“Olivia.” Ellie gave him a little push. “She didn’t like your name for her.”
“I reckon it’ll grow on her, like Turnip grew on you.”
“You’re so bad.” With a shake of her curls, she skipped up to the woman and child ahead.
When it came to charm, to getting people to like you, his daughter was streets ahead of him. He watched as Olivia smiled down at Ellie.
A second later his daughter rushed back to him. “Olivia said no, but Mia wants chocolate chip.”
“And you?” he asked, walking over to the kiosk.
She rolled her eyes. “You ask me every time, and every time I say—”
“Strawberry.” He grimaced. “I keep hoping you’ll see sense and pick a decent flavor. Kids like chocolate.Youlike chocolate. Why don’t you want a chocolate ice cream?”
“’Cause I like strawberry.”
He couldn’t argue with an eight-year-old’s logic, so he bought three ice creams—chocolate for himself, because he wasn’t stupid. Also because he wasn’t stupid, he gave Ellie the ice cream to give to Mia. Pretty soon the pair of them were chatting.
Feeling pleased with himself, he strolled up to Olivia. “Guess you have to talk to me.”
“Actually, I don’t.” She gave him another of her cool looks, and fuck, it did things to him that he shouldn’t admit to, considering he was in the presence of two eight-year-olds.
“Fine.” He swept his tongue across the ice cream and took a hit of satisfaction when her eyes traced his movement. “I’ll do the talking. I’m not married. Just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
She could deny it all she wanted, but he saw the flash of relief cross her face. “It must be fate, us meeting again.”
She gave him another long, piercing look. “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid. It was Ashley. She told me she’d contacted you.”
“Did she also tell you I set her up with my boss?”
Her eyes held a flicker of interest but she quickly dampened it. “I’m sure she’ll give me the details.”
He took another lick of the ice cream and felt her gaze on him. “Sure you don’t want one?”
She turned her head away, stared at the two girls chatting happily ahead of them. “I’m sure.”
“It’s just that you seem to be very interested in mine.”
Was it his imagination or was there a little more color in her cheeks now?
“I’m interested in getting to the aquarium and losing you there.”
Laughter shot through him. God, he’d missed her sharp tongue. “You’re angry with me because I didn’t tell you about Ellie.”
“Yes, I’m angry.”
“I’m sorry.” He sighed, staring down at his melting cone. Deciding he needed his full concentration on the conversation, he demolished the rest in two bites, using the time to work out how to explain himself. “I’m sure you’re not interested in the details, so I’ll be brief. Ellie’s mum, Amy, isn’t in the picture. Aside from a few video calls, she hasn’t been from day one.”
Her forehead wrinkled in a frown. “You’re raising Ellie alone?”
“Yeah, but both sets of grandparents pitch in. Amy’s parents live in Devon, so for the past few years, they’ve had Ellie for a month during the summer. Gives her a holiday and me a chance to... not be a dad for a bit. Not that I don’t love being her dad, I mean, fuck, it’s the best job in the world, but sometimes—”
“You need to be a guy.”
He smiled ruefully. “Yeah. And I know it’s selfish, so I make sure in that month I do something for Ellie. First time she went, I stayed home and made her a climbing frame. Past two years, I’ve worked in Nantucket. Last year I saved the money to redo her bedroom. This year I was saving for riding lessons.”
