‘Would you?’ she asked him. ‘I felt like you regretted it at the end of the evening,’ she told him honestly, remembering how disappointed she had felt when he never moved in for another kiss.
‘I’m sorry.’ He exhaled deeply. ‘I didn’t mean to confuse you like that.’
‘Did it have something to do with the blokes who walked past us near the station?’ asked Jess. ‘You seemed a bit unsettled after that as I recall.’
‘In a way, yes,’ he admitted. ‘Look, I was wondering, could I call over once Maisie is in bed and explain properly. That is all I want to do,’ he said, holding his hands up. ‘Nothing else. I really enjoy spending time with you, Jess. And I owe you an explanation.’
‘Okay.’ She nodded. ‘I will text you when Maisie’s asleep, although with these light nights, it seems to get later.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Fine.’ Declan nodded, just as Maisie reappeared and asked him to spin her and her friend on the roundabout.
‘Not too fast after that ice cream,’ said Jess. ‘Unless you want to deal with vomit.’
‘Noted,’ said Declan as they all strolled towards the roundabout.
FORTY-SEVEN
DECLAN
Maisie had flaked out just after eight, so Jess sent Declan a text to tell him so.
She looked in on Maisie in her bed, mouth open sleeping soundly after all her running around in the park and felt a rush of love. She could imagine a time when Maisie would not be a small child and idly wondered whether she would ever have any more children.
Jess instinctively plumped up the cushions on the sofa, when she heard the doorbell ring ten minutes later.
‘Hi.’ Declan stood on the doorstep, and looked almost nervous, compared to how he had appeared earlier.
‘Come in, then,’ said Jess, opening the door wide.
‘Fancy a drink?’ she asked once they were seated in the neat lounge.
Declan felt like downing a stiff whisky but thought he had better keep a cool head.
‘I am afraid I only have white wine, or maybe you would like a coffee?’ she asked brightly.
‘Coffee is fine.’ He smiled as he felt the nerves in his stomach roll. Was there anything to be achieved by telling Jess why he had been shaken by the appearance of those guys? He couldinvent a story about not feeling well at the end of the evening, he thought, as he steadied his breathing.
Once more, he told himself that the events of the past had nothing to do with his present, or his future. And with each day that passed, he realised that he wanted his future to be with Jess.
‘So,’ said Jess, sitting at the end of the sofa after she had made his coffee and got herself a white wine. ‘You said you wanted to talk.’
‘That’s why I am here,’ he said as he took a sip of his coffee. ‘The thing is I had a great evening, as I have already told you,’ he said, placing his cup down onto the nearby table.
‘But?’
‘But you were right, I thought I recognised the two guys near the train station.’
‘Right,’ said Jess as she took a sip of white wine. ‘I knew something was up.’
She met his eyes. ‘So who were they?’
‘I’m not sure they were who I thought they were.’ He sighed. ‘But let’s just say that if they were someone from my past, I would not have wanted them to know I lived around these parts.’
‘Surely if they recognised you they would have said something?’ She frowned.
‘That’s what I had been thinking,’ he admitted. ‘So I arranged to meet my cousin in Southport to ask her a few questions.’
The lady entering the restaurant with him, thought Jess.
