Chapter Sixty-One
It had been almost a week since the Kivvi Christingle and Cat hadn’t received a single word from Anastasia.
No apology for causing a scene that resulted in a heap of smashed chocolate mousse and glass all over the party she was catering.
No apology for publicly telling the world she had slept with Tristan Du Kok when they had talked about it in bed and Anastasia had said it was nothing.
No apology for pretending she’d never met Cat, and blanking her from just one metre away.
Not even a compliment on the exceptional menu she’d crafted.
Cat heard on the grapevine that Anastasia Steinherr Diamandis had fled town and checked herself into rehab, but no one seemed to know where she was or when she was coming back.
Cat was still thinking about her when she took the elevator up to Chalet Edelweiss, armed with a bag of groceries.
She planned a comforting goulash dinner for whoever was around this evening – the tender paprika scents of cooking could lift the saddest of spirits – and she needed the balm of something this evening.
Cat and Emme had exchanged texts but Cat had wanted to lie low all week, such was her disappointment and personal shame.
As Cat walked into the apartment a florist was just leaving, and Gerard was taking delivery of yet another bouquet.
There had been a steady stream of floral arrangements in shades of blush, festive mulberry, soft lilac and even a few funereal white ones, which Lumi had raised an artfully threaded eyebrow about and smiled graciously on acceptance.
The party hadn’t been that devastating. All the offerings had arrived with handwritten thank-you notes for the Kivvis, and every surface in the chalet was now adorned.
‘And still they send them!’ Cat said, smiling sardonically.
‘Actually Catalina, these are for you,’ Gerard said, with a raised eyebrow of his own as he proffered the bouquet.
‘Oh,’ Cat said, silenced as she took the beautiful hand-tied posy of pink and white avalanche roses, Italian ranunculi and winter hellebores. Cat stopped herself from saying how beautiful they were out loud. ‘Thank you.’
She took the bouquet in its water base and headed through to the kitchen with her groceries. No one ever sent Cat flowers. She placed them on the marble worktop, placed the bags down next to them and took off her coat.
Deep breath.
Cat opened the envelope, read the card, and welled up.