I picked up the phone then paused. What person in their right mind selected their plasterer on the basis of their name? What the heck. The circumstances were exceptional.
An hour later there was a knock on the door. I’d left messages for the two Steves, but Stephen Lewis answered his phone on the third ring. He said he had a day off and was coming into town anyway so he’d pop by in an hour.
I wasted that whole hour getting ready. I re-did my make-up and faffed with my unruly hair. I washed the mugs Elise and I had used yesterday and picked up the pens she’d spilled over the desk. I even squirted some bleach down the toilet. Don’t know why I did that. My final act of insanity was ordering coffee and muffins from The Chocolate Pot.They don’t deliver but, determined not to make the same mistake of leaving the shop and missing Stephen, I persuaded the owner, Tara, to make an exception because we were, after all, only seven doors apart.
Opening the door, I beamed at the attractive man, probably in his mid-thirties. I eagerly took in the short dark hair (freshly cut), clean clothes (nice smell), bright blue eyes (beautiful) and friendly smile (dreamy). Exactly how I’d described on my Life Plan.OMG! He could betheSteven.
‘Sarah?’ he asked.
I nodded, dumbstruck by his beauty.
‘Stephen Lewis,’ he said. ‘We spoke earlier about a plastering quote.’
Stop staring at him. He’s speaking. Answer him.
‘I am at the right shop?’ Lines of confusion dented his perfect forehead. ‘It was you I spoke to earlier, wasn’t it?’
Speak!‘Yes, er, sorry. Miles away. Come in.’
‘I hope you don’t mind me bringing the kids with me.’
Kids?I reluctantly peeled my eyes away from his face and looked down. Two small children clung onto his legs. How had I missed them?
‘And the baby,’ he continued.
There’s a baby too?Sure enough, there was a lime green pram next to him. How had I missed that? It was practically fluorescent.
‘This is Josh and Luke.’ He affectionately rubbed the heads of the two limpets. ‘They’re two.’
‘Twins?’ One word at a time was about all I could manage.
‘Identical.’ He beamed proudly. ‘And the little angel in the pram is Caitlin. She’s eleven weeks.’
I reluctantly peered into the pram. ‘Cute.’
‘My wife and I think so.’
Of course. Why wouldn’t he have a beautiful wife and beautiful kids? He was beautiful. Even if he wasn’t married, he was so out of my league, it made me want to cry.
‘I’m really sorry about the kids. I know it’s not very professional. I rang around everyone I knew but nobody was free and I couldn’t miss out on the chance of some work. I promise I don’t bring them with me normally. I can come back later if you prefer.’
I shook my head, opened the door wide, and tried to sound cheerful. ‘Everyone in.’Ooh, two words. Big improvement.
‘Something smells nice,’ he said.
Oh crap! The coffee and muffins.I glanced guiltily towards the pasting table I’d found in The Outback. Resting on it was a plate of carefully stacked muffins alongside the pair of steaming coffees that I’d transferred out of the paper cups into proper mugs.Quick. Think of something. Anything.
‘Er, yeah. Elevenses,’ I said.
‘At half nine?’
‘Late breakfast. Early elevenses. I was up early. It’s for my… my… my mum. She’s here. Well, she’s not here. She’s coming. Soon. One of the coffees is for her. And a muffin. If she wants one. Not that I’m going to force her. She doesn’t have to have one. But they’re not all for me either. Mum can have them all if she wants. I don’t mind. I’m not precious about them.’Maybe more words weren’t such a good idea.
‘Right.’ Stephen gathered the twins closer to him. ‘So, you wanted a quote for some plastering?’ He slipped off his coat and laid it across the pram –oh wow, look at those tanned muscles –and dug out a notebook and pen. ‘What exactly do you want doing?’
‘Doing?’
‘Plastering?’
