‘More people will hear about the baby bank at the kindness festival,’ said Robson, carrying two bags stuffed with nappies and wipes.
Once everything was inside, and Beth said she’d help sort through the items, Spencer told her he had to go to the flower shop to do the accounts.
‘I shouldn’t be too long, then we can grab some lunch.’
Beth agreed, and he almost kissed her goodbye, only pulling away at the last minute when he saw Alice grinning at him.
Mentally shaking his head at himself at how much harder it was getting to stay platonic with Beth, Spencer headed outside.
‘Hello, Spence.’
Spencer turned on the pavement to see an old school friend. ‘Hello, Darren. You all right?’
‘Yeah, all good. Just off to meet my missus in the pub.’ Darren beamed at Spencer. ‘Heard about you becoming a dad unexpectedly.’
Spencer smiled.
‘Same thing happened to my cousin a while back,’ added Darren, losing his grin. ‘He wasn’t told until the baby was born either. He bought one of those online DNA tests, just to be sure. Good thing he did, as it turned out he wasn’t the father after all. What a shock that was. He—’
‘Darren,’ called out a female voice, and both men glanced down towards the bend in the road.
Darren raised a hand to the blonde lady calling him. ‘There’s my wife. Better shoot off.’ He patted Spencer’s arm. ‘Keep well, mate, and congrats on the baby.’
Spencer said goodbye and watched his friend walk away. The thought of a paternity test wasn’t something he needed to bother with. Archie looked like his sister, and why would Beth lie? Huffing to himself, he entered his shop.
Lottie was out the back, busy making bouquets with one of their staff members, Sarah.
‘Hey, how’s it going?’ he asked, sitting at the table in the corner.
‘We had a busy hour, then it went quiet for the rest of the morning. I’ve got two deliveries for you though. Any time after lunch will be fine.’
Spencer nodded as he opened up a spreadsheet on the laptop.
The doorbell jingled, and Sarah went out front to serve the customer.
‘How was parent and baby group?’ asked Lottie.
He peered over his shoulder. ‘Did you know you can buy designer prams?’
She nodded as she laughed.
Spencer shook his head. ‘Well, I certainly learned a few new things.’ He turned back to the screen. ‘Beth loves it there. You should see her, Lott. She was practically glowing this morning.’
‘She’s getting better, that’s why. You have something to do with that too, you know.’
He glanced her way. ‘I’m not taking her credit. She’s been learning lots of coping techniques with Jan. Plus, everything’s easier when you have help.’
‘And love.’
Spencer made a start on the accounts, ignoring where Lottie was taking the conversation. He was having enough trouble lately thinking about being closer to Beth, and now a paternity test niggled. No, he simply wasn’t going to think about that at all. But there it lurked.
Sarah and the customer’s muffled voices could be heard out front, and Spencer hoped she’d stay there awhile, because he wanted to seek Lottie’s advice.
‘Lottie, can I ask you something?’
‘Since when do you ask?’
He shrugged one shoulder and offered a half-smile. ‘It’s just personal.’
