CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SIX
‘S IT .’ S HE POINTED to one of the chairs ringed round a small square table, the surface of which was scuffed with the markings of pens over the years. He dwarfed the room and oozed the sort of expensive sophistication that emphasised the shabbiness of his surroundings: bare green walls in need of repainting, a couple of posters with inspirational quotes from well-known books and a weathered low-shelving system that was stuffed with various educational books and leaflets.
Alice looked at him and felt that familiar lurch in her stomach, a purely visceral awareness of him as a man, as someone who had made love to her, a guy who appealed on the most basic level—whatever her head had to say about it.
‘You had no right to come here.’
‘I had every right to come here. You detonated a bomb in my life. This isn’t the place to have this sort of conversation. Have you had lunch? I can take you somewhere a little less...confined...and we can at least relax and discuss this situation in a bit of comfort.’
‘I thought you’d already made yourself perfectly clear on where you stood with this situation .’
‘I apologise. I...may have overreacted but it wasn’t something I was expecting. Alice, let’s get out of here. Someone is going to barge in at any minute, and neither of us is going to be able to give what has to be discussed the attention it deserves if we’re listening out for someone pushing that door open.’
‘I haven’t finished for the day.’
‘Then finish.’
‘Don’t think you can come here and tell me what to do!’
Mateo didn’t answer. He stood up and began heading towards the door.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To the staff room. I have a good idea where it is. The teacher who showed me to your classroom helpfully gave me a little tour of the school. I may have mentioned that I was interested in making a financial contribution.’
‘You can’t go to the staff room!’
‘I can when you consider that I’m going to explain the situation to your fellow colleagues. I’m sure they’ll understand why we may want a little privacy to discuss this development.’
He looked at her and she returned his calm, level gaze with biting frustration.
‘You’re... impossible !’
‘That’s what I call a massive overstatement, all things considered,’ Mateo returned coolly. ‘So, what are you going to do?’
‘Wait for me by the front doors.’ Alice gritted her teeth. ‘I’ll join you in ten minutes.’
She rushed to the staff room, said something about a personal situation arising out of the blue and made it to the front doors of the school before her time was up.
Mateo was staring through the glass doors and she stopped abruptly and took a few seconds to look at him. Her heart was beating like a sledgehammer. He’d hunted her down and she could feel some of the heavy weight of uncertainty lift from her shoulders.
Whatever the state of their affairs, it could only be a good thing for him to acknowledge his child. Good for him, but mostly good for this baby they had accidentally created. As a teacher, Alice had seen many times the effect on children of broken homes, absent parents and just mothers or fathers unwilling or unable to provide the security their offspring needed.
She had seen it all. It was one thing if a parent had died, or even if a couple had loved and tried but lost the battle and divorced. It was another thing completely if one parent had just decided to walk away from their own flesh and blood and not look back. That was the sort of thing that always came out eventually and could cause lasting damage.
He might have reacted forcefully and negatively to what she had sprung on him, but Mateo wasn’t running away, and she felt as though some of her faith in him had been restored. She grudgingly conceded that, if he had gone into instant denial mode at what she had thrown at him, then it was only to be expected. He was a guy who controlled every aspect of his life. Of course he wasn’t going to embrace the least controlled event ever to have happened to him with open arms and a warm, trusting smile.
She powered herself towards him as he turned to look at her.
‘I’ve ordered a cab to take us somewhere a little more private.’
‘I know this is a shock, Mateo, but I couldn’t think of any other way to do it.’
‘You realise I’ll be taking nothing on trust. I’ll want you to have a full medical examination so that I have all the facts at my disposal.’
‘What sort of facts? Are you still going with the theory that I showed up at your office pretending to be having your baby?’
They walked to the black cab waiting by the kerb and she slid into the back seat, making space for him next to her. Every nerve in her body was stretched taut with anxiety and tension...and a dark, feverish excitement she couldn’t shake.
‘I’m not going with that theory,’ Mateo said seriously. He angled his body against the car door so that he could look at her levelly.
‘Ah, I see. You think that I’ve been sleeping with someone else and now I’m trying to palm their child off as yours so that I can... I don’t know...force you into parting with your precious cash for a baby that isn’t yours?’
