Chapter 106

Eric wasn’t upset when I announced that I was leaving dinner to go with a friend who was visiting London. What’s more, I think he didn’t make a fuss just because the children’s radiant smiles won him over almost immediately, or because he recognized the angular and severe face of the man who had the baby in his arms.

Sasha asked to go with me when we left the hotel room where the event was being held, and then Mirko insisted that I put on my seat belt when we got into the rental van that Ivan was driving during his stay in London. The boy kept saying that I looked very pretty and that he liked my dress and my hairstyle. I had no idea where we were going, but I was very sure of one thing: I would have gone anywhere with them. Although I spent most of the time talking to Mirko, I kept glancing at Ivan as he drove in silence through the wide streets of the city. He smiled to himself and glanced at us in the rearview mirror.

I hadn’t had time to find out how he was doing, wh