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‘Yeah. I guess they do. But Edward’s a pretty tough nut to crack.’ The smile faded and was replaced by Ethan’s usual thoughtful look. The one that implied his thoughts on the matter were not particularly happy ones.
‘No one’s that tough.’
Ethan raised one eyebrow. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say that.’ He stepped forward, opening the door to the lobby for her, and Charlotte walked through.
Edward was waiting there, her shopping bag nestled against his own briefcase at his feet. He nodded briskly at Ethan, who returned the nod and disappeared along the hallway.
‘Everything okay?’ Edward waited until Ethan was out of earshot.
‘Yeah, fine. Mrs Ashe told Ethan that you and I had done a good job with April, and he stopped to say thank you.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘He said we made a good team.’
‘Well, we do, don’t we?’
That slight quirk of Edward’s lips told her that he, at least, didn’t have his mind completely on the professional. ‘Why are you looking so glum? You’ve just had a vote of thanks from the boss. Ethan doesn’t say these things unless he means them.’
What Ethan had really meant was beyond Charlotte. He’d seemed genuinely pleased for the little family unit which was forming before his eyes, but somehow... Charlotte sighed. If Ethan thought that it was beyond his own reach, then Charlotte was inclined to think it was beyond hers, too.
‘What? What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing. Let’s go home.’
* * *
She’d pushed the boat out and bought steak for dinner, cooking it in a peppered sauce with home-made chips. Edward and Isaac had tucked in with an almost identical glee, and been unanimous in their praise.
‘I’ve been thinking.’ Edward was helping her stack the dishwasher while Isaac played in the garden.
‘Oh-oh. That generally means trouble...’ She smiled at him.
He shot her a look of amused reproach. ‘Would you like to go out tomorrow evening? To celebrate...or perhaps to commiserate. Whatever you feel like doing, I’ll keep you company.’
‘I feel like... No. Let’s not do anything, eh? My marriage is over now, and I don’t want to look back. I want to look forward.’
‘Fair enough. So why don’t you just let me treat you, then? My mother’s coming over tomorrow afternoon, and she can look after Isaac for the evening if you’d like. We can go somewhere nice.’
Going out. On a Saturday night. It was years since she’d had the money to go anywhere, nice or otherwise, let alone pay for babysitters and... ‘I don’t really have anything to wear...’
He shrugged. ‘You have clothes. We’ll go somewhere where clothes are de rigueur.’
She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Okay. Thank you. I’d love to.’
His smirk looked far too much as if this had been a plan and not an off-the-cuff invitation. ‘Good. Mum’ll be here about three tomorrow.’
* * *
It all seemed to go like clockwork. Edward’s mother arrived on the doorstep at five to three the following day, and burst into the house like a friendly tornado. She kissed Edward, hugged Charlotte as if she’d know her for years, and made a beeline for Isaac, who was sitting on the floor playing with a construction set.
‘That looks interesting.’ Penny North had sat down on the sofa and was now looking hard at Isaac’s handiwork.
‘It’s a spaceship.’ Isaac looked up at her.
‘Well, of course it is. Silly me.’
Isaac made his decision and opted to trust this stranger with some more information. ‘Look, this is the engine.’
