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And her very cute daughter.
In her apartment.
Where he had intimate knowledge of her bedroom.
No. It was just a thank you. For today and the other day when she’d opened the envelope and because he knew he’d been unbearable the last couple of days. And it was this or let Joe drag him out to another seedy bar with women who didn’t do anything for him. Any more.
He pushed open the car door determinedly, grabbed the plastic bag and the bottle of wine and headed towards the building. He soon arrived at her apartment and rapped on the door before he changed his mind. He only hoped they hadn’t already eaten. He checked his watch. Six o’clock. Carrie opened the door.
‘Oh.’ Carrie blinked. Charlie was standing at her door. For an awful second she wondered if her over-active imagination had conjured him up. ‘Charlie?’
She was dressed in tie-dyed clothes again, T-shirt and shorts. Her hair was down. He liked it. He liked it a lot. ‘I hope you haven’t already eaten. I bought Dana’s favourite—Chinese.’
‘Oh,’ she said again, her brain freezing. What did this mean? What did he want? Memories of what had happened last time they’d stood at this door swamped her.
Stop it!
‘Isn’t this a little early for you to be leaving the centre?’
He smiled. ‘I’m getting a life.’
Carrie’s breath caught at the hint of a promise lurking behind the teasing glint in his grey gaze.
‘Mummy?’
‘Here, darling.’ Carrie turned, grateful for the interruption.
Charlie smiled at Dana as she approached. She had on a T-shirt and shorts with paint stains all over them. She even had a smudge of paint on her face. ‘Hi, Sleeping Beauty.’
Dana’s eyes lit up. ‘Charlie!’ She threw out her arms and hugged his legs.
Charlie looked down at her blonde head and felt a swell of tenderness deep inside. He felt honoured to be so easily accepted into Dana’s world. And a little scared. He crouched down. ‘You look like you fell into a paint can,’ he teased.
‘Mummy said the same thing.’ Dana giggled.
Charlie looked up at Carrie. There was confusion in her eyes. He looked back at Dana. ‘Hah! Great minds think alike.’
‘Did you bringed your dukebox?’ Dana asked, looking over Charlie’s shoulder.
He laughed. ‘No, but I bought something just as good.’ He held up the plastic bag. ‘Ding rolls.’
‘Oh, look, Mummy,’ Dana said. ‘Charlie bought us Chinese.’
Carrie smiled and stroked her daughter’s fringe. ‘Yes, darling. We’d better invite him in, then.’
Carrie stood aside and motioned for Charlie to precede her. He brushed past her and she could smell his aftershave, mingled with the aroma of Chinese cooking, and it was a temptingly spicy combination.
‘So you haven’t eaten?’ he asked as he plonked the bag and wine on the marble-topped bench.
Carrie shook her head, lifting Dana up to sit on the bench. ‘Friday and Saturday nights are Susie’s nights off.’
‘She’s my nanny,’ Dana interjected proudly.
‘Friday night is usually too-tired-to-cook night and we have another of Dana’s favourites—two-minute noodles.’ She held up the packet. She’d been just about to add hot water to it when he’d knocked.
‘Yummy, two-minute noodles,’ Charlie said.
‘You like them, too?’ Dana asked.
He nodded. He’d practically lived on them and frozen TV dinners since his separation from Veronica. He was rarely home early enough to be bothered to actually cook anything from scratch. That was what Sunday dinners with his parents were for. For him anyway. They usually had an entirely different agenda.
‘It’s girls’ night in,’ Dana told him, swinging her legs.
‘Oh?’ He quirked an eyebrow at Carrie.
‘It’s nothing,’ she said dismissively. ‘We eat noodles, she gets to drink watered-down orange juice out of a plastic wineglass, I let her stay up a bit later and we put on a CD and dance.’
He shut his eyes and groaned. ‘And I’ve just gatecrashed?’ Good one, Charlie.
‘It’s OK. There’ll be plenty more.’
‘Will you dance with us, Charlie?’ Dana asked.
He looked into her eyes and was unable to resist. ‘Of course.’
‘OK, let’s get this food organised,’ Carrie said briskly, her heart contracting at the look that passed between her daughter and the man who not even two weeks ago had ravaged her in her bedroom.
Charlie uncorked the wine while Carrie retrieved three plates. She removed the containers from the plastic bag and took their lids off, steam sending a delicious aroma circulating around the kitchen. Dana was allowed to pour her own orange juice.
