‘Right.’ They both watched the Duchess wash her kittens for a moment. ‘I’m sorry,’ said Lottie, her words sounding deliberate and false. ‘About Megan leaving.’
‘Why?’
Okay not something she wanted to elaborate on. ‘It’s not nice when couples split up.’
‘We’ve not split up.’Oh, for goodness’ sake, thought Lottie. Her emotions weren’t just on a rollercoaster; they were doing loop-the-loops.
‘Oh. That’s good then,’ she said, and gave what she hoped was at least a perfunctory smile. But it wasn’t good at all. It meant the very glamorous Megan would be back sometime soon. At least by then Lottie would probably have moved on. She needed to get away and leave Joe and Henbourne behind her – that was the answer. At the thought of leaving the manor, more ice plunged into her gut.
‘Lottie. Look at me, will you?’ His voice was pleading. She slowly lifted her head, looked into his eyes and held on tight to her heart. ‘Megan and me. We’re not together.’
‘Since the non-proposal?’
‘Since ages.’
Lottie’s mouth opened and closed involuntarily. ‘But she said she was your partner.’
Joe’s mouth twitched at the edge. ‘She was my girlfriend for a while, and she still is …’ Lottie wasn’t sure if it was just her, or whether the pause was as long as the results announcer on a game show, ‘… my business partner. But that’s all.’
‘But she said … and she thought … and I assumed …’
Joe smiled warmly at her. ‘Megan is struggling to move on. That’s why she followed me here. It was only a brief thing, and it was definitely over between us months ago.Long before I decided to come back to Henbourne.’ Joe’s eyes were intense and Lottie had to look away. She pushed her hands into her back pockets and felt something there. She’d worn these jeans on Christmas Eve – it was Nana’s Christmas card. Nana’s words swirled in her mind.
The Duchess had her back leg in the air and she twitched. ‘Oh, I think she’s having another one,’ said Lottie, adjusting her hair clip, hugely grateful to the cat for the distraction.
After kitten numbers three and four arrived in quick succession, Joe checked the Duchess over and advised that she was finished. The Duchess continued to wash them all for another thirty minutes, and they all had a feed before settling down to sleep.
Lottie heard creaking outside the bedroom door as people moved across the landing. ‘Hi,’ said Scott, poking his head round the door. ‘Is it safe to come in?’
‘He means is the gruesome bit over?’ asked Angie, as a second disembodied head appeared under his.
‘Shhh,’ said Lottie, but she motioned for them to come in anyway. ‘She’s had four kittens.’
‘I didn’t expect they’d be puppies,’ said her mother and Lottie stuck her tongue out. Scott gave a conspiratorial smirk and patted Lottie affectionately on the shoulder. He held her mother’s hand as they studied the newborns.
‘So Daddy was a ginge, then,’ said Scott. ‘Excellent.’
‘They’re quite pretty,’ said Angie, leaning in to stroke one. Dave stood up and eyed her carefully.
Little footsteps and a large yawn announced Jessie’s arrival. She leaned on Lottie’s shoulders, her teddy bear flopping in front of Lottie’s eyes. ‘They’re so cute. Can we have one, Daddy? Please?’ asked Jessie.
Lottie and Jessie both looked at Zach with pleading eyes.
‘I don’t know,’ said Zach. ‘It depends.’
‘On what?’ asked Jessie, perking up.
‘Whether you want a kitten or a dog.’
‘A dog, a dog! A DOG!’
‘Shhh,’ whispered Joe and Lottie together, as Jessie threw herself into her father’s arms.
‘Thank you, Daddy!’
‘We need to find the right dog for us, so it may take a while, but I’ve seen how you are with Dave and I think it would be nice to have one around.’
Lottie smiled as Emily joined them in a family hug. She gave Emily a congratulatory nod. A friendship had been formed this festive season that Lottie knew would last a lifetime.
