Page 51 of A Recipe for Romance in Brambleton

‘Do you think that Daddy might like to have it on the fridge?’

Luca looked a bit unsure about that. ‘Daddy gets sad about Mummy sometimes.’

It was Lauren’s turn to nod. ‘I’m sure he does. But perhaps it would be nice for Liam to have the picture up, next to your brilliant dinosaur one, don’t you think?’

Again, Luca nodded.

‘We can pretend you just found it, if you want, and ask him to put it there.’

‘Okay.’ Relieved not to be in trouble, Luca smiled at her. ‘I like you, Lo-Lauren.’

‘I like you, too, Luca.’ This time, she did risk it and give him a quick hug. ‘Now, why don’t you two go and wash your hands again, and I’ll see if Daddy wants to join us to ice the cakes.’

42

While the boys washed their hands, Lauren padded through to the hall, and then into the living room, to see if Marc really had taken the opportunity to get a quick bit of shut-eye. He hadn’t come back through to the kitchen to check on them, but she was half expecting him to be keeping an ear out, in case of trouble. However, when she glanced over to the sofa, she saw he’d crashed out, obviously grateful for the chance to snooze. Smiling, flattered by the trust he’d put in her, she crossed the expanse of living room until she was close to the sofa.

Lauren noticed the deep purple shadows under Marc’s eyes and wondered how much sleep he was used to getting. She figured that both boys were old enough to sleep through the night but wondered if the early mornings took their toll. They must on any parent, especially one doing it alone.

In sleep, the waking worries had been ironed out of his expression. His long legs, slightly bent at the knees to fit onto the sofa, looked invitingly sexy, and Lauren surprised herself by imagining what they would feel like, wrapped around her. She imagined curling up with him under the sheets, feeling the warmth of his body, the sensations of them making love…

Stop it. Stop it right now.

She gave herself a mental shake. They needed to be slow, steady, gentle. Hopefully there would be time for faster, more urgent things later. All the same, she couldn’t resist reaching out a hand and gently stroking Marc’s tousled hair. She’d allow herself that, for now.

Her hand rested at the nape of his neck, and reluctant as she was to wake him, she couldn’t tear herself away. The sound of the tap running in the kitchen suggested that the boys were still washing up, and so she dropped to her knees at the head of the sofa, and before she could think better of it, she’d placed a kiss on Marc’s forehead.

Marc stirred, his eyelids fluttering, and gave a groan. ‘Oh God, did I drop off?’ he murmured. ‘I’m sorry, Lauren, I didn’t mean to leave you with those two terrors.’

‘It’s fine.’ Lauren smiled down at him. ‘We had fun.’

Marc’s eyes widened as she pulled back slightly so they could see each other better. ‘But that was a lovely way to wake up.’

They moved towards each other again, and Lauren breathed in anticipation of another delicious kiss. Closer, closer…

‘Daddy, come and see what we’ve made!’ Luca’s shrill, excited voice came from the kitchen.

Lauren pulled back with a grin. ‘Maybe later?’

Marc groaned in frustration. ‘Bloody kids.’ He sat upright, running a hand across his eyes, scrunching his nose in a way that immediately reminded Lauren of Liam and Luca. They were mini-images of Marc, with their wavy dark hair and brown eyes.

‘Do you want me to pretend you’re still asleep?’ she whispered, a mischievous glint in her eye. ‘I reckon you’re good for another twenty minutes’ kip if you need it.’

‘As lovely as that sounds, I’d like to see what you’ve all been up to,’ Marc replied. ‘I’ll be there in a sec.’ He smiled back at her. ‘And we’ll continue this later…’

Lauren’s pulse quickened at the suggestion in his smile. She hurried back to the kitchen, to supervise the icing of the cakes, before the boys took it upon themselves to start without her.

‘Daddy fell asleep on the sofa,’ she said, as she saw the two of them waiting expectantly by the kitchen island to complete the cakes. ‘He’ll be in in a sec. Do you want to help me to mix up the butter cream, and choose which of the icing pens you want to use to draw your designs?’

Luca and Liam both nodded solemnly, and in perfect time with one another. This was serious business, and they obviously intended to do their best. As they busied themselves with making the icing, Lauren mused on how lovely it was to spend time with them. She’d never seen herself as the maternal type, but there was something so relaxed about Marc and his sons. She knew she wanted to discover more about them all.

Marc appeared at the kitchen door as they were beating the ingredients for the icing. Lauren glanced up at him and smiled and then returned her attention to supervising the boys, making sure that the finely powdered icing sugar didn’t end up going everywhere. Adding in a few drops of green food colouring to Lucas’s bowl, so that he could put his stegosaurus on a light green background, she then turned to Liam. ‘What colour would you like your icing to be?’

Liam considered for a long moment. ‘Black. I want to put some stars on and make the sky.’

‘Okay,’ Lauren replied. She added in some drops, and soon Liam’s bowl was full of a decent black-grey icing. They both proceeded to smooth their icing onto their cakes. Then, with concentration that would be admirable from a winner of The Great British Bake Off, the boys used the sugar syrup icing pens that Lauren had brought with her and carefully recreated the designs in their sketch pads onto the tops of the cakes.

In the meantime, Marc had sidled up to the kitchen island, taken a seat and was watching them all, fascinated. Lauren tried not to keep glancing at him, for fear of giving away her feelings in front of the twins, but every so often she couldn’t resist. Every time she looked his way, she was encouraged to see him looking back at her. He’d obviously run a brush through his hair and tucked his polo shirt back in, before returning to the kitchen. She was flattered that he’d made the effort. He also looked happy and relaxed, and all of this felt… natural.