Still laughing, Mario drove Nat and Ruby off to school. Lottie let herself into Piper’s Cottage, changed out of her stupid glittery dress and into white trousers and a plain gray top, and helped herself to a bottle of iced water from the fridge.
“Can you remember where you left your car?” said Tyler as they drove into Cheltenham.
“Of course I can remember!” Lottie was offended. She might not be able to recall exactly where she’d left her car, but she knew which parking lot it was in.
“Fine. Just checking. There’s a garage up ahead”—Tyler nodded—“if you want to pick up some painkillers.”
Lottie, who had already swilled down three aspirin and a pint of water at home, said heroically, “No thanks. I’m OK.”
Which was, frankly, ridiculous. She’d announced her intention to give her boss the night of his life, been politely turned down without even realizing it, and to cap it all had fallen asleep in a drunk heap on his sofa.
Let’s face it, what could be less OK than that?
“Your phone,” Tyler prompted as a muffled sound emanated from the handbag at Lottie’s feet.
“Morning, gorgeous!” It was Seb, sounding disgustingly chirpy.
“Morning.” Lottie smiled, not feeling overly gorgeous but delighted to hear from him anyway.
“Did you spend the night with that scary boss of yours?”
“I didn’t have a lot of choice.”
“I hope he behaved himself. Didn’t attempt to take advantage of the situation, force his attentions upon you…”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Lottie hastily pressed the phone hard against her ear to stop his words spilling out.
“But does he have designs on you? After all, he is your boss,” said Seb. “And you do have the most perfect bottom. It can’t be easy for him, having to work with—”
“Actually he’s here,” Lottie blurted out. “Right next to me.”
Seb laughed. “Lucky him. Anyhow, the reason I’m calling. I want to see you tonight.”
Tonight! Hell. Flattered but not at all sure she could persuade Mario to take Nat and Ruby for a second night, Lottie grimaced and said, “The thing is, I’d need to find a babysitter.”
“Or you could bring the kids along with you.” Seb was unfazed. “There’s a fair on Ambleside Common. Would they be up for that, d’you think?”
Would they be up for a trip to the fairground? Was he serious?
“They’d love it. If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind.” Flustered, Lottie realized that Tyler had stopped at a junction and was waiting for directions. “Sorry. Left, then second right by that blue van. Um, look, I’ll ring you back in a bit. We’re just picking up the car.”
Seb paused. “This boss of yours. Have you slept with him?”
“No!”
“Did he hear that?”
“Yes,” Tyler replied. “He did.”
“Speak to you later.” Lottie hurriedly ended the call before Seb could cause any more mischief. “Turn left again after the flower shop. Nearly there now.”
“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a date for tonight.” Tyler’s tone was expressionless.
Did he care? Really care? A wave of regret swept through her, because if she had the choice she wouldn’t choose Seb. But it wasn’t a viable dilemma anyway, was it? She was a mother whose children had taken that decision for her. A squiggle of excitement mingled with fear in Lottie’s stomach at the prospect of introducing Seb to Nat and Ruby. What if they hated him as much as they hated Tyler? Aloud she said casually, “Sounds like I have.”
* * *
“No. No way. I can’t do it,” Seb declared flatly. “Anything but that.”
“You have to.” Giggling helplessly, Ruby dragged him past the ringtoss. “I’m going to make you go on it.”
Seb dug his heels in like a dog. “Won’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“You want to know why not? OK, I’ll tell you.” Counting off on his fingers, Seb recited, “Number one reason: because I’ll scream like a girl. Number two reason: I’ll cry like a girl. And number three reason: I’ll be sick.”
Nat was busy tugging on his other arm. “You won’t. You have to come on it with us. Mum, tell him.”
“You have to,” Lottie told Seb, “because someone has to sit here and look after the stuffed animals, and that really isn’t a job for a grown man.”
Seb allowed himself to be hauled off to the Ghost Train, and Lottie settled down on the grass to wait for them. As the lights and colors of the fairground flashed and swirled around her, she breathed in the evocative smells of hot dogs, frying onions, toffee apples, and diesel. It was hard to believe that in less than two hours Seb had won over both her children so effortlessly and completely. Although in truth he had achieved it within two minutes. Somehow there had been that magical spark when she had first introduced him to Ruby and Nat. Being a father himself undoubtedly helped. He was comfortable with them, relaxed and funny and interested in what they had to say. He clearly enjoyed their company but wasn’t making the mistake of trying too hard to impress.
And it had worked, beyond Lottie’s wildest dreams. The last couple of hours had been a revelation. She hadn’t realized it was possible for her children to have this much genuine uncomplicated fun with a man who wasn’t their dad.
