Strictly Come Dating
Kathryn Freeman

One More Chapter

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

Copyright © Kathryn Freeman 2020

Cover design by Lucy Bennett © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

Kathryn Freeman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008365868

Ebook Edition © August 2020 ISBN: 9780008365851

Version: 2020-08-28

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Epilogue

Thank You for Reading…

You Will Also Love…

About the Author

Also by Kathryn Freeman

One More Chapter...

About the Publisher

This one is for Strictly fans everywhere (and that includes you, Charlotte and Bethan – thank you both so much for your invaluable input).

For anyone with connections to Blackpool (hello Shelley, Kath, Karley, Kirsty and Hayley).

It’s also for Mum, who spent many happy hours dancing with Dad in Blackpool Tower ballroom.

Chapter One

Maggie took a look around the room, her mouth curving in an unconscious smile. God, she was blessed. Her daughters, Penny and Tabby, sat cross-legged on the floor, their hands wrapped around slices of pizza, laughing with Hannah, the nanny who’d become a close friend. On the armchair was Alice, Maggie’s closest friend, and the twin sister of Sarah, whose house they were all currently occupying, and who sat next to Maggie on the sofa. Both her friends sported vibrant sequinned tops that put Maggie’s tame black effort to shame. Also with them was Alice’s daughter, Rebecca, who was nine like Penny.

Everyone was waiting in front of the TV for their programme to start.

Some more patiently than others.

‘I’m bored of this.’ Seven-year-old Tabby turned her nose up at the show currently trying its hardest to entertain them. ‘How much longer?’

‘Five minutes.’ Maggie gave her youngest an indulgent smile. ‘Just time for you to demolish that last slice of pizza and wash your hands.’

Tabby frowned. ‘Washing hands is for before you eat.’

That was Tabby. Always ready to argue any point. ‘True. It’s also for after you eat if your hands are covered in pizza goo. It stops the goo ending up on your clothes.’

Her daughter glanced down at the pretty rainbow tutu she was wearing, and gave her a toothy grin. ‘I guess.’

A few minutes later, Penny lunged for the remote control on the coffee table and sent the volume shooting up. ‘It’s about to start!’

Instantly Sarah’s living room was filled with the distinctive toe-tapping, body-wiggling theme tune for Strictly Come Dancing. Yes, tonight, was the now traditional Saturday night Strictly Fest. The only people missing from their usual gang were Jack and Edward, Alice’s husband and eight-year-old son, who’d chosen to go ten-pin bowling, as they did now and again. In Edward’s words, watching dancing was okay, but bowling was better.

As they settled in for an hour of the best entertainment Saturday nights could provide, eyes glued to the sixty-inch-wide screen, the front door opened, then banged closed, and a man walked into the room.

‘Bloody hell, that’s loud. Are you trying to give the neighbours a heart attack?’

All of them turned to look at the intruder. Tall, athletic-looking, with sharp cheekbones, tanned skin and shaggy blonde hair, he wore black tracksuit bottoms and a white T-shirt. On his left wrist were several braided leather wrist straps. Further up his arms were… muscles. Maggie couldn’t help but notice them: the corded muscles of his forearms and the bulge of bicep as he strained to carry the gym bag he’d flung over his shoulder.

His eyes settled on the girls, and he winced. ‘Ah, didn’t see the kids. Sorry for the bad word.’

‘We’re trying to watch television,’ Alice answered him pointedly. ‘So butt out.’

The intruder tutted. ‘That’s not very friendly.’ Then he frowned at the television. ‘Strewth, is that Strictly Come Dancing? I can’t believe it’s still going. Haven’t viewers had enough of watching people prance about in lycra and sequins by now?’

Tabby stood up and placed a finger on her mouth. ‘Shh.’

Maggie bit into her lip to stop herself from laughing. Probably she should reprimand her daughter for being rude, and to a stranger too, but what she really wanted to do was high-five her.

Looking more amused than annoyed, the man flashed Tabby a grin. ‘Hello, I’m Seb. What’s your name?’

Tabby huffed, raising her eyes to the ceiling. ‘I’m Tabby. But you’re not allowed to talk while we’re watching the dancing.’

