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Beth looked at her gratefully. “Don’t you need to be at the café?”
“I’ll bonus Duncan heavily to go in early and open up for me.”
“Here...” Jason picked out a suitcase. “This is all the girls’ outdoor stuff. Gloves, hats, that kind of thing. I’ll take it upstairs for you.”
“No need, but thanks.” Still holding Ruby, Posy picked up the case with her free hand. “Ruby and Melly bring the glamour to this party, and I bring the muscles. Right, girls. Let’s take this to your bedroom and find something warm to wear. We’ll need to be very quiet so we don’t disturb Grandma. She needs her sleep.”
“Kiss her better,” Ruby said, and Posy nodded.
“Good plan.”
“How about Aunty Hannah?” Ruby looked hopeful. “Where’s Aunty Hannah?”
“She’s working right now, but I know she’s going to be very excited to see you.”
Ruby nodded. “Aunty Hannah works a lot. She has an important job.”
“She does.”
Ruby patted her shoulder sympathetically. “Your job is to feed Socks.”
“That’s right. And that’s an important job, too, because feeding Socks means the difference between life and death. Not all important jobs come with a six-figure salary.” She gave Beth a pointed look before turning her attention back to the girls. “Do you have boots? Because the field is mucky.”
Ruby wound her arms round Posy’s neck. “How many meals a day does Socks eat? Daddy couldn’t believe we had to eat as many times as we did. He said I ate like a horse.”
“Well, horses pretty much eat all the time,” Posy said, and Melly gave a snort.
“In that case Ruby is definitely like a horse.”
Their voices faded as they climbed the stairs together, leaving Beth and Jason staring at each other.
She felt awkward and self-conscious. She knew they had things to deal with, but she didn’t know where to start or whether this was the right time. She didn’t know why he’d come early. “Child-free time. So rare, we probably don’t know what to do with it.”
“Yeah.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about Bugsy.”
“Easily done.”
“You never did it.”
“I’ve had more practice than you.” She realized how that sounded, and flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay. It’s true. You look great, by the way. Melly was right about that.” His gaze traveled down her body and lingered on her legs. “Is that dress new? You left without luggage.”
“I borrowed it from Hannah. You, on the other hand, don’t look great. Did you get any sleep on the plane?”
“Are you kidding? With those two? Fortunately, the woman in the seat near us took pity on me, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to use the bathroom.”
Their conversation felt stilted and unnatural.
Neither of them had any idea how to move past the massive boulder that had been dropped into their relationship.
Beth decided that this situation had to be treated like cold water. You just had to jump right in. “Those things I said—”
“Not now.” He shook his head. “I know we need to talk, but after two cabs, two flights and nonstop action with the girls, my brain isn’t functioning well
enough for me to be confident that the words that come out of my mouth are what I really want to say. The conversation is too important to mess up, so let’s wait until I’ve taken a shower, unpacked and caught up on sleep.”
She didn’t want to wait. She knew couples whose arguments simmered along for weeks, but she and Jason weren’t like that. If they disagreed, which happened rarely, they discussed it and fixed it. They’d never had a major problem.
