think about, you know, but I’ll waive the penalty payment just this once.’

      ‘Thank you very much, Mrs Plewman. Have a nice evening.’ Carrie swung Danny’s bag onto her back, along with her own backpack, and retrieved his buggy from the cupboard in the hallway. She couldn’t wait to get home, to the safety and comfort of her flat.