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‘A few times.’ He smiled. ‘But don’t worry about it.’
For a moment they fell silent, each of them staring at the stars and losing themselves in their thoughts.
‘Can I ask you a question?’
He didn’t know why it made him tense, but he heard the forced note in his voice as he tried to tease her.
‘Pretty sure you just did, Birdie.’
‘Very funny,’ she told him dryly, making him begin to ache.
As ever. As always.
‘Fine, go ahead.’
‘Why do you have such a reputation as a playboy?’
He paused, taken aback. Not that he was about to let that show.
‘Do you really want me to demonstrate for you here? Now?’ he teased. ‘I’m more than offended you can’t remember, of course.’
‘My point is that I can’t work out how you seem to have the time for all these women.’
‘Why does it matter to you?’
‘It doesn’t,’ she denied, unconvincingly. ‘I was just curious.’
‘Well, you know what curiosity did to the cat, don’t you?’
‘Then I’ve nothing to worry about, have I? Since, according to you, I’m the Bird.’
He didn’t know why that should make him laugh, but it did. Hard, until he felt better than he’d felt in a while.
And closer to Bridget. Again.
He laughed for quite a while before an odd, sobering feeling began to creep up inside him.
‘I don’t know how my reputation came about, Birdie,’ he managed softly, staring at the stars. Not addressing her directly. ‘But I’ve always thought it was convenient for me. The perfect foil for the women who seem to think a single army officer must be on the lookout for a permanent companion.’
‘But why?’ she pressed. ‘Whenever Mattie has talked about her childhood, it always sounded fine. Like your parents had a good marriage, and home life was great.’
And Hayden didn’t know what it was, but something inside him...shifted.
‘Mattie doesn’t know what she’s talking about sometimes,’ he exhaled softly.
‘She said they were happily married for twenty years before your mother passed away unexpectedly. She has always wanted to emulate your parents’ marriage.’
‘Well, she shouldn’t. My sister isn’t in possession of all the salient details.’
‘Such as what?’
Hayden slid his gaze to her, this woman he didn’t need to see in the darkness to be able to picture every line and angle of her lovely face, this woman who had slid under his skin when he hadn’t been looking. And he heard himself begin to speak.
‘My parents’ marriage wasn’t quite so perfect in the beginning, but Mattie’s too young to remember, and I’ve never discussed it with her.’
He stopped, wondering why Bridget, of all people, should be the first person he had ever talked to about this. Giving her the chance to speak. But she didn’t, she just sat watching him steadily and there was something encouraging about that.
‘You know my father was a soldier? Yes, well, we got posted to different places a lot. Every nine months or so we’d move house, up and down the country, but because my father was away on exercises, it was my mother—and later me, too—who would have to pack everything up, clean the old home before the army would come and inspect the house and march us out, and then get to the new house and unpack everything.’
