either; that had gone, been replaced by a practical Mercedes Estate.
‘Look at this.’ Having lifted the pushchair out of the boot, Dex unfolded it and click-snapped the levers into place with a flourish.
Her mouth twitched. ‘How long have you been practising that?’
He looked proud. ‘For weeks.’
‘Very good,’ said Molly.
‘I know. If I’d bumped into me in the street three months ago I wouldn’t have recognised myself. I’ve turned into Mr Sensible.’
In his head, maybe. From the outside he was as raffishly good-looking as ever, exuding dangerous amounts of charisma.
Once they’d emptied the car and finished unpacking the boxes, Dex took a bottle of champagne from the fridge and said, ‘Well, this is it, we’re officially in our new home. I hope you’re going to stay for a bit and help us celebrate.’
‘If you were really Mr Sensible you’d have a cup of tea.’ Molly hoped the man she’d just vouched for didn’t have a raging alcohol problem.
Reading her mind, he said good-humouredly, ‘Don’t panic, new leaf and all that. From now on I’m never going to have more than one drink a night.’
‘Crikey,’
‘I know.’
‘Is that going to be difficult?’
‘Compared with changing hideous nappies it’ll be a piece of cake. Anyway, it’s just one of those things.’ Dex shrugged. ‘Drunk in charge of a baby wouldn’t be a good look, would it? Has to be done.’
Delphi, in her dungarees, was crawling determinedly across the tiled floor towards him. Watching as he picked her up and swungher into the air, Molly listened to her shrieks of joy and saw the look of love on his face. ‘And she’s so worth it.’
‘She is.’ Dex nodded then said, ‘I know what I haven’t shown you yet. Remember the time you saw Laura down here with Delphi? She borrowed the house keys without telling me why. She said it was a late Christmas present but wouldn’t tell me what it was. And I was too busy to come down and find out.’ As he spoke, he led the way out of the blue and white kitchen and up the stairs. ‘I don’t know what I thought she’d got for me. Some kind of lampshade, I suppose. Or a bit of furniture too big to fit in the Porsche. But it wasn’t, it was something much better.’ They’d reached the landing now. He stopped midway along it.
‘She bought you that? Oh wow .’ Having followed the direction of his gaze, Molly studied the stained-glass window at the far end of the landing. ‘It’s amazing.’
‘Brrraaahhhh!’ said Delphi, dribbling happily.
‘She made me that. Did the whole thing herself. Even knocked out the old window frame and fitted it, can you imagine?’
‘That’s even more amazing.’
No longer smiling, Dex reached out and touched the expertly puttied-in frame. ‘She was brilliant at DIY. A million times better than me.’
‘It’s beautiful.’ Molly meant it; the stained-glass scene depicted a tiered garden with trees, shrubs and butterflies and a small lily pond in the foreground.
‘It’s where we grew up. That’s the garden of our old house in Kent. It must have taken her hours,’ said Dex. ‘I can’t believe she went to so much trouble, doing all that for me.’
‘You were her brother.’ Molly’s heart went out to him. ‘Why wouldn’t she want to do it for you?’
He shrugged. ‘I know, but it makes me feel bad. I bought hersomething I thought she’d like for Christmas and it turned out to be all wrong. So then I said I’d take it back and get it sorted . . .’ He paused, visibly stricken with guilt. ‘But I never got around to doing it, did I? So bloody typical of me. I bet Laura knew she’d never see her Christmas present, but she still bothered to do all this. That’s the difference between us.’ His voice cracked. ‘Oh shit . . .’
‘Hey.’ He’d been doing such a good job of putting on a brave face, it was easy to forget he was still grieving. Molly said, ‘She was your sister. You could have a million
‘Look at this.’ Having lifted the pushchair out of the boot, Dex unfolded it and click-snapped the levers into place with a flourish.
Her mouth twitched. ‘How long have you been practising that?’
He looked proud. ‘For weeks.’
‘Very good,’ said Molly.
‘I know. If I’d bumped into me in the street three months ago I wouldn’t have recognised myself. I’ve turned into Mr Sensible.’
In his head, maybe. From the outside he was as raffishly good-looking as ever, exuding dangerous amounts of charisma.
Once they’d emptied the car and finished unpacking the boxes, Dex took a bottle of champagne from the fridge and said, ‘Well, this is it, we’re officially in our new home. I hope you’re going to stay for a bit and help us celebrate.’
‘If you were really Mr Sensible you’d have a cup of tea.’ Molly hoped the man she’d just vouched for didn’t have a raging alcohol problem.
Reading her mind, he said good-humouredly, ‘Don’t panic, new leaf and all that. From now on I’m never going to have more than one drink a night.’
‘Crikey,’
‘I know.’
‘Is that going to be difficult?’
‘Compared with changing hideous nappies it’ll be a piece of cake. Anyway, it’s just one of those things.’ Dex shrugged. ‘Drunk in charge of a baby wouldn’t be a good look, would it? Has to be done.’
Delphi, in her dungarees, was crawling determinedly across the tiled floor towards him. Watching as he picked her up and swungher into the air, Molly listened to her shrieks of joy and saw the look of love on his face. ‘And she’s so worth it.’
‘She is.’ Dex nodded then said, ‘I know what I haven’t shown you yet. Remember the time you saw Laura down here with Delphi? She borrowed the house keys without telling me why. She said it was a late Christmas present but wouldn’t tell me what it was. And I was too busy to come down and find out.’ As he spoke, he led the way out of the blue and white kitchen and up the stairs. ‘I don’t know what I thought she’d got for me. Some kind of lampshade, I suppose. Or a bit of furniture too big to fit in the Porsche. But it wasn’t, it was something much better.’ They’d reached the landing now. He stopped midway along it.
‘She bought you that? Oh wow .’ Having followed the direction of his gaze, Molly studied the stained-glass window at the far end of the landing. ‘It’s amazing.’
‘Brrraaahhhh!’ said Delphi, dribbling happily.
‘She made me that. Did the whole thing herself. Even knocked out the old window frame and fitted it, can you imagine?’
‘That’s even more amazing.’
No longer smiling, Dex reached out and touched the expertly puttied-in frame. ‘She was brilliant at DIY. A million times better than me.’
‘It’s beautiful.’ Molly meant it; the stained-glass scene depicted a tiered garden with trees, shrubs and butterflies and a small lily pond in the foreground.
‘It’s where we grew up. That’s the garden of our old house in Kent. It must have taken her hours,’ said Dex. ‘I can’t believe she went to so much trouble, doing all that for me.’
‘You were her brother.’ Molly’s heart went out to him. ‘Why wouldn’t she want to do it for you?’
He shrugged. ‘I know, but it makes me feel bad. I bought hersomething I thought she’d like for Christmas and it turned out to be all wrong. So then I said I’d take it back and get it sorted . . .’ He paused, visibly stricken with guilt. ‘But I never got around to doing it, did I? So bloody typical of me. I bet Laura knew she’d never see her Christmas present, but she still bothered to do all this. That’s the difference between us.’ His voice cracked. ‘Oh shit . . .’
‘Hey.’ He’d been doing such a good job of putting on a brave face, it was easy to forget he was still grieving. Molly said, ‘She was your sister. You could have a million
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