Tally made Rachael a glass of warm milk and settled her into bed. She patted the space beside her, and Tally sat on the edge.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Tally rubbed her face as exhaustion swamped her. “I screwed up, Rachael.”

Rachael tilted her head to one side. “It can’t be that bad.”

She blew out a breath. “When Cash and I first got together, I was always worried he’d see through me and break it off.”

Rachael made a tutting noise, which caused a smile to tug at Tally’s lips. “Even though he assured me that he wanted me and only me, I never truly believed it, which is why when I received some photos of Cash kissing a woman who I now know to be Gracie—well, it was very easy to jump to conclusions.”

“My Gracie?” Rachael said, a hint of incredulity to her tone.

Tally nodded. “It was all completely innocent, but I didn’t know about you then, and so when I confronted Cash, he couldn’t offer a suitable explanation. We split up for a while until he plucked up the courage to tell me about you and his father.”

“And Kinga took the photographs,” Rachael said, putting two and two together and making the maths stick.

“Yeah. She confessed to me a few months ago, but Cash had so much going on, and I wanted him to be able to concentrate on rebuilding his career.” She shrugged. “So I didn’t tell him.”

Rachael let out a soft sigh. “Probably not your best decision.”

Tally gave a wry smile. “I had planned to tell him while we were away. I thought he’d be more relaxed and might not—”

“Fly off the handle,” Rachael said with a grin.

“Something like that.”

Rachael squeezed her arm. “Go and talk to him. The longer you leave it, the harder it becomes.”

Tally nodded and rose from the bed. “Can I get you anything? Do you want me to fetch the iPad?”

“No. I still haven’t quite got to grips with all this technology yet. A lot has changed in the last few years.” She pulled a face. “The other day in the supermarket, they asked me if I wanted to pay contactless. I just stared at the assistant. She might as well have been speaking a foreign language.”

Tally laughed. “You’ll get there, and we’re here to help.” She leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Lights on or off?”

“On. I’ve got a magazine article I’d like to finish,” she said, digging a copy of Vogue from the drawer beside her bed.

Tally closed the door with a quiet click and let out a long breath. She began to trudge down the hallway then stopped halfway. A quick nip of something for Dutch courage wouldn’t go amiss. She jogged downstairs and poured a small glass of wine. As she took a sip, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen. A text from Em:

I’m so sorry, babes. Are you okay?

Tally dialled Em’s number, and she answered immediately. “God, babes. I’m so glad you called. I feel fucking awful.”

“You have a bloody big mouth, Fallon,” Tally said in a teasing tone.

“I know. How did Cash take it?”

“Badly,” Tally said. “He stormed off to bed as soon as we got home, and I’m downstairs having a glass of wine before facing his wrath.”

“Shit, babes. I can’t apologise enough. You trust me with something, and I can’t keep my trap shut. That woman winds me up like no other, but that wasn’t an excuse to break your confidence.”

“Forget it. I was going to tell him anyway… but you got there first,” she added with a laugh.

Em groaned. “Don’t be nice to me. I don’t deserve it.”

Tally chuckled. “I’d better go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She hung up and downed the rest of the wine before heading back upstairs. Outside her bedroom door, she paused and steeled herself for what was to come.

Cash had already undressed and was sitting up in bed reading. He studiously ignored her as she stepped inside, and Tally repressed a sigh. She unzipped her dress and let it fall in a heap on the floor. Cash’s gaze briefly flickered in her direction before returning to his book.

She removed a satin nightgown from the drawer next to her bed and slipped it over her head. As she climbed beneath the covers, she looked at Cash.

“Are we going to talk about this now or later?”

Cash let the book fall into his lap, but when he met her gaze, Tally found it difficult to swallow because instead of fiery anger, he looked at her with cool appraisal.

“How long have you known?” he said, his voice unnaturally quiet.

Tally gnawed at her cheek. “Since we got back from Monte Carlo.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You’ve kept this from me for three months.”

A wave of regret washed over her at the hurt in his eyes. “Kinga confessed to me when we got back to Ireland.”

Cash pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I have never hidden my loathing of being lied to, and yet you chose to keep something from me that was a terrible time for both of us.”

“Cash—”

His hand shot in the air. “For one second, one second, Natalia, think about this from my perspective. You, Kinga, and Emmalee all sharing a dirty little secret.”

“It wasn’t like that. I was going to tell you.”

He gave her a scathing look. “When?”

“On holiday.”

Cash let out a sarcastic laugh. “Happy bloody holidays.”

She reached for his hand, but he pulled away. Tally winced. “When she told me, you had all the stress of your mum’s recovery, our reconciliation, your tennis career just getting back on track. I knew if I told you it was Kinga behind the photos, it’d knock you off kilter again. I did it to protect you.”

He clutched a hand to his chest. “Well, aren’t I the lucky one.”

She shook her head. “If all you’re going to be is sarcastic, there’s no point talking to you.”

“You’ve got that right.” He threw back the covers and climbed out of bed.

“Where are you going?” she said, panic leaking into her tone as he headed for the door.

“I need space to think. I can’t be with you right now.”

As the door slammed, Tally covered her face with her hands and began to cry.

* * *

Without Cash beside her, Tally tossed and turned all night, and when light filtered through the curtains, she climbed out of bed and went downstairs. She put the kettle on and was in the middle of making a coffee when Cash appeared.

“Do you want one?” she said in what she hoped was a conciliatory tone.

He nodded and sat at the breakfast bar. Paying her no attention, he began tapping into his phone. She pushed a cup of coffee towards him and rested her hip against the kitchen counter.

“Where did you sleep?”

He lifted his head, his gaze cool as it fell on hers. “One of the spare rooms,” he said before bowing his head once more.

Tally’s chest tingled, and a sudden chill made her shiver. “Cash, I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

“Yes, you did,” he said in an icy tone.

He took two or three sips of coffee before jumping down from the stool.

“Where are you going?” she said, hating the plaintive sound of her voice. He ignored her, so she followed him into the hallway. He lifted a jacket off a coat peg and picked up a set of keys. “Cash…”

He turned around. “I’ve heard your side of it. Now I’m going to hear Kinga’s. She’s meeting me at Rupe’s in an hour.”

She began to stuff her feet into a pair of trainers. “I’ll come with you.”

“No.” He held his hand up. “This is my closure.”

Without another word, he stepped outside and slammed the door behind him.