He led the way through to Eva’s bedroom and drew the curtains, made sure everything was ready to settle her down for a nap. ‘I might have to cuddle her in the rocking chair for a bit,’ he said.
‘Can I do it?’
He hated Paul being anywhere near Eva but when it came to Maya, he would love nothing more. ‘Go for it. I’ll be in the lounge.’
She came through less than twenty minutes later. ‘She’s out for the count.’ She sat down on the sofa. ‘So we have time for me to tell you my idea.’
‘You’ve already done so much; getting your dad’s offer of help is more than I could’ve ever hoped for.’
‘Good. But I can do more.’
She settled back to tell him exactly what she had in mind.
31
Maya wore the lilac dress Conrad had bought her for her birthday one year, and when she turned up at his door that Friday night, he let out a low whistle.
‘I’m behind on my laundry,’ she fibbed, ‘so this was pretty much all I had left given how warm it is today.’
‘You get no arguments from me.’
He stood to the side to let her pass. Or more likely so he could leer after her as she walked along the hallway. The way he watched her rankled, it always did, but she had to put up with it tonight and think of the end goal. The laundry was more than up to date at home, but Maya knew the effect the dress would have on Conrad. As long as he didn’t see through it as a ploy to get him onside then step one of her plan would be in place.
‘Something smells good.’ She hoped some pleasantries would help him relax into the evening, revel in the fact he’d got her here for an intimate dinner for two.
‘Mediterranean chicken with garlic and herbs.’ His chest puffed with pride.
‘How did you manage the cooking?’
‘I cheated. Got the chicken pre-marinated, ordered in an online supermarket delivery. I’ve used new potatoes which didn’t require peeling and the vegetable tray was pre-prepared too. But all fresh. And…’ He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of Chablis. ‘I’ve got your favourite wine.’
It wasn’t her favourite, but tonight it would be. ‘Wow, it’s all wonderful. I’m impressed. Can’t have been easy to do one-armed.’
‘I’ll be glad to get rid of this cast.’
‘I’m sure you will be.’
The invite to dinner had come via a text message as she pulled up outside Noah’s place, before she knew Conrad had been badgering him. In the text, Conrad said he was going to speak with Isaac and that he wanted to see Maya and talk about their son, so he reiterated the previous offer to make her dinner as a thank you for everything she’d done to help him out.
Maya had ignored the text, shoved her phone in her bag, but then when she was with Noah and she knew what Conrad was up to, she’d come up with an idea.
And now she was here. But to stop Conrad sussing that something was off, she had to act normal, which meant not being overly accepting of everything her ex-husband said and did tonight.
‘Did you get hold of Isaac?’ she asked.
‘Not yet.’
‘Conrad…’
‘I thought we’d FaceTime while we wait for the dinner to be ready.’ He checked the timer on the oven. ‘We’ve got ten minutes.’ He’d managed to undo the screw top on the wine by putting the bottle between his legs and poured her a glass, which he handed to her before she could argue.
‘Ten minutes isn’t long.’ She had to grumble, because that’s what she’d usually do when he allocated such a small amount oftime to their son. But actually it worked out well. It meant she wouldn’t have to keep up her pretence for so long if they got on with this and the evening progressed.
‘It’s long enough, Maya.’ And at least a frostiness laced his tone. It would be the way he’d usually react to such a comment from her.
They made the call on Maya’s phone – Conrad knew that was the safest bet for Isaac to answer.
‘Hey, Mum.’ He was smiling but that changed when Conrad came into view. ‘Hey, Dad,’ he added a lot more sombrely. ‘What’s going on?’
