‘I already had pizza at the party, Daddy.’ Arlo sounded gleeful as Max pushed his stool towards the island.
‘You’d better not have too much more then,’ he replied dryly, and Ella couldn’t resist.
‘Vomit in the night,’ she suggested casually.
‘Quite possibly. And if you’re still here then you can help me clear up.’ Max flashed her a smile she wasn’t expecting.
‘No thanks, you’re on your own with that one,’ she protested. ‘None of this was my idea, remember?’
‘Chicken.’
Ella remembered the dough and picked up the tray hastily. ‘Is there somewhere I can leave this? An airing cupboard would be ideal.’
‘I’ll show you.’ In a flash Lily was on the other side of the island. ‘It’s this way Ella, on the landing near my bedroom.’
‘Thanks.’ Ella lingered to see if Max would insist on taking it himself so she wouldn’t be wandering around his house. ‘There’s enough for four if Ashley’s staying,’ she told him.
‘Up to you, Ash.’ He made it sound as though he wouldn’t mind either way. Ashley’s laugh was light.
‘Thanks Max, but let’s leave it for tonight as you already have company for the kids.’ She removed a phone from her coat pocket and touched the screen. ‘We can talk properly over dinner. I know we said Tuesday but would Thursday work for you instead? Something’s come up with James and he wants me to swap nights.’
‘That’s fine, long as my mother doesn’t mind.’
‘Shall I book us a table somewhere nice?’
‘Sure. Sounds good.’ Max had found a cloth and was wiping flour from the worktop.
‘Perfect. I think it’s your turn to collect me this time.’ Ashley put the phone away. ‘How did it go with our client this afternoon? I’m sure you smoothed them out and got their expectations back online.’
‘I think so. They signed off on the plans anyway.’
‘I bet you just wowed them with your Chelsea garden and they fell right at your feet.’
‘Don’t know about that.’ He tried to shrug off her praise. ‘They mentioned they’d seen it but didn’t follow up as I wasn’t practising in the north then.’ He glanced at Ella. ‘Sorry, it’s late to be talking shop now.’
‘That’s okay.’ She handed the tray of dough to Lily. ‘We need to take this upstairs and collect it in forty-five minutes. Then we can make the tomato sauce while we’re waiting.’
‘I never knew making pizza from scratch was so complicated.’ Lily sounded awed as she led Ella towards the hall.
‘But so worth it, I promise. You’ll never want ready-made pizza again.’
‘Thanks for that,’ she heard Max mutter behind her. ‘Pretty sure my freezer’s full of the stuff.’
When she and Lily returned, after Ella had agreed to a peep at her pretty pink and white bedroom, Arlo was on the sofa, glued to something on television, the tractor and his sheep nearby. Ashley and Max were still chatting at the island and Ashley turned to Ella as Lily tugged her into the kitchen.
‘Lovely to meet you, Ella. Do give me a call if I can help you with the house. It really was a labour of love, wasn’t it, Max? Those cabinets you wanted to dump and now look at them.’
‘You can hardly blame me,’ he protested. Ashley dropped a kiss on Lily’s head and did the same with Arlo. Max was following as they left the room. ‘They were in a state, and I wasn’t to know…’
Their conversation was lost as they disappeared into the hall, and Ella gave Lily a grin as she lined up ingredients with practised efficiency. ‘Want to help me with the tomato sauce?’
‘Yes please.’ Lily was beaming with excitement.
Max returned a few minutes later and to Ella’s surprise, he snapped the laptop shut and settled on a stool at the island with the last of his beer.
‘Good thing you’ve kept your apron on,’ she told Lily casually, feeling the weight of his gaze watching them. ‘Tomato juice can get everywhere.’
‘My granny made it for me.’ Lily pulled the apron straight so Ella could see the design. ‘Do you like the seahorse, Ella?’
