‘One day I’ll be able to rent proper premises and maybe even get a delivery van rather than having to use Betty.’
‘Betty is a colleague?’
‘Betty is my car. You helped me change her tyre.’
This time it was his turn to smile.
‘I think we both know that isn’t true, but it’s kind of you to be gentle with my ego. Sadly, my knowledge of cars begins and ends with knowing where you put the petrol.’
I gave a quick grin, loving the way he didn’t seem to feel the need to conform to a stereotypical macho image.
‘I’m sure there are plenty of other things you’re good at doing.’
I hadn’t intended my words to sound suggestive or sexy, and yet somehow they managed to be both.
Adam took his eyes briefly off the road, just long enough for me to clock the cheeky twinkle in them.
‘Maybe I should let you decide on that.’
I felt my cheeks morph from rosy pink to deep cyclamen, but thankfully the traffic was busy enough to have reclaimed Adam’s attention. Something was fizzing quietly inside me, as though champagne had mysteriously infiltrated my veins.
I smiled secretly, suddenly really, really glad that I’d finally said yes to the man sitting beside me.
It wasn’t long before we were sweeping through a set of imposing wrought-iron gates to a royal park I’d never visited before. From the excited canine whines from the back seat, I didn’t think the same could be said for Adam’s dog.
‘It’s a nice place to come and unwind after a busy day,’ Adam explained, lifting the tailgate and flipping open a proper picnic basket to slip the wine I’d brought inside. My eyes widened at the impressive array of delicacies in the hamper, and the champagne flutes, crockery and linen strapped inside the lid.
‘Whoa. When you said you’d pick up the food for today, I thought you meant a couple of bags of crisps and some Marks & Spencer sandwiches.’
Adam’s laughter was light and yet it had the power of a magnet, making it impossible for me to look anywhere but at him.
‘I love how you’ve clearly pigeonholed me as a ready-meal-and-takeaway-pizza kind of guy.’
I bit my lower lip, but the grin was irrepressible and escaped anyway.
‘And you’re not?’
He reached into the car and hefted out the basket with ease to balance it on one hip. ‘I think you’re going to have to agree to at least a second date to work out the answer to that one.’
It was a confident reply, the kind that would normally have me running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. But sprinting away from Adam Tennant was surprisingly the last thing on my mind. And for the first time in a very long while, so too was Josh.
We found a perfect spot a little off the main thoroughfare through the park. My trainers sank into deep, springy turf as we left the paved pathway and headed up an incline to a shady spot among a cluster of oaks. I glanced around me, curiously pleased to see that none of the surrounding trees were sycamores.
‘Is here okay?’ Adam asked, watching me carefully as I inspected the woodland. I nodded happily, and he set the picnic basket on the ground.
We unpacked it together, and there was an ease and unexpected familiarity as our hands delved into the basket, occasionally colliding, fingers accidentally grazing each other. Or maybe not accidentally at all.
The prosecco was still chilled from my fridge, and it felt both decadent and delightful to be sipping it from crystal flutes under a blue cloudless sky. Fletcher turned out to be an excellent chaperone, ensuring that no sparks of electricity – however potent – were more important than repeatedly throwing a frisbee for him.
‘He’s tireless,’ I said, leaning back on my elbows and watching Adam’s pet launch himself high into the air to retrieve the plastic disc.
‘He’s like a child. An extremely hairy, energetic child,’ Adam said, his voice warm with affection.
‘Do you want them – children, I mean? Obviously not right this minute, I mean in the future. Someday. You know ... whenever.’
It had to be the biggest red-flag question anyone could ask on a first date, and I could feel the sides caving in on the hole I’d just dug myself into. But Adam looked totally relaxed and unfazed by my curiosity.
He dropped down on to the tartan blanket beside me and threw the frisbee even further for Fletcher, as though his answer was for my ears only. ‘One day, with the right person, I’d love to have kids.’
