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Did she detect a hint of nerves in his usually confident manner?

* * *

The car was warm with the heating on as well as the heated seats, and Lucy couldn’t stop herself from falling asleep almost immediately.

She woke up to the sound of Dylan’s door closing and felt a wave of sickness wash over her. She’d never travelled well in the car as a child and it seemed pregnancy had brought that back. Great. They were parked in a service station. She looked around. Dylan was at the pump putting petrol in the car. She rubbed her eyes and watched him go into the shop to pay.

“Hi,” he said as he got back in the car. “Did you have a good nap?”

“I did,” said Lucy, feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I’m just still so washed out, I could fall asleep anywhere.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you got some rest.” He started up the engine. “There’s a little woodland I know just a few minutes’ drive from here. I thought we could stop there for a few minutes, get you some fresh air.”

“That sounds good. I’m feeling a bit carsick.”

Seeing the panicked look on Dylan’s face, she quickly added, “Don’t worry, I’m not about to destroy the inside of your car.”

“Just let me know if you need me to pull over,” he said, but something about the look he gave her told her he was more concerned about her than his precious car.

The woodland had a small car park with picnic tables dotted around it. Dylan parked up and took a tub from the back seat.

“Are you feeling brave enough to try a bit of protein bar?” he asked, taking the lid off the container.

Lucy looked in. The bars were clearly homemade, and they did look very appetising. She gingerly picked out the smallest bar, and gave it a sniff, checking for her stomach’s reaction. It certainly didn’t make her nausea worse. She decided to risk a bite. It was delicious. She involuntarily let out a little groan of happiness. Her eyes darted to Dylan who had a huge grin on his face. “I’m guessing that’s good,” he said.

“It is. Thank you,” Lucy replied, feeling her cheeks redden. “You made these?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you couldn’t bake?”

“Even I can mix some ingredients in a bowl, pour them onto a baking tin and flatten them down,” Dylan laughed. “I’m glad you like them.”

His gaze fell to her lips and Lucy felt herself take a sharp intake of breath.

“Come on, we’re here for some fresh air,” she said, quickly.

They got out of the car and put on their coats. It was cold, but dry and it did feel good to be out of the car.

“Let’s walk,” said Dylan. “The benches over there will be wet and it’s too chilly to stay still.”

Lucy nodded her assent and they went over to the start of several walking trails. They made their way up a gentle slope and soon felt far away from the busy roads close by, surrounded by woodland on either side of them. They took the shortest route which was only a kilometre long and looped back to the car park.

Lucy had planned to take her time eating her protein bar so she could tell if she should stop, but she was so busy looking around and chatting with Dylan, that she ate the whole thing within the first few minutes of their walk. And she felt . . . fine. It seemed her body appreciated having some food in it, as long as it was very particular food, and Dylan’s protein bars fit the bill.

“What’s in those bars?” she asked.

“Are you feeling OK?” Dylan asked.

“Yes. I actually managed the whole thing and it helped.”

“Oh, wow. Um, I used nuts, peanut butter, chocolate, oats . . . Hopefully your pregnancy symptoms will start to improve soon. They usually do after twelve weeks.”

“How much pregnancy stuff have you actually read and watched?” Lucy asked.

“Clearly more than you!”

“I don’t need to, I’ve got you to go through it for me,” replied Lucy, cheekily.