WHEN CALLUM ARRIVED at Sam and Leigh’s snug row house in Chiswick, Sam was nowhere to be seen.
“Don’t get too excited,” Leigh said when she saw Callum glancing around. “She’s just in her office finishing something up.”
“Ah.”
Leigh was tall like Callum and took after Callum’s mother more than she did her own, with a nose and jawline she hadn’t inherited from Nerea. She did have Nerea’s coloring though: tawny skin and dark hair, cut to shoulder-length and streaked with highlights.
“I don’t even get why Mum’s doing this,” Leigh said as she waved Callum into the kitchen. Callum trailed after her obediently. “Her being here will be useful in six months when I can’t see my feet and later, when there’s an infant, but now? No. Are you two fighting?”
“No, your mother’s just smothering. But — ”