A lurid lime-green stuffed dinosaur toppled against her knee. Lottie sat it firmly back upright next to the fluorescent orange fluffy spider and the giant purple pig they’d won at the shooting gallery. How Nat’s and Ruby’s eyes had lit up when Seb had pulled out his wallet and handed each of them a tenner. When she had tried to protest he had insisted, explaining, “Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair. Because I’m not stopping until I’ve won that purple pig.”
Nor had he. As far as Seb was concerned, failure wasn’t an option. Even if the cheap, cross-eyed pig had ended up costing him close to fifty pounds. When the stallholder had finally handed it over, Nat had said, “What are you going to call it?” and Seb had replied, “Well, I’ve got this sister called Tiffany…”
Seb groaned, reappearing with Nat and Ruby in tow. “Oh God, never again. That was scary. There were real ghosts in there.”
“He was frightened.” Nat was proud. “I wasn’t.”
“OK, back to the rides. That one.” Seb pointed to the contraption Lottie had been most dreading, the warp-speed upside-down spinny thing.
“I’d love to”—she patted the stuffed toys—“but these need looking after. You lot go. I’ll stay here and watch.”
He pulled a face at Ruby and Nat. “Your mum’s scared.”
“Honestly,” said Lottie, “I’m not. I love upside-down spinny things. I just—”
“I was scared of the Ghost Train,” Seb said patiently, “and look at me. I overcame my fears.”
“But I—”
“It’s the children I feel sorry for.” Shaking his head, he turned to Ruby and Nat. “Children, I feel sorry for you. What must it be like to have a mother who’s a wimp?”
“I told you,” Lottie protested. “Someone has to look after everything we’ve won.”
“Exactly. Someone does.” Seb gathered up the fluffy spider, the lurid dinosaur, and the purple pig. Marching over to the warp-speed upside-down spinny thing, he flashed a disarming smile at a couple of young teenage girls, exchanged a few words with them, and handed over the toys. Returning, he said, “But it doesn’t have to be you.”
After the upside-down spinny thing came the Tilt-A-Whirl, the Scrambler, and the bumper cars. By ten o’clock they’d been on every ride at the fair, won many more stuffed toys, and eaten far too many toffee apples, cotton candy, and fries with curry sauce.
“That was brilliant.” Ruby heaved an ecstatic sigh as they made their way back across the field to where they’d left the car. “Thanks, Seb.”
“Thank you,” Seb replied gravely, “for looking after me on the Ghost Train.”
“Can we go out again soon?” Nat gazed eagerly up at him.
Lottie winced in the darkness; seven-year-olds could be alarmingly direct. Even if it was a question she was interested in hearing the answer to herself.
“The thing is, I don’t know if your mother would like that,” said Seb.
“Why not? She would!”
“She might have decided she doesn’t like me.”
Nat was incredulous. “She wouldn’t! She does like you, don’t you, Mum?”
“See?” demanded Seb when Lottie hesitated, floundering around for a reply. “She’s trying to be polite because she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings, but I think she’s secretly in love with another man.”
“Who?” Ruby’s eyes were like saucers.
Seb lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “Tyson, is that his name? Her boss.”
“Noooo!” Nat let out a howl of disdain. “She doesn’t like him. We won’t let her.”
“His name’s Tyler,” Ruby chimed in with relish. “And we hate him.”
“Ruby,” Lottie protested.
“Well we do.”
“Your mum might not like me,” said Seb. “We don’t know yet, do we? I mean, has she said anything to you?”
Ruby, her eyes bright, replied helpfully, “When we asked her what you were like she said very nice.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
“And good-looking.”
Oh great, thought Lottie.
“I’m flattered.” Seb ruffled Ruby’s hair. “But she still might secretly hate me.”
“She doesn’t. Mum,” Nat ordered, “tell Seb you love him.”
“Nat, no!” Thank goodness it was dark.
“Why not?”
For heaven’s sake. “Because…because it just isn’t the kind of thing grown-ups do.”
“But we can all go out with Seb again. We can, can’t we?”
Lottie’s skin was prickling with mortification. And Seb was laughing at her, the bastard.
“If it’s OK with him, it’s OK with me.”
“Result,” Seb crowed, clenching his fists and punching the air.
“Give me a piggyback!” Nat leaped up and Seb expertly caught him on his back, racing off across the field while Nat clung on and let out whoops of delight.
“He’s fun,” said Ruby, watching them turn in a wide circle before cantering back. “I really like him.”
“Mm, I can tell.” Lottie’s nod was noncommittal, but inside she was experiencing a warm glow.
“My turn,” Ruby shrieked as Nat was tipped to the ground. Seb expertly scooped her up and carted her off.
“I like Seb,” Nat confided, sliding a warm grubby hand into Lottie’s. “He’s nice. Almost as good as Dad.”
“Yes.” A lump sprang into Lottie’s throat. Maybe this time they’d all found the man of their dreams.