Chapter 20

Included in that number was Portia’s husband Nigel.

I’d clung to Ludo, terrified for the first time in my life. I could just as easily lose him, and that was when I realized he wasmy one

I would have married him, but nowhere on earth was it legal for two men to exchange vows. Or two women, if it came to that.

Ludo and I did exchange rings, however, silver bands we wore on the middle finger of our left hands. To the outside world they meant nothing, but to us they meant everything. 10

We’d celebrated the last evening of 2012 with a glass of champagne, but we hadn’t stayed up to watch the ball drop at midnight. January 1 was going to be a big day for us, and we’d decided to make an early night of it.