‘These things happen,’ Mateo muttered, but as their eyes tangled he could see the senselessness of that misplaced caution. She wouldn’t do that. He might be primed to distrust, but to distrust her would be downright offensive...
He was going to be a father!
There was no point harking back to those dark days when impending fatherhood had forced him down a path he wouldn’t have taken, and when gut-wrenching disappointment at Bianca’s miscarriage had cut so deeply. This was the here and now and positioning himself on the opposite side of the fence to her was not a good way to start.
He unconsciously glanced at her stomach, wondering what it would feel like to see it expanding with his child. He refused to succumb to the thrill of anticipation. He remembered what that had felt like, the vulnerability that had come with it and the anguish when things had collapsed. He had withdrawn behind his barriers then, but he’d always known that he’d taken it a damn sight harder than Bianca had.
‘I don’t understand how this happened,’ he said in low, calm voice. ‘Precautions were taken. I’m a very careful man.’
‘Not all the time ,’ Alice reminded him uncomfortably. ‘Once or twice things got a little out of hand... One morning, very early, we were both half-asleep... You reached out and...’
‘I remember.’ He flushed darkly. He’d never felt passion like he had for those few days when he’d been marooned with her in his lodge...and, yes, once or twice contraception had been an afterthought.
‘Or maybe it was just a genuine accident...a tear in a condom. It happens.’
‘Look, we’ll be at my club in a few minutes. Let’s park the details until we get there. How...how have you been?’
‘Wonderful.’
‘And your parents? Were they worried when you told them about your little adventure?’
‘I thought it best not to mention anything although, now that I’m having a baby, I suppose I’ll have to confess to what happened.’
‘You haven’t told them yet?’
‘It was only right, as the father of this baby, that you were the first to know and I only found out about the pregnancy myself a couple of days ago.’
‘It must have been a shock.’ He could only admire her calmness. She had done what she thought was the right thing to do and hadn’t showed up at his office with accusations, blame or demands for money. ‘All right, look, there will be no tests to determine paternity. Of course I believe you. It was the shock talking. What we have to do now is decide what the way forward is going to be.’ He glanced past her. ‘We’re here. We can talk about this once we’re inside. This is as private as it gets.’
The cab had slowed in front of a door in a wall. Alice frowned, confused, because this wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
‘Your club?’
‘Probably the most private place in London and numbers are strictly limited. This is where the world is run.’
‘You’re kidding.’
‘Only slightly.’
She fell back as he pulled out an old-fashioned metal key and let them in, standing back so that she could precede him. Inside, the corridor was dark, cool and silent, a space of flagstone tiles and panelling that ran halfway up. The lighting was subdued and, when she began to wonder where the heck they were, they turned left into an open space guarded by a weathered guy behind a desk who nodded at Mateo without moving.
‘Sir.’
‘Fornby. Doing well?’
‘As well as can be expected, given the times we live in.’
‘All a man can ask for.’
They’d left the madness of London behind and somehow entered a different place in a different era. This, Alice thought, trying hard not to gape, was what extreme wealth bought: perfect privacy. Somewhere where a person could be a direct descendent of Zeus and no one would glance in their direction.
It was tough not looking around at the clusters of deep sofas and tables discreetly set apart. Some were occupied. A glance at one of the occupants relaxing with a newspaper revealed a personality who had been in the news for the past fortnight, a man in charge of fractious talks with certain nations in the Middle East. Two showbiz personalities were talking and eating food, and there was a small group of two women and a man, all besuited, poring over a bank of documents with a bottle of wine on the table between them.
No one looked at Alice and Mateo as they settled into two deep chairs with a circular table in front of them. A man appeared from nowhere with a bottle of sparkling mineral water. Mateo ordered a carafe of ‘red wine’: obviously the kind of red he liked had long been noted, presumably with no deviation unless told otherwise.
She murmured something about the water being fine. ‘Wow,’ she whispered. ‘I never knew places like this existed.’
‘Most people don’t. London is full of exclusive clubs but this one thrives on being very much under the radar.’
‘It’s definitely more private than the room at the school.’ It was quiet and dark, with rich, old furnishings and the sort of carpets that looked as though they belonged in the age of the Tudors. The men serving food and drinks had a palpable air of expertise and discretion.
They sat back as a tray of canapés was brought for them. Frankly, Alice would have liked to carry on surreptitiously staring around her, but reluctantly she returned to Mateo, who was now looking at her with a certain amount of amusement.
