AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The relief in her eyes was replaced by caution. ‘What?’
‘This isn’t our date. Next time it’s my choice. We go where I decide, when I decide. And it won’t be at eight-thirty in the morning, Meg, so you’ll need to book a babysitter.’
He’d been patient long enough.
CHAPTER THREE
‘MUM, he was awesome. When he stripped off his jacket he was wearing this tight suit just like Mr Incredible, and he was all muscle, and Freddie’s mouth was like this…’ Jamie dropped his jaw to show her. ‘And he had a proper six-pack and everything and then he was telling us about the suit and he said that you need to wear that for speed so that you go as fast as possible when you’re skiing. He wore it in the Olympics! You should have seen Freddie’s face when Dino got out his gold medal. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish and his dad sort of spluttered a bit and went very red in the face and quiet.’ Jamie chatted non-stop while he sprinkled glitter onto the Christmas card he was making. ‘And then he talked about when he worked as a mountain guide in Italy, where he comes from, and there was this avalanche…’
Listening to Jamie talk, Meg felt a rush of gratitude towards Dino. Whatever he’d said and done at Dad’s Day, it had obviously been the right thing.
‘Don’t use too much glue or the card will be sticky.’
He stared at the card dubiously. ‘Do you think Grandma is going to like this? We could have bought one.’
‘Home-made is better. She’s going to love it. So what else happened?’
‘All the kids thought his Lamborghini looked exactly like the Batmobile.’ Jamie added stars to the card. ‘And he let me wear his Olympic medal.’
He’d let him wear his Olympic medal? Wasn’t that going a bit over the top?
‘So, anyway, I invited him over for pizza night, Mum.’
‘Who?’
‘Dino, of course.’
‘You invited him for pizza night?’
‘Yes. Pizza is Italian, isn’t it? He told me he likes pizza.’
Trying to reconcile the smooth, sophisticated Dino she knew with a version that ate pizza, especially her pizza, Meg closed her eyes.
Feeling as though she was being sucked into quicksand, she picked up the tube of glitter. ‘He wouldn’t want to come over, sweetheart. He was probably just being polite.’
Jamie’s smile faded. ‘You mean he doesn’t really like us?’
‘No, he likes us,’ Meg said quickly, ‘of course he likes us. Especially you. I know he likes you a lot. I’m just saying that a man like Dino is busy, and he’s probably got better things to do than eat pizza with us.’
‘So why did he say he’s really looking forward to it? And it isn’t just me he likes—he likes you a lot too, Mum. He kept asking stuff about you all the time while we were in the car. Do you think he wants to marry you and have sex? Is it because Grandma and I hung extra mistletoe from the door?’
The glitter slipped through her fingers. ‘No—no, I don’t think that’s what he’s thinking and I don’t think the mistletoe makes any difference. What do you mean, he was asking stuff about me? What kind of stuff?’
‘Mostly questions about what you do when you’re not working. I told him I’m a lot of work, so when you’re not working or out on a rescue, you’re usually looking after me. Mum, there’s glitter all over the floor.’
Meg started to clean it up. ‘Well, it’s certainly true that I’m usually looking after you. Apart from the fact you eat enough for eight boys, you create masses of laundry. I couldn’t believe the state of your rugby kit this week.’ She kept talking so that she didn’t over-analyse the fact that Dino had been asking about her. ‘Did you leave any mud on the field?’
‘Freddie tackled me. He pushed me right into the mud.’
Freddie again. ‘Well, maybe Freddie won’t be so quick to jump on you now he knows your best friend is a superhero.’ She emptied glitter into the bin. ‘So what night did you invite Dino? Just so that I make sure there is some pizza for him to eat.’
‘Tomorrow, because it’s a Friday and pizza night is always Friday. And he’s expecting your extra-gooey chocolate cake. I told him it’s the only other thing you can cook.’
‘Right.’ This was a man who dined out in the finest restaurants. His favourite food was probably lobster. A
nd she was giving him pizza and chocolate cake. In a house festooned with mistletoe.
‘Thanks so much for what you did yesterday.’ In the middle of the constant bustle of the emergency department, Meg handed Dino a set of notes to sign. ‘You made Jamie’s week. Actually, you probably made his year. The whole class is talking about your car and your Mr Incredible suit. I must admit I find it surprising you can still fit in a suit you wore when you were nineteen.’
