Page 95 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

He cast an eye down at her dress. ‘You look nice.’

‘Thanks.’ She was wearing her favourite sundress over a bikini. ‘I chose it because it’s easy to get in and out of.’

‘OK,’ he nodded, chewing the inside of his cheek to stifle a smile.

‘Oh no! That came out wrong.’ She pointed to the brace on her arm and laughed. ‘With this, I mean, not … Anyway, come in and meet Ivy.’

‘Can’t wait,’ he said with a grin.

She led him into the living room, surreptitiously wiping her arm across her hot forehead. Was he as nervous too? she wondered. He was hiding it well if he was. So much was riding on this trip to the beach. She wanted to like him, she wanted Ivy to like him, and she hoped he would enjoy spending time with them. Then, if all those stars aligned, maybe, at the end of the day, she could tell him the truth about who’d he’d spent the day with.

But she was getting ahead of herself. He had many tests to pass, the first of which was to load up the buggy with everything they’d need and help them all get out of the house.

‘And this is Ivy.’ Clare knelt down and Ivy came scampering over, looking up at this new man with curiosity. ‘Say hi to Adam.’

Adam squatted down to their level, picked up a Peppa Pig soft toy and made it wave to her. ‘Hey, Ivy,’ he said in a squeaky voice which didn’t sound anything like the TV character.

Clare suppressed a smile; he’d clearly never seen the show. Lucky him.

Ivy smiled and did a little bounce of approval.

Adam handed Peppa to her and straightened up. ‘Ready then?’

Clare nodded. ‘Can you help me pack up? Here’s her drink.’ She handed him a sippy cup. ‘And there’s a change of clothes and couple of towels on the table. They all need to go in the main bag. There’s a net bag with her beach toys which should hang off the handles and—’ She stopped mid-flow, realising that Adam was grinning at her. ‘What?’

‘Nothing. Just, wow.’ He ruffled up his hair. ‘I think I’ve done well if I’ve remembered my wallet.’

‘Welcome to a day in the life of a parent.’ Her heart stuttered. This was literally his first day as a parent and he didn’t even know it. For a split second, she had serious doubts about her plan; was she playing a dangerous game with his emotions? No, no, she’d thought it through carefully; she had to protect her daughter. She wasn’t trying to deceive him, this was simply the safest way to introduce them to each other.

‘I can go and fetch my car, if you like?’ Adam offered. ‘Save us carrying all this stuff.’

Clare was tempted; walking any distance made her arm ache. But he was here now, and she was desperate to be outdoors enjoying the sunshine. Besides, he’d have to work out how to fit Ivy’s car seat and she’d be worried the entire time that he hadn’t done it properly.

‘Let’s walk,’ she said. ‘It’ll be fun. The beach, Ivy! Mummy and Adam are taking you to the beach!’

‘Bee bee bee!’ Ivy joined in enthusiastically, scrubbing her hands through her hair just as Adam had. She did that quite a lot, Clare realised. Coincidence, or could that sort of mannerism be passed genetically? She had no idea, but then Adam picked up his daughter for the first time and jiggled her up and down and she could think of nothing else but how incredible this moment was. A moment she’d never, ever imagined would happen.

Ivy put a hand on his face and touched the faint stubble on his jaw. Clare was fascinated by her reaction; Ivy had been held by men before, but not often, and she was growing up now, noticing more things.

Adam grinned. ‘Does that sound good, hey?’ He turned to Clare. ‘I can’t get over how light she is, she weighs nothing at all.’

‘She’s the perfect weight for her height and age,’ Clare leapt to her daughter’s defence.

‘I don’t get to hold many babies, that’s all. I can’t even guess how old she is.’

Clare slipped her sunglasses on strategically to buy herself some thinking time and hide her eyes. If she told him Ivy would be one in a couple of weeks, surely he’d put two and two together and work it out? She wasn’t ready to face that conversation yet. She opted for a white lie. ‘She’ll be one, later in the summer.’

‘Right.’ Adam looked at Ivy thoughtfully.

‘What’s the matter?’ Clare felt panic rise in her chest, how good at maths was he?

‘Nothing, it’s just …’ He shook his head as if getting rid of the thought. ‘It sounds silly, but she reminds me a bit of my dad.’

‘Really?’ Her voice had gone abnormally high. ‘How funny.’

Just then, Ivy yawned, making them laugh.

‘Sorry, am I boring you?’ said Adam. ‘Let’s go.’