Yes, they were lucky to share a special relationship, and Tom treasured the part he played in her life and treasured his role as a member of Evie’s extended family. He was grateful to Lucy for allowing that to continue after their relationship ended.
But now that Lucy and Martin were beginning their married life together, the dynamics of their family would change. Perhaps they’d have children of their own one day, brothers or sisters for Evie to dote on.
And as Evie got older, Tom would remain her friend, he hoped… but her world would expand and Tom’s part in it would shrink, and that was just the natural order of things.
He loved Evie and hoped he’d always be part of her life. But wasn’t it true that he’d imagined having his own kids by this point?
He was almost thirty-seven years-old, and the closest he’d come to building a family of his own was the brief time he’d spent with Lucy, when things had still been sweet between them and their relationship was new.
When that relationship ended, he’d just assumed the kids he wanted would… what? Materialise out of thin air? None of the women he’d dated or been involved with since Lucy made him think about kids or families or the future he’d dreamt of.
Which was why it was impossible for him to ignore the fact that he’d thought ofexactlythose things while caught in the middle of that world-shattering kiss with Carole.
In the space of just a few seconds, she’d turned him inside out with that kiss, set every nerve ending on fire, and at the same time conjured images inside his head of the amazing future they could share, the amazing future they could build—together.
Although she’d been the one to end the kiss and insist she regretted it, Tom couldn’t stop thinking about that future he’d imagined and how much he wanted to make it a reality.
Part of him tried to reason that it was insane to imagine that just one kiss could’ve made him think of all those things, and made him imagine a future with a woman he barely knew.
Another part of him countered that maybe that wasexactlywhy he ought to get to know her, instead of just letting the spark between them falter and die.
All week, his mind had gone back and forth, reliving the kiss he’d shared with Carole even as he told himself that it was pointless to fantasise about it ever happening again. Now, it was Saturday afternoon, an entire week since he’d seen Carole, and he couldn’t help glancing out of his living room window, hoping to catch sight of her.
Did that make him sad and pathetic? Quite possibly.
Tom turned from the window and looked instead at his laptop, which was open on the coffee table. As ever, there was plenty of work waiting for him there—draft sales proposals, client research files, new products and services coming online to get familiar with. It might not be a bad idea to spend the afternoon getting on top of things.
It wasn’t like he had much else to do.
With a final glance out the window, he sighed and was about to cross the room and grab his laptop and dive in. But just beforehe did so, he saw a flash of movement in the garden next door as Carole barrelled out of her front door.
Just seeing her made his breath catch. She was carrying gardening tools, clearly set on getting some jobs done out there.
Maybe this was the perfect time to go out there himself? Hadn’t he left his gym kit in the back of the car last night? Yes, he had, and it would smell if he didn’t fetch it, now that he’d remembered it was there. A quick dash out to the car would mean he’d get the chance to say hello to Carole and break the ice after last weekend.
Maybe she’d want to chat for a minute or two over the fence. And if not, well, he’d only be running a quick errand out to the car anyway and could make his escape back inside the house if she wasn’t interested in talking.
Why exactly was he overthinking all of this? It was ludicrous.
Still, he’d wait a bit before dashing outside. He didn’t want it to look like he was running out there the minute Carole appeared. That might make her think he was a creep. Or desperate.
Or a desperate creep.
For God’s sake, man, get a grip.
He watched Carole set about an overgrown shrub at the front of the garden with a pair of hedge clippers. He’d give her a minute to make some progress and then he’d go out there.
It wasn’t much of a plan. But it would have to do.
