reach…
‘How hungry are you?’
‘Starving,’ she said honestly, because it seemed a longtime since they’d had the carrot cake and she’d somehow missed out on the biscuits when Emily and Andrew were there, but he was frowning into the fridge as if he didn’t like what he saw, and then he shut it and turned to her.
‘Look, it’s eight o’clock, I’m famished and I can’t be bothered to cook. D’you fancy going out? We could go to the pub in the village. The food’s OK, I’ve eaten there a few times, and you can always have something light. Or there’s a really nice little restaurant, but we’re talking about driving a few miles for that. Up to you.’
She hesitated. The pub sounded more casual, less like a date, really, but he’d be known there, and everyone would start talking if he rocked up with a pregnant woman—
What on earth was she thinking about? If she was going to be living here, and he really meant what he said about being involved with the baby, then everyone was going to know soon anyway, surely?
‘Are you ready to go public?’ she asked, and she saw the realisation of what it meant flicker in his eyes.
He gave a reluctant grin. ‘We’re going to have to do it some time,’ he said. ‘We might as well get it over with.’
‘It’s a pity Andrew and Emily aren’t still here so we’re more of a group.’
He didn’t think so. In fact he was glad they weren’t, glad he was finally going to have time to talk to her one to one, to get to know her, the mother of his child. The woman who didn’t like to be told what to do, etcetera.
‘The restaurant’s nicer,’ he said, trying to tempt her. ‘The food’s amazing. It’s got a Michelin star but it’s not ridiculously experimental. And the puddings are fantastic,’ he added, going for her Achilles’ heel, and she crumbled.
‘How dressy is it? Because I’m a bit short of decent things that still fit.’
‘Not dressy at all, you’ll be fine as you are. It’s all aboutthe food.’ He smiled at her. ‘I should go and grab a cardigan, though, it might get cold later. I’ll wait for you down here.’
She nodded and went up to her room, opening the wardrobe and searching through the clothes. Perversely, even though it wasn’t dressy, she wanted to change into something nice, but there was very little that still fitted her and although Brian and Julia had been more than generous with the baby things, they’d only given her a small allowance for herself.
So, with her options pretty limited, she pulled out a fine silk and linen mix cardi with a waterfall front that framed her bump nicely, and just because she had pride, she put on a little make-up—not much, just enough to boost her confidence a little and cover the tinge of red still around her eyes that gave away the emotional afternoon—then she added a set of chunky beads to dress it up a bit and checked in the mirror again.
Stupid. It was only for her, she wasn’t trying to impress him—and if she told herself enough times, maybe she’d start to believe it. She shut her eyes and sighed sharply at the nonsense, and went downstairs to Sam.
He was just coming out of the kitchen, still in the crisp shirt, well-cut jeans and casual shoes he’d had on earlier, but he’d knotted a soft-as-thistledown cashmere sweater the colour of his eyes over his shoulders, and one look at him and she knew she’d been lying to herself.
He glanced up at her and hesitated for a second, then smiled, holding out his arm to usher her through the door, and it felt suddenly, ludicrously, as if this was all real, as if he was taking her on a proper date, and she was his—what? His wife? His partner? Girlfriend?
Or just the accidental incubator of his child.
They were stuck with each other, she reminded herselfsharply, and if it wasn’t for the baby, there was no way he’d be taking her anywhere, so allowing herself to think about him like that would just add another
‘How hungry are you?’
‘Starving,’ she said honestly, because it seemed a longtime since they’d had the carrot cake and she’d somehow missed out on the biscuits when Emily and Andrew were there, but he was frowning into the fridge as if he didn’t like what he saw, and then he shut it and turned to her.
‘Look, it’s eight o’clock, I’m famished and I can’t be bothered to cook. D’you fancy going out? We could go to the pub in the village. The food’s OK, I’ve eaten there a few times, and you can always have something light. Or there’s a really nice little restaurant, but we’re talking about driving a few miles for that. Up to you.’
She hesitated. The pub sounded more casual, less like a date, really, but he’d be known there, and everyone would start talking if he rocked up with a pregnant woman—
What on earth was she thinking about? If she was going to be living here, and he really meant what he said about being involved with the baby, then everyone was going to know soon anyway, surely?
‘Are you ready to go public?’ she asked, and she saw the realisation of what it meant flicker in his eyes.
He gave a reluctant grin. ‘We’re going to have to do it some time,’ he said. ‘We might as well get it over with.’
‘It’s a pity Andrew and Emily aren’t still here so we’re more of a group.’
He didn’t think so. In fact he was glad they weren’t, glad he was finally going to have time to talk to her one to one, to get to know her, the mother of his child. The woman who didn’t like to be told what to do, etcetera.
‘The restaurant’s nicer,’ he said, trying to tempt her. ‘The food’s amazing. It’s got a Michelin star but it’s not ridiculously experimental. And the puddings are fantastic,’ he added, going for her Achilles’ heel, and she crumbled.
‘How dressy is it? Because I’m a bit short of decent things that still fit.’
‘Not dressy at all, you’ll be fine as you are. It’s all aboutthe food.’ He smiled at her. ‘I should go and grab a cardigan, though, it might get cold later. I’ll wait for you down here.’
She nodded and went up to her room, opening the wardrobe and searching through the clothes. Perversely, even though it wasn’t dressy, she wanted to change into something nice, but there was very little that still fitted her and although Brian and Julia had been more than generous with the baby things, they’d only given her a small allowance for herself.
So, with her options pretty limited, she pulled out a fine silk and linen mix cardi with a waterfall front that framed her bump nicely, and just because she had pride, she put on a little make-up—not much, just enough to boost her confidence a little and cover the tinge of red still around her eyes that gave away the emotional afternoon—then she added a set of chunky beads to dress it up a bit and checked in the mirror again.
Stupid. It was only for her, she wasn’t trying to impress him—and if she told herself enough times, maybe she’d start to believe it. She shut her eyes and sighed sharply at the nonsense, and went downstairs to Sam.
He was just coming out of the kitchen, still in the crisp shirt, well-cut jeans and casual shoes he’d had on earlier, but he’d knotted a soft-as-thistledown cashmere sweater the colour of his eyes over his shoulders, and one look at him and she knew she’d been lying to herself.
He glanced up at her and hesitated for a second, then smiled, holding out his arm to usher her through the door, and it felt suddenly, ludicrously, as if this was all real, as if he was taking her on a proper date, and she was his—what? His wife? His partner? Girlfriend?
Or just the accidental incubator of his child.
They were stuck with each other, she reminded herselfsharply, and if it wasn’t for the baby, there was no way he’d be taking her anywhere, so allowing herself to think about him like that would just add another
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