But it didn’t last long. ‘I think we should both be as professional as possible in the way we approach this situation,’ he opined.
Alice focused. Of course, this was exactly the right way to deal with the situation. They’d had a fling but, beyond that, it wasn’t as though he had feelings for her. It wouldn’t do to forget that, when she had suggested carrying on with what they had to see where it would lead, he had firmly closed the conversation down and sent her on her way.
If they handled this in a professional way, then they could remain friends, which was what would be necessary as time went on. They would have a bond that would never go away, whatever their changes in fortune.
And yet her heart constricted at all the consequences that lay down that road. She’d have to watch as other women came and went in his life, knowing when that someone he had talked about came along—that woman with whom he would want to share his life, who wouldn’t be under any illusions that he was going to fall in love with her—Alice would wave goodbye to their daughter or son and watch him drive away with someone else in the passenger seat.
‘Neither of us expected this to happen,’ Mateo started, ‘but I intend to pull my weight every inch of the way. First of all, there will never be any need for you to worry about money. My child will want for nothing. I knew what want was when I was a child, and it’s a miserable hardship that I’m only grateful my own flesh and blood will not have to endure. And, as his mother, you will likewise want for nothing. You will both have the best.’
‘I’m not asking for anything for myself, Mateo,’ Alice said faintly.
‘You don’t have to. It goes without saying that you can give up your teaching job, which I imagine doesn’t pay the earth.’
‘That won’t be happening.’
‘Your thoughts on that might change. You might find that you enjoy being a hands-on mother when you no longer need to go out and earn a pittance teaching. On the subject of which, you were right—your school could do with an injection of funds from the looks of it. Before we part company, I’ll get details the name of your admin person so that I can do my civic duty.’
Alice was beginning to feel as if she had suddenly jumped on a rollercoaster and was now whizzing madly across the universe.
‘Well, I’m sure the principal would be grateful for any financial help... Fund-raising can only get so far, so thank you; and, yes, it would be nice knowing that our child will be financially secure.’
It was all so matter-of-fact. They could have been discussing a business deal, she thought sadly. The intense physical chemistry between them had been wiped out and replaced with this run-of-the-mill conversation about their future.
‘I don’t suppose this was what you’d spent your life looking forward to,’ Mateo said roughly.
‘I’d always planned on having children.’
‘But not like this—an unplanned pregnancy with a man you never banked on having a future with.’
‘And who never banked on having a future with me.’
‘Or with anyone,’ Mateo qualified. ‘But, love and marriage aside, I want you to know that you can expect one hundred percent support from me.’
Alice picked at the wonderful canapés and wondered why they tasted of cardboard. Why did she feel so miserable? He was being terrific. She couldn’t have asked for more. Was it because, for her, having a baby had always been wrapped up with love and marriage? Just something she’d always taken for granted?
Or did this businesslike approach hurt because here she was, carrying his baby, and she wanted so much more than financial support. Once upon a time, she had dimly seen Simon in this position. Now she knew that what she felt for Simon had not been love. She’d had a narrow escape but, from the frying pan she’d fallen straight into the fire, because, yes, what she felt for this wonderful, elusive, complex guy sitting within touching distance was love in all its glory—but love that wasn’t reciprocated. He was offering her emotional support, and she knew that he would be there for her, but only because of the baby .
‘I appreciate that,’ Alice said politely.
‘Can I...see it?’
‘See what?’
‘The baby. Now.’ He flushed darkly. ‘A scan.’
‘Don’t tell me you still have doubts about that?’
‘I don’t. I just want to...’
‘Okay,’ Alice agreed in a husky voice. ‘I’ll get it arranged.’
‘And then we can fine-tune all the details. I don’t know where you live, Alice, but I’m guessing it’s not a palace. And before you tell me that you don’t need a palace to raise a child, you’re going to move from wherever you are to something suitable, and that is non-negotiable. Also non-negotiable is that you use the money I intend to deposit into your account. The only thing that’s negotiable there is the sum, if it’s not enough. Like I said, I intend to take care of both of you in style.’
‘I’m very grateful, Mateo.’
‘Then why are you looking at me as though I’m the Grinch who stole Christmas?’
‘Because it all sounds so much like a business deal...’