‘Oh, okay.’ He nodded towards the double doors that divided the sitting room from the kitchen. ‘Am I allowed to get myself a drink?’

‘I suppose. If you’re quiet.’

His lips twitched. ‘Yes ma’am.’

Seb. Maggie ran the name around in her head, and realised who the guy was. ‘Your brother’s staying with you?’ she whispered to Sarah.

Sarah nodded, eyes fixed on the television where Tess Daly was coming into view. ‘I’ll tell you later.’

A loud crash from the kitchen made them all jump.

‘What the hell?’ Sarah let out a strangled noise of sheer exasperation.

‘Oops.’ Seb’s face appeared, framed by the double doors, looking anything but sorry. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, no need to leap up and check on me. I haven’t hurt myself.’

Alice stood, grabbed the remote control and pressed pause. ‘For God’s sake, Seb. What have you broken?’

‘Hey, relax. It was just a glass. I’ll clean it up. You guys can get back to your programme.’

‘Well, as you’ve already disturbed us, I guess I might as well make the introductions. Everyone, if you haven’t guessed already, this is Seb, our annoying baby brother.’ Alice swung her eyes over to Seb. ‘And brother dear, the people whose evening you keep interrupting are Maggie, our friend from uni days, her children, Tabby and Penny, their nanny, Hannah. And I assume you recognise your niece.’

Seb winked at Rebecca before skimming his gaze over the rest of them. When it connected with Maggie’s, she experienced an unexpected jolt. Wow, even from this distance, she could see his eyes were a vivid blue. Together with the tan, the sun-bleached hair and the laid-back appearance, it gave him a sexy surfer vibe. If he hadn’t come across as such a dick, she might have been tempted to try and set him up with Hannah. The girl could do with a bit of excitement in her life.

‘Ladies.’ Seb bowed his head. ‘And my sisters. I apologise for interrupting what is clearly an… absorbing evening of entertainment. From now on I promise to keep the noise down. I wouldn’t want you to miss anything… crucial.’

Sarcastic bugger. Maggie swallowed her words. After all, he was Alice and Sarah’s brother.

‘Oh, bugger off.’ Alice, as usual, said what others were thinking. ‘Just because it isn’t twenty men running around a field getting sweaty doesn’t mean it isn’t entertainment.’

‘I think you’ll find it’s twenty-two men, though I suppose you could argue the goalie doesn’t run, so—’

‘Seb.’ Alice ground out the word.

‘Shut up. Got it.’ He waved a hand at the television. ‘Carry on. I’ll be quiet as a monk in here.’

Maggie had to bite into her lip again. There was nothing about the six-foot-plus, brash male that suggested he could mimic a monk in any way.

‘God, he’s annoying,’ Sarah muttered as he closed the doors.

‘Hey, I heard that,’ came a shout from the kitchen. ‘You guys missed me really though. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.’

Sarah rolled her eyes, but Maggie didn’t miss the smiles she and Alice tried to hide. Seb might be the annoying younger brother, but he was clearly loved.

Holy fuck, how many pieces could a glass shatter into? Seb brushed yet another shard into the dustpan, his eyes searching the floor for stragglers. He didn’t want to be responsible for any of the party in the living room getting cut feet. Especially not the cute little firecracker sat on the floor with his niece who’d told him to shush.

He’d not expected to find a house full of women when he’d come back from his workout. Not that he was against the idea – he was all for the other sex. No, it was more that, after only three days being back in his home town, crashing in Sarah’s spare room, he felt the life slowly being strangled out of him. And coming home to a house of females watching dancing on the television only reinforced the direness of his situation. He ached for the sea, the surf, the freedom he’d left behind.

A life where he hadn’t been introduced as ‘our annoying baby brother’. Where nobody asked him when he was going to ‘grow up, knuckle down and get a proper job’. Yep, those were the very words his father had said to him this morning. Thanks, Pop, way to make me glad I’ve given up my life in sunny Oz and moved back to the dreary UK.

