Ellie felt it would be rude to ask if he was single at this point, and anyway, it was none of her business. Though, if he was, she suspected that he wouldn’t stay that way for long. Surely there were far too many single women in their late thirties and early forties who had heard that stupid, probably made-up statistic about getting married when you were over forty, and would likely beat each other to death with their spinsters’ brooms to get hold of an attractive single man of the same age.
‘You got kids?’ Mark asked, casually.
‘Me? No.’ Ellie instinctively crossed her arms protectively across her chest. He shot her a curious look, but said nothing. ‘I mean… never got around to it, I suppose. I’m a lawyer. Work kind of takes up most of my time.’
‘Oh, like, in court? D’you wear a wig an’ a gown?’ he asked, a twinkle in his eye.
‘No! Dresses, mostly. I work in a law firm.’
‘You must be brainy, then. Lot of book learnin’,’ he added.
‘I suppose so.’ She thought about her years of study. ‘A lot of books, yes.’ She wanted to addand not much else, but she stopped herself.
‘Not much of that in the car trade.’ He shrugged. ‘Mind you, I do like readin’. Keeps the brain active.’
‘Well, I couldn’t do what you do. It must take a lot of expertise to be able to look at an engine and understand what it does. Never mind knowing how to repair it.’
‘Take things apart and put ’em back together again.’ He ran his hand over the kitchen work surface near where they stood. ‘That’s pretty much all there is to it. I like findin’ solutions. And I love old girls like this one.’ He tapped one of the cupboards above the kitchen area. ‘Don’t make ’em like that anymore, I tell you.’
‘That’s why we call her Marilyn, me and Fee.’ Ellie laughed. ‘She’s all curves and old-fashioned glamour. Well, 80s glamour, anyway. Maybe we should have called her Madonna or something.’
‘Lot of the 50s in the 80s – design-wise,’ Mark said. ‘Either way, ’twas a great time for gas guzzlers.’
‘Sorry about that, hun. Darren’s off on one again.’ Jamey stepped up into the berth and looked around at Marilyn’s interior. ‘Wow! I love this! You working on it, are you, Mark?’
‘Yeah. It’s Ellie’s.’ Mark held out a hand to Ellie as if to introduce her. ‘Ellie, this is my sister, Jamey.’
‘Hi, Jamey. Nice to meet you.’ Ellie could see the resemblance between them, now that they were next to each other. Jamey had the same direct blue eyes and good bone structure, but there was something more restless about her. She didn’t have Mark’s stability, somehow.
‘Likewise. Mark, can you give the kids their tea? Darren wants me to meet him at the pub.’ She darted a glance to her phone. Ellie thought, for a brief moment, that Jamey seemed panicked. ‘I’ll only be a couple of hours, okay?’
‘All right. I’ll take ’em to the café, then. But I’ve got another couple of hours’ work to do.’
Amber and Danny reappeared from the bedroom.
‘Found the toilet?’ Ellie asked Danny, trying not to laugh. He looked as serious as before. ‘What did you think of it?’
‘It’s very clean,’ he replied, after some thought.
‘Oh. Well, that’s good.’ Ellie matched his serious expression. ‘What you want from a toilet, really.’
‘Mum, there’s a shower and it really works! And a fridge!’ Amber squealed. ‘It’s like my Barbie camper. But bigger.’
‘That’s nice, sweetheart,’ Jamey answered, looking at her phone. ‘Okay. I’ll see you guys later. Uncle Mark’s going to take you to the café for tea.’ She kissed both children and waved. ‘Nice to meet you, Ellie,’ she added. ‘See you later, hun.’
Jamey pecked Mark on the cheek and jumped down into the yard, not bothering to use Marilyn’s steps.
Mark sighed. ‘Looks like I’ve got two little ’elpers again today, then.’ He smiled distractedly at the children. ‘Come on, trouble. Let’s get you a drink.’ He picked up Amber from where she’d climbed up into the driver’s seat. Danny sat in the passenger seat, staring out at the yard.
‘Come on, Dan,’ Mark repeated. ‘Let’s go.’ He turned to Ellie. ‘I’ll let you get your stuff out and all that. Catch up in a few days about the repairs, okay?’
‘Of course. You’ve got your hands full.’ Ellie looked around, thinking about what she’d need to take to the beach house. Fee would be back in a minute from the shops, and they’d take what they could carry for now. ‘See you later.’
She stood at the window for a moment, watching Mark shepherd the children across the yard and towards the office. He clearly took care of them often. Ellie wondered why an attractive, caring man like Mark – with his own business, no less – didn’t have a family of his own.
But then again, she’d been asked the same question herself many times. She always said it was because of her work, but was it really? Or had she deliberately chosen a career that left little time for love and family, providing a perfect excuse?
And if that was the case, why?
There were answers to those questions, but she didn’t want to think about them now.
She turned away from the window and started packing. There would be time enough at the beach house for introspection, not that she planned to give herself any more time to think than she ever had. Thinking often led Ellie to places she would rather not return to.
