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‘Oh, I see. How clever.’
Edward nudged Charlotte. ‘You want to leave them to it?’
His breath caressed her neck and she shivered. Suddenly it all seemed real. She had a date for tonight. Not just any old date, but a darkly handsome, sophisticated, talk-all-night date. And it looked as if Isaac was making his own arrangements for the evening.
‘Yes. Let’s go and make a cup of tea.’
* * *
After Kathy, his mother had seemed to give up all hope of seeing a woman, let alone a child, in Edward’s house. Charlotte had gone upstairs to change and he sat with his mother on the patio, watching while Isaac ran around the garden. He liked this more than he was prepared to admit. His mother was clearly overjoyed, and had exceeded all expectations in her enthusiasm for both Charlotte and Isaac.
‘Can’t you take her somewhere nicer than that, Edward?’
‘I like it there.’
‘Yes, but a girl wants to be taken somewhere glamorous.’ His mother waved her hand, encompassing all the glitzy nightspots that London had to offer. ‘Somewhere she can kick her heels up and forget about everything.’
‘Like Dad did with you?’
‘Yes, now you mention it. Your father wined and dined me until I was far too giddy to say no when he asked me to marry him.’
‘Don’t jump the gun, Mother. We’re just friends.’
‘Yes, and that’s all you’ll ever be if you carry on like this. Just call upstairs, tell her to put her best dress on, and get on the phone and book somewhere nice....’
‘She doesn’t have a best dress. She’s been living hand to mouth for the last few years...’
His mother let out a tut of disapproval. ‘Well, couldn’t you have taken her out and bought her something?’
‘I could have tried, but she wouldn’t have let me. She’s...proud.’ Proud wasn’t really the word for it. Charlotte didn’t have a lot of trust. But Edward didn’t want to go there with his mother. ‘And she looks great anyway, with or without a new dress.’
His mother nodded in satisfaction at the assertion. ‘Well...yes, all right, then. I can see the difficulty. But for goodness’ sakes tell her how nice she looks, won’t you? You can’t expect women to just know what you’re thinking.’
That was the thing. He’d thought that Kathy had known what he was thinking—if anyone should have done it would have been her. And she’d said he had no emotional commitment. Those words had been seared into his brain and had stayed there, like the ultimate condemnation.
‘I don’t expect anyone to know what I’m thinking.’
His mother quirked a smile. ‘Well, that’s just as well, dear. You’d already lost me by the time you were about ten. But this is different. We’re not talking about advanced mathematics. We’re talking about...’ His mother groped for the right word.
‘Emotions?’
‘Yes, exactly. We all have the same emotions, irrespective of whether we can do complex equations in our heads.’
That was a matter of opinion. But Edward was saved from the rigours of that particular debate by Isaac, who tripped over his own feet and suddenly toppled, flat on his face, onto the grass. In a movement that was rapidly becoming instinctive Edward rose and hurried towards the boy.
‘Hey, there.’ Edward inspected him rapidly for any damage. ‘Okay, mate. You’re all right.’
Isaac didn’t seem to think so, and clung to him, crying. Edward gave him a hug and his sobs subsided. ‘There you are. Just a bit of a shock, eh? Have you hurt yourself?’
‘No.’ Isaac seemed ready to start careening around the lawn again, but then his attention was drawn to the patio.
Charlotte was wearing a simple white dress, with a lacy bodice that showed the curve of her shoulders and upper arms. Her light brown hair tumbled around her shoulders, shining in the sun. He wasn’t close enough to see her eyes, but Edward knew that they would be shining, too.
‘What do you think, mate? Doesn’t your mother look gorgeous?’
Isaac nodded and Edward let him go. The boy rushed towards her, shouting at the top of his voice.
‘Muuuum! Edward says you look gorgeous.’