It hadn’t helped that his dad had looked so terribly ill. Always on the chubby side, he’d lost weight since the heart attack that had nearly killed him a week ago. Now he looked unwell, his skin a horrible grey colour. A man on borrowed time.

Seb pulled himself up short. Nope, he wasn’t going to wallow. What he needed was a distraction. He glanced towards the closed double doors, smirking at the sound of Bruno Tonioli giving his usual flamboyant feedback. Jeeze, how old was the guy now? He’d been a judge on the programme back when Seb had been forced to endure it at boarding school.

Decision made, Seb tucked the dustpan and brush back under the sink, opened the doors and squeezed himself on the sofa between Sarah and the fair-haired woman he clearly remembered Alice saying was Maggie.

‘Excuse me, ladies.’ He shuffled his backside further back.

Sarah narrowed her eyes. ‘Really?’ she hissed. ‘You’re going to watch this with us?’

He gave her a sunny smile. ‘Well, you obviously enjoy it. Thought I’d see what all the fuss was about.’ He glanced at the television. ‘Where’s the old guy?’

The girls on the floor turned their heads towards him, Tabby giving him that evil eye again.

‘You’re meant to be quiet, Uncle Seb.’ His niece did at least smile when she said it.

‘Sorry, Beccs.’

‘Rebecca,’ Alice muttered.

He smirked, knowing Alice hated it when he shortened his niece and nephew’s names. ‘Look, just put me out of my misery and tell me what happened to the old dude. You know who I mean. He was the funny one.’

‘Bruce Forsyth passed away.’ Maggie angled her head and gave him a rather cool look.

‘And a great loss he was, too.’ See, he wanted to add, I knew that. ‘I always had a soft spot for him. But I was talking about the other dude, the one who used to say seeevvvvveeeeerrrrn!’

‘Len Goodman left in 2016.’ This time Maggie didn’t bother to look at him, and maybe he was still the immature kid his family had him down as, because her polite formality made him want to wind her up. Ruffle her feathers a bit.

‘That’s a real shame,’ he replied, ignoring the deep sigh from Sarah on his other side. ‘I seem to remember he was quite a character.’

‘You used to watch it then?’ He had Maggie’s attention again, and had to admit the way she arched her brow, the wintry grey of her eyes, the subtle beauty of her face… she was quite intimidating.

‘I had no choice. At boarding school, it was watch that, or watch nothing.’ Immediately he regretted the words. It wasn’t bad enough his sisters calling him baby brother, now he was making himself sound like a schoolboy still. ‘Of course, that was a long time ago,’ he added, which, yes, on reflection, just made the whole kid vibe Alice had started even more obvious.

‘I suppose it depends how you define long.’ Maggie gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to the TV screen.

It left Seb to sigh inwardly and decide to keep his mouth closed for a bit.

‘She looks like a fairy princess,’ Tabby piped up five minutes later.

Seb wondered what her dad was like, because she certainly didn’t get her chatty genes from her mum. They shared hair colour, and the same eye shape, only Tabby’s were a pretty hazel, not a wintry grey. ‘I thought we weren’t allowed to talk?’ he couldn’t resist saying.

She rolled her eyes in that way kids have of making adults feel two feet small. ‘You can if it’s about Strictly.’

‘Right. So I can say she might look like a princess, but he looks like a…’ Dick, prat – he wasn’t sure what was appropriate for a kid of Tabby’s age. ‘He looks like a turkey wrapped in tin foil.’

Tabby, bless her, started to giggle, and Seb felt a rush of warmth, and of gratitude towards her. One bright spot in an otherwise pretty shitty day. Her eyes sought out her mother’s. ‘Can he say that?’

Maggie smiled at her daughter – not the watered-down version she’d given him, but a really lovely smile. ‘He can say it.’ When she turned to him, the smile dimmed though the grey of her eyes was less frosty. ‘But we don’t have to agree with him.’

Alice, lounging on what Seb liked to think of as his armchair, even though he’d only lived at Sarah’s for three days, snorted. ‘People rarely agree with Seb. Usually because he enjoys being deliberately provocative.’

‘Hey, it’s not my fault you’re so easy to wind up.’ Intrigued, he glanced back at Maggie. ‘You really think the silver get-up looks good on him?’

