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I nodded, my mind tripping over our new schedule and everything that came with it. “I’ll do the same for you so Avery can come to us. Now we have somewhere to live, we’ll be able to entertain.”
Elise grinned. “Speaking of entertaining, Daisy said she’s planning welcome drinks for you this weekend, now you’re settled. Viola said she’d host at Braithar. If her boy, Finn, comes to ours to hang out with Zander, maybe Tobi would like to do the same?”
My boss had messaged me to tell me her plan. I loved the idea. So did Tobi and Avery from the happy sounds they gave up.
“I can’t remember the last time I had a girls’ night,” I admitted.
“Then it’s perfect timing. How was your first night in the new cottage?”
“We loved it. Tobi even slept in her own bed, the whole night. Probably thanks to the Hello Kitty sheets and duvet cover you gave us.”
Avery yanked on her mother’s arm, and Elise stooped to hear her question. Behind her, a familiar figure entered the playground, a small boy at his side.
Valentine.
My breathing hitched. For a long second, I let myself soak up the sight of him. The man in black. Long legs in dark jeans, that close-fitting jacket, and his gorgeous hair tied up in his man bun. He’d left his scruff unshaven this morning, and it only made him more appealing, reminding me of how it had scratched my thighs.
I knew every word of what I’d told him by heart. It was imprinted on my brain. Despite that, my body betrayed need I could hardly contain.
From the way he drew glances from other mothers, I wasn’t his only admirer.
A group of children ran up to claim the boy he was escorting, and Valentine stuck his hands in his jeans pockets, pausing for a moment to watch them go inside.
Then his gaze leapt directly to mine like he knew I’d been staring.
I jumped but didn’t look away. Instead, I raised my free hand in a greeting.
I didn’t get one back. Valentine regarded me for a beat longer then turned on his heel and strode off, exiting the playground to his car. My heart lurched. There had been no malice in his expression. Nothing angry or resentful. I couldn’t help but feel that I’d hurt him all the same.
Maybe he thought me ungrateful, though the gift he’d given us of the work done to our cottage deserved gratitude without measure. I’d give him space, but if it killed me, I’d find a way to thank him and get back to being friends again.
The next morning, I had an early cleaning job lined up so had organised for Tobi to join the school’s breakfast club. This time when I dropped her off, it was without any risk of seeing Valentine. The same didn’t apply at pick-up time, because he was there, waiting for his charge.
I waved again and got a sideways glance and a half-smile.
Progress.
Tobi spilled out of the classroom, falling into my waiting arms with a handful of paintings clutched in her fingers. We hugged out our greeting.
“Did you remember your promise, Mama?”
This morning, she’d reminded me of our idea to bake cookies for her classmates. Managing it on our first morning when we’d barely gotten unpacked at the cottage hadn’t been possible, but I was done for the day with work, and we were desperately in need of a run to the shops.
Holding her hand, I led her out of the playground. “Sure thing. We’ll go to the shops and fetch everything we need. Think about how you want to decorate them so we can pick up sprinkles or icing.”
“Can we do both?” She skipped along.
“If the supermarket has them.”
Footsteps sounded behind us, and a deep voice hailed me. I turned to see Valentine close by.
His brows furrowed in. “You’re heading to a supermarket? Is that wise?”
I guessed he meantsafebut was trying not to alarm my daughter with his word choice. I raised a shoulder. “We need food. We’ve been living off cereal bars and meals at the pub. The cupboards are bare.”
His careful gaze was guarded, his usual buoyancy missing. “Which one?”
Which…? Oh, he meant the store. I gave the name of the small supermarket a couple of towns away. It was the nearest, according to the map, and I didn’t want to drive to Inverness and risk being too far out in the wide world.
