Charles came over to look at the bread and shook his head. ‘You did this for me?’
‘I want you to understand what it means to me, having a home to feel safe in while I’m pregnant,’ she told him. ‘This is the only way I know how to show you.’
‘Well, I’ll have a quick cup of coffee, and you can save that bread for when I return.’
She turned to pour the coffee. ‘You’re off somewhere important this morning?’
‘To see my lawyer,’ Charles said.
Hope passed him the coffee. ‘Well, I do hope everything’s all right. I don’t want to put any extra burden on you.’
The smile he gave her was one she wished her father had been capable of. It was full of warmth, and she couldn’t help but return it.
‘I thought I’d die an old man with no family, Hope. But you arriving on my doorstep, well, it’s changed everything.’
‘I’m truly not inconveniencing you?’
‘No, my dear girl. If anything, you’ve given this old man’s life purpose again.’
‘Well, I’m very grateful to be here.’
He smiled as he lifted his cup. ‘I cannot wait to share you with my friends. They’ll be so thrilled to meet you at our next dinner party.’
Hope smiled and watched as he quickly downed his coffee and turned on his heel to leave the house, knowing how fortunate she was. Nothing would feel right until Gus joined her, but until then, she knew how lucky she was to have an uncle who was kind enough to see her situation for what it was.
She only hoped that whatever he was going to see his lawyer about wasn’t ominous, because it was a beautiful day and the sun was shining, and she was hoping that they might be able to sit outside and enjoy lunch. If she was going to live with him, then she wanted to make up for lost time and find out more about the uncle who’d remained mostly a secret for her entire life. Until now.
29
PRESENT DAY
Mia had never had a holiday romance before, and she’d never made so many changes to her itinerary, either. But the days with Joe were impossible not to love, and every time he suggested they do one more thing or visit one more place, she couldn’t say no. And it was her, coming up with excuses for their time together not to end, too, and he seemed just as happy to entertain every extension.
They were sitting eating ice cream, and she was wondering just how it was that even French ice cream tasted better than anything she’d eaten anywhere else, when two young children came racing past, laughing and squealing, before running off at high speed again. Mia laughed as she watched them, but then she caught Joe staring at her and she turned and frowned.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
He smiled. ‘Your face lit up seeing those children.’
‘I love their energy. Kids don’t take the world too seriously. It’s refreshing.’
‘Do you want children of your own?’ he asked, casually, in between little scoops of ice cream from a tiny wooden spoon.
‘Do you?’ Mia asked, trying to hide her surprise that he’d even asked her.
‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘I mean, I like kids. I love being an uncle. I suppose it’s not something I’ve thought about in a long time.’
‘Me neither.’ Mia scooped the last little bit of ice cream from her cup, before looking back up at Joe. ‘To be honest, I imagined I’d keep up my semi-nomadic lifestyle, and maybe we would have had one child that tagged along on our work adventures. But that was before.’
Joe nodded. ‘I can see you with a mini-me.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to talk about it like that, it’s probably weird for?—’
‘Mia, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with talking about the past.’
She smiled, but tears were prickling her eyes and she hated it. ‘I just didn’t want you to wonder if I was thinking about him when I was with you. Because I’m not, I haven’t been.’
‘But then I went and asked you a tricky question,’ he said, nudging his thigh against hers. ‘You don’t have to apologise.’