‘I think,’ she replied in that slow, careful way she seemed to have, ‘for a man to carry off a suit like that, he has to be really confident in who he is. And that is highly attractive.’

So, she fancied the pro dancer, did she? Seb instinctively looked down at her hand – slender and graceful, much like the rest of her – and noted the absence of a wedding ring. ‘I guess you could see it that way.’ What was so special about being sure of who you were, though? Couldn’t a guy be attractive while he was still trying to find himself? ‘Or maybe he was just too chicken to say no to the costume department. Hang on, make that too turkey.’

‘Seb.’ Sarah’s sharp tone had him swivelling his attention to the woman on his other side. ‘Don’t you have some place else to go? Somewhere your conversation and schoolboy humour might be appreciated?’

Usually he’d shrug the comment off. He wasn’t by nature insecure; he was a reasonably good-looking guy who had no problem getting on with people. So yeah, normally, he’d laugh that snide comment off and say something like sure I have, but tonight I’m generously sharing myself with you. After all, it’s what Sarah was expecting, because that’s what they did. Needle each other.

Tonight though? Yeah, tonight he wasn’t in the mood.

Rising to his feet, he gave Sarah a mock salute and strode out of the room. He’d take a shower and head back out to the pub. A place where he didn’t feel judged. Where he could talk to guys about offside rules and penalty shootouts, rather than costumes, posture and hip movements.

Chapter Two

The show was over, the girls fast asleep on Sarah’s bed upstairs. Sarah had opened a bottle of wine, which Hannah and Alice were helping her drink. Maggie was tonight’s designated driver.

‘Do you think I upset Seb earlier?’ Sarah turned to her sister. ‘He’s been a bit, I don’t know, gloomy since he’s come back.’

‘You’d be gloomy if you’d been forced to ditch life in the Whitsunday Islands to come back here.’ Alice took a large swallow of wine. ‘He’ll soon settle down. And he’s an impossible guy to upset, you know that. Far too chilled to take offence at being told to get lost.’

Maggie was intrigued by the man who’d parked himself on the sofa between her and Sarah and gone on to both annoy and entertain them all for a while. ‘Why is he back? Because of your dad?’

‘Yes.’ Alice glanced down at her glass, her face taking on a sombre expression. ‘His MI.’ She raised her eyes to the ceiling when Sarah coughed. ‘Sorry, for the non-medics, the heart attack was a major one. When I told Seb about it, I expected him to plan a visit. Didn’t realise he’d drop everything and jump on the next plane.’

‘That’s our brother for you. Impulsive. He’s never been afraid to up sticks and leave a place.’ Sarah gave them a wry smile. ‘Far more afraid of putting down roots.’

‘He seems nice.’ Hannah, who’d been quiet up till now, started to giggle. ‘Okay, what I mean is, he’s seriously hot.’

‘You think so, huh?’ Alice grinned at her. ‘You know what, he’s a pain in the arse but he is a good guy. You’re what, twenty-six?’ When Hannah nodded, Alice beamed. ‘He’s twenty-seven, so that works. As long as you don’t want anything heavy, mind you, because one thing’s for certain, he won’t be sticking around for long.’

Hannah shrugged. ‘I just want a bit of fun. I mean, is it too much to ask for a guy who’s more interested in me than in taking moody selfies for his Instagram followers?’

Maggie gaped. ‘Is that seriously what Giles did?’ Giles was the boyfriend Hannah had ditched two months ago.

‘Yep.’ She eyed Alice and Sarah. ‘Please tell me Seb doesn’t have an obsession with selfies?’

The sisters burst out laughing.

‘Seb’s not even on social media, as far as we know. He’s more your outdoors type. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, trekking through jungles, parachuting out of planes, that kind of thing.’

Hannah’s eyes lit up. ‘He sounds way cooler than Giles.’

‘Anyone sounds cooler than Giles,’ Maggie countered. ‘You need to set your standards far higher than Instagram man.’

Slowly Alice swivelled her focus towards Maggie. Her heart sank when she saw the glint in her friend’s eye. ‘Sound advice, yet don’t fall into the trap of Maggie here, who seems to have set the bar so high, nobody can ever hope to reach it.’