Mateo glanced down, lush lashes concealing his expression, making him a closed book.
It did, he privately conceded, but wasn’t this the best route forward—the one that avoided a future that would probably be filled with messy complications? Hadn’t he raced into a youthful marriage because of a pregnancy without foreseeing all the chaos that would result from his hasty decision? Had he and Bianca had that baby, wouldn’t the whole thing have come unstuck in an ugly and predictable way? Yes. And the ugly unravelling of a marriage would always impact a child far more than two parents who liked and respected one another and worked in unison for the good of the child they had created without aiming for what was never going to be achieved.
Mateo knew that he had locked away his heart, just as he knew that it would be unfair to encourage Alice to do the same with hers, which was what would happen if they made the mistake of marrying. For him, marriage would be something that might or might not happen one day and, when that day arrived, it would be a choice made with his head.
Alice deserved better. She deserved to have the best she could find and that would be to marry someone for love and not through necessity.
He thought of her with another man and bit down a rush of jealousy. It was an emotion so foreign to him that he almost didn’t recognise it for what it was.
‘What are you thinking?’
Mateo looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Isn’t that how it should be, Alice? I know we had...a good time for a while but that wasn’t about love. That was about sex. What you want for yourself isn’t to be with a guy you don’t love who is as cynical as you are optimistic...’ He smiled crookedly at her.
Again he felt that sharp pang of something strike deep into his core when he thought of her with another man. It went against all the cool logic that had been the bedrock of his adult life and he refused to let it in for closer inspection. It unsettled him. In his head, vulnerability like that led to love, and love led to loss. He would never invite the possibility of loss back into his life.
‘Of course you’re right, and I’m really glad you’re being so...accommodating about this. I know it’s the last thing you need.’
‘I can arrange for you to have a private scan,’ Mateo inserted in a rough, uncertain voice. ‘Please.’
Alice’s smile was slow and genuine. She would have to face certain facts, however hard it was going to be. He didn’t think she had feelings for him but she did: deep, strong feelings that had wrapped around every bit of her heart. However, he had none for her, aside from feelings of responsibility now. He would take care of her because she was carrying his child, and of course he was right: for her, marriage without love would be awful. So the conventional situation she had always envisaged for herself was not to be...
But he had come to terms with impending fatherhood much quicker than she could ever have hoped. Not only that, for him to be so keen on a scan showed that he was facing up to this sudden bomb dropped into his well-ordered life full-on, without trying to distance himself from it. And that was to be celebrated.
A lot of men would have turned their backs in a scenario such as this.
‘Yes, sure.’
‘And then we can really sit down and talk about what exactly happens next...’
The scan was arranged for the following week—a private scan, in a private hospital. As Alice was ushered through to where Mateo was waiting for her, she was afforded a glimpse of life that happened on the other side of the wealth divide. The hospital was quiet and luxurious. There were no trolleys spilling out of corridors and no sense of frantic urgency with patients, nurses, doctors and consultants racing through corridors, white coats flying and noise and bustle everywhere.
Mateo turned around. She paused as their eyes met and he rose to walk towards her. He’d phoned her every day since their last meeting. He’d asked her about her day, how she was, what she’d eaten. Alice knew that his concern was for the baby but she was treacherously becoming accustomed to seeing his name pop up on her phone and hearing the dark, velvety sound of his low, sexy and hypnotising voice.
He’d come from work and was in a suit, a cashmere tan coat draped over the chair next to him. Her heart skipped several beats as he neared her, and just for a few seconds it was easy to pretend that this was a normal relationship, a loving relationship with the man who was to be father of her child.
He gave her a peck on the cheek. If there was any reminder needed that their relationship had changed, then this was it. A peck on the cheek was a far cry from the hot lust that had made it impossible for him to keep his hands off her.
‘This is like a five-star hotel,’ Alice whispered, eyeing the neatly turned out consultants occasionally walking past and the cool, unruffled receptionists waiting to usher them to the right place.
‘No need to whisper.’ Mateo drew back and looked down at her. ‘And it’s a taste of what you’ll be getting used to.’
‘I’m fine with the health care the state provides.’
‘Again, this is one of those non-negotiables. Have you cleared your diary for the day? I’d like to take you for an early dinner so that we can discuss some of the finer details of what comes next for us. Not my club—we can skip that—somewhere more casual.’
