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‘They make my cuffs sit nicely I like the look A beautiful shirt deserves beautiful cuffs And, since you’re looking unconvinced by that answer, I’ll also add that these were a gift froirlfriend After we split up’

He turned theht and smiled

‘I’ht have read in the press’

‘Oh,’ she said ‘Right’ with a tone that was flat and disbelieving

He raised an eyebrow and tied the bowtie in place

Well, what did he expect? he thought, turning away to get his jacket while his mind ran to the stupid pictures his friends had texted hi emotionally stunted

He hadn’t bothered to read them properly Anyone who knew him well knew the truth And anyone who knew him well knew that all his stunted e he was sure of in his life was that there would never be another Sophie

They had been the Golden Couple all through university—she with her long blonde hair and he a rising star of the rugby scene He’d never been happier The whole world had been spread out before hiby player, playing for his country Would it be Italy or England? When would he ask Sophie to marry him? Where would they live?

Those were the kinds of decisions he’d faced Until the night he’d got the news that his father had died Like a great oak being ripped up froth, his confidence had been sapped He’d felt the world cru in space He’d thought his father sure and solid and strong He’d had all the answers He’d been wise and clever and honourable and he’d loved his mother—and Claudio had been his best friend

They had been al that had ever ca presence in their lives—until soed

Matteo had once suspected that Claudio had made a move on hislike that for the schis he had been