‘I told you before, I’ve got enough going on in my life with work and the girls. Why don’t you give Sarah a hard time, instead?’

‘I do, often, but she keeps telling me—’

‘I love my job more than I could ever love a guy,’ Sarah interrupted.

‘Exactly, and I respect that. Owning your own company, well, I guess it’s like being married.’ Alice’s eyes swivelled back to Maggie. ‘But you, dear Maggie, have been married for real, so you know how it feels to be in love. Don’t you miss that? Miss sharing your life with someone special?’

Inside her chest, Maggie’s heart ached, just a little, at the memory of the life she and Paul had once had together. Before he’d decided he didn’t want to be her husband any more. ‘I miss someone to share the girls with,’ she admitted. ‘The pride in their successes, but also the constant worries. Am I doing the right thing by them? I also miss someone to share that precious time after they’ve gone to bed, and the house is quiet.’ Her mind filled with an image of her and Paul snuggled together on the sofa, glass of wine in hand, talking about everything, and nothing. But that had been before things had changed. ‘I don’t miss being berated for being late home from the surgery because my last patient needed to talk. I don’t miss being told I’m too anal and pedantic just because I like things done a certain way, or that I make too many lists.’ Fearing she was going down a depressing road, she forced a smile. ‘And I certainly don’t miss having to watch stupid action or comedy films on a Saturday night because,’ she used her fingers to mimic quotation marks, ‘“Strictly isn’t a programme a red-blooded male wants to watch.”’

They all laughed, and Maggie hoped that was the end of the conversation, but no. Alice was like a bloody dog with a bone. ‘You know what you should do.’ Her friend didn’t give her the chance to reply. ‘You should go dancing again. I remember at uni you used to go to ballroom dancing classes, and even though we took the piss out of you, we were secretly envious because you’d come back all flushed and bright-eyed. You loved dancing.’

‘I did. God, that feeling of floating across the floor, of all the crap from the day ebbing away until there was nothing left in my head but the music.’ Even now, more than ten years since she’d last stepped onto a dance floor, tingles rippled down her spine at the memory. Dance lessons had been the highlight of her week. Protected time when, for a couple of hours, she forgot the seriousness of the career she’d chosen, the hard hours of study, and lost herself in something beautiful. ‘But Paul didn’t share the same passion, so…’ she trailed off, shrugging to hide the knot of emotion in her throat.

‘So what?’ Sarah’s expression turned fierce. ‘He shouldn’t have made you give up something you loved.’

‘He didn’t make me,’ she countered, then immediately wondered why she’d defended him. It was a habit, one she should have broken by now. ‘He let it be known he didn’t like me going.’

‘Which made it hard for you to carry on.’ Alice reached across and squeezed her hand. ‘We’re not blaming you for stopping. We just think it’s sad he couldn’t support you, instead.’

And that kind of summed up her marriage, Maggie thought bitterly. Paul hadn’t been someone she could lean on, a partner who would look out for her best interests. He’d looked out for himself.

‘But don’t you see, the fact that you used to love dancing, and that you still love watching it, means you should definitely take it up again.’ Hannah almost bounced in her chair. ‘I can totally look after Tabby and Penny if you want to.’

Could she? Dare she? Excitement hummed in her belly; butterfly wings dusting themselves off and learning to flap again. ‘I wasn’t good,’ Maggie felt the need to point out. ‘And it was a long time ago. I doubt I’ll remember any of it.’

‘You can learn again.’ Hannah grinned. ‘And then you can teach us. We could do some sessions when Strictly’s finished.’

‘Maybe.’ She was cautious by nature, and divorce had only magnified that. Still, she was talking about dancing again. And this time there would be nobody holding her back, nobody saying it was inconvenient. No annoyed husband to come home to afterwards. Hannah would look after the girls, so really there was nothing to stop her, except… ‘I don’t have a partner.’

‘So? I’m sure that’s not unusual,’ Sarah pointed out in that assertive, some might say pushy way she had. ‘Single people must sign up for dancing lessons all the time.’