‘Yes, I’ve taken the afternoon off.’ Alice was trying to digest the way things had changed between them. They were as polite as strangers. The peck on the cheek had had the sting of indifference. He was no longer attracted to her and the teasing familiarity between them that had built so quickly and effortlessly when they’d been snowbound was a thing of the past.
And this was what she would have to get used to. He generously wanted the best for her, and had approached what had been thrown at him in an adult and thoughtful way. She should be grateful, not quietly devastated.
‘Good.’
It was said in a clipped voice, with polite, unreadable gaze and kind smile. She wondered whether he had moved on from her and was seeing someone else. A bit of background reading on him had told a story of a guy who had a healthy appetite when it came to the opposite sex.
They were escorted to the maternity ward and to the bank of quiet, comfortable rooms where scans were done. Her mind was still on Mateo and the business of getting used to this version of him as she lay on the couch, suddenly self-conscious as the procedure began. He’d seen her naked. They had made love many times and he had touched her in all her most intimate places. Even so, lying on this couch in a darkened room, with the machine beeping and the radiographer about to see what was happening inside her, Alice felt oddly nervous and vulnerable.
But all of that was forgotten when she saw the little speck on the machine, the fierce pumping of a tiny heart, the beginnings of a boy or girl. The radiographer was talking, and Alice excitedly asked a couple of questions, but it was only when they were wrapping up the scan that she realised that Mateo had not said a word. He’d been completely silent and, as they were left on their own to digest what they’d been told and gaze at the black and white picture printed out for them, she suddenly felt her heart drop.
She couldn’t meet his eyes as she hurriedly hopped off the couch and straightened her clothes. ‘It’s all very real now, isn’t it?’ she said in a high, light voice. She backed away so that she was pressed against the couch, arms folded, her eyes locked with his.
‘Come again?’
‘It’s okay to discuss the ramifications of a baby but, now that you’ve actually seen proof of the pregnancy with your own eyes, I guess all those ways your life is going to change are really being rammed home to you.’
He was pale. Good intentions were easily washed away, she thought miserably. He’d been great talking about what an active parent he was going to be, but was he now considering the consequences in a slightly different way? A living, breathing little human would take up a disproportionate amount of time and it was a responsibility that would never end.
Was he now back-tracking on being hands-on and heading down the ‘financial support only’ route?
Surely not? And yet, why on earth was he not saying anything?
‘If you’ve changed your mind about...about everything, then that’s fine. I understand,’ she said in a rush, grabbing her coat and back pack and walking briskly to the door whilst making sure to keep plenty of room between them. Get too close, and whatever vibe he had just went right through her, scrambling her brain and turning her body to mush. Right now, she wasn’t interested in either of those things happening.
‘Well?’ The silence from him was agonising. ‘Have you—changed your mind? Because you can come right out and say it.’
‘Let’s get out of here. When it comes to conversations, a hospital is only marginally better than a box room at a school.’
‘I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on, Mateo. If you’re having second thoughts about getting involved with this baby, then that’s fine, but I’m not going to go for dinner so that we can discuss your change of mind over a three-course meal.’
He was already heading out and Alice tripped along next to him, every nerve in her body braced for news that was going to be so disappointing. If thinking about a future with him involved in her life at some level had been bad, thinking about a future with him not in her life, just depositing money into an account to make sure she was okay, was a million times worse.
‘You’re right.’ Mateo finally spoke when they were outside and a black cab was slowing for them. ‘Slight change of plan. In the cab, Alice. This isn’t an email conversation, I’m afraid, or anything I want to rush because you’re suddenly in a hurry. Restaurant chit chat with a waiter interrupting us every three minutes isn’t going to do—not quite the venue for the conversation we need to have.’
He stepped aside, waiting until she had no option but to slide into the taxi. While she grappled with the near impossibility of remaining silent, he stared, first at her, with cool, assessing eyes, then straight ahead.
Alice fumed and simmered in silence as they cleared through late afternoon traffic, stopping and starting before cruising past the crowded streets into a hushed residential setting where towering Georgian houses were set back from the road by a wide pavement. Rows of precise, black wrought-iron railings stood guard outside each of the impressive properties.
‘Where the heck are we, Mateo?’
‘My house.’
‘No way.’
