“Oh.” God. “It’s OK. It can wait.”
“Mummmmmyyyy!”
Shit. Now Bea was awake.
“Muuuum! Zoe’s crying!”
And now came Ralph’s baritone.
“Coming sweetie!” Kate projected.
They smiled sadly for a moment, before silently acknowledging the priority and Olivia walked away up the stairs, the look back over her shoulder mournful.
And that was Kate's chance gone.
A few minutes later, she had to smile. Their quiet evening on the sofa had turned into Bea curled up on Kate’s knee, and Zoe having a bottle on Olivia’s. Bea had her hand out to Zoe and Zoe’s little fingers wrapped around her sister’s. Her heart went ping, always turning soppy when she caught the kids being lovely to each other.
Ralph squeezed in at the end, scrolling through Christmas films on the telly to watch, now everyone was awake and unable to settle again.
Kate gazed at Olivia, cuddling Zoe and looking back at Kate. With all of them snuggled on the sofa, she couldn’t love a bunch of people more. And she couldn’t want anything harder than to ask Olivia to celebrate this in a wedding.
“This one!” Bea pointed.
With them all focussed on the screen, Kate wanted to steal another glance at Olivia, who looked as astonishing as anyone ever had.
Oh. Olivia gazed at her. She snapped her eyes back to the telly, as if trying to hide she’d been admiring her.
Silly.
She slowly turned back, catching Olivia doing the same, amusement and desperation in her eyes. If only Kate could send thoughts straight into Olivia's mind right now.
Chapter 11
It was the night before Christmas, and not a teen, child, baby, nor beautiful partner stirred.
But in bed, Olivia Sachdeva lay wide awake.
Her plan, her perfectly prepared plan, had flown out of the window.
She sighed and turned towards Zoe in the cot next to her, the interruption instantly forgiven. No antidote existed as potent as Zoe’s angelic face when she slept. Ruined plans? Worst nappies in the world? All erased from memory when Olivia gazed at her sleeping baby, with the longest eyelashes and little round cheeks. Zoe’s tiny mouth slowly drooped open, before a shuffle, and a mash, mash, mash of lips, and the beatific expression soothed Zoe’s face again and melted Olivia.
She couldn’t quite believe it. Guiltily, she realised this is how besotted her mother would have been with her, and she wondered if she’d be as annoying to Zoe when she grew into a teenager.
She sighed again.
So this was all lovely, but with plans going awry Olivia’s nerves were shredded.
Zoe gurgled on one side. Kate snuggled her on the other, her soft belly in the small of Olivia's back. A happy place. But the ring, now in the top drawer beside the head of the bed, called to her.
There wouldn’t be a quiet moment for at least a week with Christmas. Especially one where she’d be in the right state of mind. She was tempted to make an appointment with Kate, in her room at the top of the house, and ask not to be disturbed.Or draft a formal email listing the pros and cons of marriage, preferable at this point just to reduce the stress.
There was so much to discuss, although mostly she wanted to ask Kate to be wives.
Sleep? Impossible.
She carefully folded back the duvet and slipped out of bed, bunching the cover where she’d lain for Kate to cuddle.
Olivia took the ring from her drawer. She tiptoed out of the bedroom, up another flight of stairs lit only from the glow of streetlamps outside. Up to a small attic room where she sometimes worked, or needed a quiet moment, with her grey sofa and antique desk. Somewhere meant as her space only, where she had a level of control in a very busy life.