Alice waggled her eyebrows. ‘What’s to say there isn’t a tall, dark, handsome guy currently being forced to dance with… I don’t know… a mop, because he hasn’t got a partner.’

Maggie spluttered with laughter. ‘Knowing my luck, I’ll get the blasted mop. Though I suppose it would at least keep its hands to itself.’

Seb expected to find the place silent when he opened the door to his sister’s house a few hours later. He definitely didn’t expect to hear wild, drunken laughter. Nor did he expect to find Alice, Sarah and Maggie still camped in the sitting room when he popped his head inside.

‘Me again.’ He deliberately looked over at the now black TV screen. ‘Do I take it talking is allowed now?’

Sarah smiled serenely back at him. ‘Only if it’s about ballroom dancing.’

‘Very funny.’ She kept smiling at him. ‘Come on, you’re kidding me, right? What was that about a mop I heard when I opened the door? That’s not ballroom.’

‘It is,’ Alice asserted. ‘It’s Maggie’s new dance partner.’

More laughter, though Maggie’s was quieter than his sisters’; a more refined, dignified sound. As if she didn’t really want to be laughing but couldn’t help herself. When he sought her gaze, she gave him a small smile. ‘It’s a long story.’

How had he missed how attractive she was? With those grey eyes now gently amused, her mouth curved upwards… a zing of interest, sharp and hot, flashed through him. Pretending a casualness he didn’t feel, he leant against the wall and crossed his feet at the ankles. ‘Hey, I’ve got time.’ Especially to listen to you, he wanted to add, but not with his sisters gawping. Besides, he really did have days of the stuff. Maybe weeks and months of it. God knows what he was going to do with himself now he was back, in between seeing his dad.

To his disappointment, Maggie shook her head and slowly rose to her feet. ‘You might have, but I’m afraid I don’t. It’s time I was in bed.’

Okay, not a promising start. If he’d gone with the flirty addition, would she have knocked him back just as coolly? Really there was only one way to find out. With a nod he pushed back from the wall, and headed into the kitchen for a glass of water.

‘Seb, do us a favour and help carry the girls down and into Maggie’s car?’ Alice shouted over at him a moment later. ‘They’re asleep on Sarah’s bed.’

‘Sure.’

He stepped into the hallway where he found Maggie, who gave him a small smile. ‘Just take care of Rebecca. I can manage my two.’

She’s being protective, he reasoned. It wasn’t personal. ‘Worried I’ll drop them?’

The look she gave him was steady and measured. ‘I’m worried they’ll wake to find themselves in the arms of a man they don’t really know.’

Well, that shot his petty retort down in flames. ‘Fair enough.’ He indicated up the stairs. ‘Ladies first.’

As he watched Maggie gently scoop up her eldest, Seb wondered what to make of her. She appeared distant, reserved, yet the way she was with her kids was quite the opposite. And there was no way his mouthy, larger-than-life sisters would be friends with a boring cold fish.

Picking up his niece, Seb followed Maggie down. Her eyes fluttered open when he settled her into the back of the car next to Penny. ‘Sorry, Beccs, you’ll soon be home.’

‘Rebecca.’ Alice glared at him over her shoulder from the front passenger seat.

His niece gave him a sleepy smile. ‘Night, Uncle Seb.’

‘Night, Beccs.’ Smiling, he kissed the top of her head, saying a silent prayer of thanks to the inventors of Skype. Without it, he’d never have managed to keep up a relationship with his niece and nephew.

Straightening, he watched as Maggie walked out with Tabby in her arms. In what was clearly a well-practised move, she eased the little girl into the final seat in the back.

‘You look like you’ve done that before,’ he remarked after she’d put the seat belt round her.

‘You could say that.’ He received another small, careful smile before she opened the driver’s door and slipped inside.

He wasn’t sure what made him hold the door, stopping her from closing it on him. There was just something about her calm presence, those cool grey eyes that captured his attention. Made him want to unsettle her, as she was unsettling him. ‘Well, it’s been great to meet you, Maggie. I guess I’ll see you around.’

‘I guess you will.’