‘I’m not having an argument in the back of a cab, Alice, so hop out. You’re free to argue with me when we get inside.’
‘That won’t be happening because I won’t be getting inside.’
But, agonisingly, she knew that she would because she needed to hear what Mateo had to say. Running from a problem never helped when it came to solving it. A baby was on the way and neither hurt feelings nor stubborn pride should be allowed to get in the way of deciding what to do.
His house was testimony to his immense wealth. In comparison, his lodge on those snowy slopes had been a positive shack in comparison. Alice winced when she thought of her kindly remarks to him when she’d thought that he was no more than an averagely well paid IT guy who might only be able to afford a nifty ski lodge if it was rented out when he wasn’t there and who probably didn’t own his own place in London.
She stepped into a glorious sea of white marble, bold abstract paintings on the walls and rich, expensive rugs underfoot. A very modern staircase of metal and glass carved its way upstairs, dissecting the open area into two halves. Wide-eyed, she gazed around her. To the left, an impressive archway led to various rooms. On the right, an arch that mirrored it led to yet more rooms. Why on earth did one guy need so many rooms? she wondered.
Her gaze finally settled on him and he raised his eyebrows and told her that they could chat in the sitting room.
‘You have a lovely...er...house, Mateo. Or maybe I should say palace .’
She blinked when he burst out laughing, and then blushed, because the sound of that laughter, rich and amused, was at once familiar and filled her with nostalgia.
It was also a timely reminder of the silence that had settled over him ever since the scan. Which in turn brought her right back down to earth with a bump.
‘So...’ she ventured as she was ushered into an amazing sitting room with low, cream sofas and a warm, rich rug that covered most of the floor.
‘So...’
Mateo raked his fingers through his hair and looked at her gravely as she edged towards one of the chairs and sank into it. He sat facing her and leant forward, arms resting loosely on his thighs.
That scan had changed everything. He and Bianca had married in haste when she had only just become pregnant and there had been no scan. The usual confirmation tests, yes, but no scan at that stage...and then the miscarriage had changed everything. Plus he’d been so young, already tough, but not nearly as tough as he was now. He’d thought about fatherhood, and had known that he would always do the right thing, but the whole concept of a baby and the reality of it had been abstract and woolly—something that would happen down the line.
But seeing that little scrap of life eagerly waiting to enter the world... Mateo had felt the fierce tug of possessiveness that had wiped out all good intentions about stepping back because he didn’t want to pull her into the loveless marriage she wouldn’t want. No. He had seen his baby and in an instant had known that anything less than marriage wasn’t going to do.
It had been na?ve to think otherwise but then he was so accustomed to boxing up his emotions that he hadn’t expected to feel the overpowering jolt he had felt in that room. Nothing could have protected him from it, not even the hard veneer he had cultivated over the years. More than anything else, he’d seen that tiny beating heart and had known that keeping Alice safe, keeping their baby safe, would be his lifelong mission, and to do that he would not be able to step back. Detachment was no longer an option.
How could he ever have thought that he could allow another man to enter her life and join in decision making about his child’s future? How could he ever have imagined that anyone but him could be involved with this baby of theirs?
He looked at her carefully and knew that, having approached the situation with the emotionalism of a robot, he was going to have to win her over. He’d magnanimously told her that he would be a hands-on father but in the capacity of one who lived a separate life—that she needed to fulfil her dream of finding someone to love and he would give her the freedom to do that.
He was going to do a complete turnaround and already he wondered why he hadn’t gone down this route in the first place. He’d remembered Bianca, remembered the foolhardiness of rushing into marriage for the sake of a pregnancy and then all the attendant problems that had resulted from his hasty, emotional decision. He’d then obeyed his instinct and turned away from making a similar mistake.
But Alice wasn’t Bianca. They might no longer be together, but the relationship hadn’t been poisonous. He and Alice could make a go of it, but he would have to persuade her. Somehow he would have to make her see that there was life beyond love. No way was he going to walk away from the one hundred percent commitment that now beckoned.
‘Well? Are you going to say anything, Mateo? Like I said, I didn’t come to your office because I wanted anything from you. If you’ve had a reality check now that we’ve had that scan, then just come out and tell me.’
‘I’ve had a reality check, Alice.’
‘And...’
‘And this is going to play out slightly differently. We’re going to get married.’