‘No problem.’ Cassie echoed what Adam had said, leaving Kim wondering how she and Josh had fallen out so badly.
‘Shall I unbuckle Samuel,’ she asked, ‘so we can take a look upstairs?’
Kim nodded. It was obvious that Cassie couldn’t wait to pick him up and cuddle him. Very obvious. She watched as she undid his straps, lifting him gently out of the pushchair and holding him close, then pressing her face to his soft downy head, breathing in the freshly shampooed smell of him. Kim felt for her. She must badly regret falling out with Josh and all that had followed.
Cassie made her way to the stairs leading off the dining room, Samuel nestled against her shoulder. Adam was watching her, a look of deep longing in his eyes. Kim felt even more for him. He must feel so adrift without Josh in his life, and with no children of his own.
‘So, Kim…’ he turned to her as Cassie climbed the stairs, as if sensing her gaze on him, ‘were you and Josh living together?’
Caught unawares, Kim felt slightly off kilter. ‘No.’ She sighed regretfully. ‘He wanted us to, but I didn’t fancy sharing with his housemate. We were looking at properties, but we were still trying to work out dates. You know, for the wedding?’
‘Really?’ Adam’s look was a combination of surprise and hurt.
Kim glanced down and back. ‘I’m sure he was going to tell you,’ she said hesitantly. ‘As soon as we’d made a decision.’
Adam nodded slowly, his expression reflective.
‘He wanted to get married straight away,’ Kim hurried on, ‘but I thought we should take our time, get a house lined up first. And to be quite honest, I wasn’t too keen on walking down the aisle pregnant.’
Adam smiled understandingly. ‘So where were you thinking of living?’
God, what was this, the third degree? ‘Birmingham,’ Kim replied. ‘We looked at a lovely ground-floor apartment on the waterfront.’
Adam arched an eyebrow. ‘Birmingham?’
‘Possibly,’ Kim amended, seeing a flicker of incredulity cross his face. ‘He thought it might be a good idea if he was closer to his school.’
‘Ah, I see,’ Adam said.
Kim noted the dubious edge to his voice. ‘You seem surprised.’
‘I am a bit,’ Adam admitted, his brow furrowed. ‘He was coming up to the end of his placement, wasn’t he?’
‘Yes.’ Kim smiled uncertainly, wondering at all the sudden questions. ‘But they said there was a chance of a job there, so he thought, under the circumstances…’
‘Right. Of course.’ Adam nodded. ‘He was always an outdoor sort, that’s all. He’d said he was hoping to teach more locally, but… Clearly his circumstances had changed. Sorry, I…’ Dragging a hand over his neck, he took a breath. ‘How did he seem, Kim?’ he asked, his voice tight. ‘Before he… Had he been depressed at all?’
Not sure what to say, Kim glanced away.
‘I’m just trying to put the pieces together. Pointless, probably…’ Trailing off, Adam sighed heavily.
Kim noted the look in his eyes, and realised he was torturing himself. He would undoubtedly have a thousand unanswered questions in his mind, some of which he was hoping she might supply the answers to. ‘His mood was generally okay, but…’ she faltered, studying him carefully, ‘I thought he might have been a bit down the previous evening.’
Adam eyed her questioningly.
‘We were at his house and I heard him on the phone in the kitchen. I thought he was finally talking to Cassie. He looked upset when he came back into the lounge. I asked him about it, but he said it was just stuff, and that it would sort itself out.’
Adam looked winded at that, as if she’d punched him.
Kim pressed a hand to his arm, looking concerned. ‘I was obviously mistaken, though, as Cassie and you didn’t know anything about me.’
‘What made you think it was—’ Adam started, and then stopped when Cassie called from the landing.
‘Are you two coming? We’re getting lonely up here.’
Wanting time to put her thoughts in some sort of order, Kim left Adam to go up and went outside to the car for Samuel’s baby bag. As she was coming up the stairs, she heard Adam talking to Cassie about the phone call, and paused apprehensively.
‘So you didn’t speak to him at all?’ Adam was asking.
