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“I’m not stalking you,” said Dylan, firmly. “I do want to be close to you to help you any way I can, though. Is that so terrible? You are carrying my baby.”

“You can’t just push yourself into my life like this,” Lucy spat out in exasperation.

Lucy regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Hurt flashed across Dylan’s face.

“I’m not trying to push myself into your life. This is my baby, too,” he said calmly.

Lucy walked over to the sofa and sank down onto it. “I know,” she said with a sigh.

“I just want to be close to you and the baby, in case you need anything.” Dylan sat down next to her, his eyes pleading with her to understand. She forced herself to look away from them. She needed to focus.

“We’re not a couple, Dylan.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that. But I want to be a proper father to my child, and that involves me being close by and helping you while you carry them.”

“What about your job?” Lucy asked.

“I work remotely. I only need to go into an office a handful of times a year. It’s absolutely fine for me to work in the coffee shop the majority of the time.”

“But why didn’t you say anything?” Lucy said.

“Because you’re unhappy enough with me just sitting and working in the coffee shop I’m part owner of!”

“It feels like you’re keeping an eye on me,” Lucy tried to explain. How could she get through to him that she didn’t want or need him interfering with every single aspect of her life?

“Of course I am, you’re pregnant with my child!”

“I mean with the coffee shop. Like you’re keeping an eye on how I’m running it.”

“Lucy, I know you can run the coffee shop. You’ve been doing it successfully for years, why would I think you couldn’t? I’ve seen the evidence of it, the accounts show really steady growth and the potential for a lot more. Why would I invest in a business run by someone I didn’t believe was doing a great job? Plus, as you have quite fairly pointed out to me, I have never run a coffee shop myself. I don’t know how. I’m here because I want to help you. And, also, because Michael has a big book fair that he’s travelling to next week and he asked if I’d be able to keep an eye on Carrie for him. I offered to pick Poppy up from school. You know Michael usually does that, so Carrie doesn’t need to close the shop—”

“Right,” Lucy said, “Carrie did mention he was going away . . .”

“It made sense to be based in Castle Cove for a little while at least, and Mary had this place empty. If you really don’t want me in the coffee shop, I’ll work here, but your coffee is better than I can make.”

“Of course you can come in to the coffee shop,” Lucy conceded. “I can’t have you drinking sub-standard beverages. But you should have told me that you were moving in here.”

Dylan nodded. “I should have, and I’m sorry. I was waiting for the right time; you can be a little scary sometimes, you know. I want to help you, Lucy. And I want to play a big part in this baby’s life. We didn’t plan this, and I’m not going to pretend it’s not a shock, but, when you’re ready, we need to sit down together and work out how we’re actually going to do this. Like long term.”

“Yeah, we do,” Lucy replied, and for some reason, despite her lingering frustration, what he suggested wasn’t nearly as terrifying as she’d thought it would be.

Chapter 9

Annoyingly some of Lucy’s first thoughts the next morning were of Dylan as she took her iron supplement with her breakfast.

Then, when she started work, she found the corners of her mouth twitched every time Dylan’s wonky rock cakes caught her eye. The customers seemed happy with them, which was the main thing, and there certainly weren’t any complaints about the pastries Rachel from the bakery had delivered earlier.

She had to admit that Dylan had been right. Not having to worry about the baking was a huge weight off of her shoulders. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t still mad about him moving next door though. Two months ago, she barely had to come into contact with him, though that obviously hadn’t stopped her sleeping with him. Thinking about that night was something she absolutely wasn’t prepared to revisit. And now he was her business partner, her next-door neighbour, and the father of her unborn child. Every time she thought the situation couldn’t get more bizarre, the world found a new way to make it so.

He didn’t appear soon after opening as he had for the last couple of days, which she’d half expected as it was Saturday, but she quickly became frustrated with how she looked up to check if it was him arriving every time the door opened.

She’d just begun to relax and accept the fact that Dylan wasn’t coming in, when the door opened and he stepped inside with his quintessential grin. He didn’t have his laptop with him today, though.

“Good morning, ladies,” he said to Lucy and Ellen. “You’re both looking lovely today, as usual.”

“Thank you, Dylan,” said Ellen, with a beaming smile. He received a scowl from Lucy.

“As promised, I’m ready to learn how to help around here so that I’m less of a hindrance. Put me to work,” Dylan announced.