He continued to hold her gaze, not quite sure what he was hoping for, but whatever it was, his sister interrupted it. ‘Will you shut that damn door, Seb. You’re letting all the cold air in.’

Dipping his head, he nodded over to Alice. ‘Catch you tomorrow at the folks?’

‘Sure. I’ll be the one with the humdinger of a hangover.’

Laughing, he pushed the driver’s door closed. Within seconds the smart grey BMW eased away from the curb. Sleek and quiet, just like the woman driving it.

‘So what was with the mop then?’ he asked Sarah as he headed back inside.

‘Oh, it was just a joke. We’re trying to persuade Maggie to take up ballroom dancing again. She used to love it when we were at uni.’

‘Did she study with you or Alice?’

‘Alice. She’s a GP.’

He thought of the woman he’d just seen carry her daughters into the car. Yes, he could see her as doctor. Patient and caring, yet with a tough no-nonsense streak. ‘Where’s the husband?’

Sarah, who’d been clearing away, paused as she picked up a glass. ‘He’s now an ex-husband. They divorced three years ago, and wherever he is, he’s keeping it quiet. Paul’s no longer in her life, other than a few measly video calls to the girls now and then.’ She angled her head. ‘Why all the interest?’

He shrugged off the question, though inside he was asking himself the very same thing. ‘No reason. Just learning about the people my sisters hang out with.’

‘Well, it’s Hannah you ought to be asking about.’ Sarah winked. ‘For some weird reason, she thinks you’re hot.’

‘Maybe because I am hot?’

Sarah laughed. ‘Sure, maybe.’ Seb had always found Sarah the easier sister to get on with. She was less loud, less liable to ask the searching, difficult question. More likely to smile at his jokes.

‘What happened to Hannah tonight? Excitement of Strictly too much for her?’

‘Funny. One of her friends picked her up to take her to a party.’ She eyed him speculatively. ‘So, how about it? We could facilitate things with her if you’re interested.’

The thought of his sisters brokering him a date… He shuddered. ‘It’ll be a cold day in hell before I need either of you two helping me with my love life.’

‘Okay, okay, message received.’ Sarah picked up the remaining plates and headed towards the kitchen. ‘But think about it. Hannah’s not looking for anything serious and you could do with something to look forward to, in between visits to Dad.’

She wasn’t wrong there, and Hannah definitely had what he’d call cute appeal. Not a beauty, like Maggie, but probably a lot more fun. He just wasn’t sure he was in the right place to date anyone right now.

His world had gone from waking up to the sun rising over the reef, his only stress finding enough barracudas, turtles and rays to give the tourists their thrill, to – what? England in November. Grey skies, damp and dismal weather. Oh, and let’s not forget his main role, helping to take care of an invalid. His life was on pause. He wanted to be back in the place where he’d found something he was good at, even if it was only entertaining tourists.

But then he thought of his mum, and how dramatically she seemed to have aged since his father’s heart attack. Leaving now would be selfish. Like it or not, his family needed him, and he was damned if he was going to disappoint them. At least not any more than he had already.

Chapter Three

The week had flown by and now here they were again, preparing for another Strictly Saturday. This time at Alice’s.

Maggie had barely stepped through the front door when Alice pounced on her.

‘Tell me you’ve signed up for some ballroom dancing lessons.’

‘Sort of.’

The reply was never going to be enough for Alice, and clearly Hannah knew that too because she nodded towards where the girls were heading. ‘I’m off to the TV room with them. I’ll leave you to your inquisition.’

‘Traitor.’ Hannah just grinned, leaving Maggie to face Alice, who was looking at her with the expression she probably used on uncooperative patients. ‘Look, I’ve rung a few numbers but most of them are full, or they started in September so I’ve already missed two months.’

‘Most of them.’ Alice gave her arm a nudge. ‘See, I picked up on that.’

Damn, she hadn’t meant to be so literal. ‘Fine. There’s one dance studio with vacancies on a Wednesday night.’

‘Perfect.’

Alice, confident and spontaneous, would never understand Maggie’s preference for taking things slowly. Even when it was something as important to her as dancing. ‘I’m not fully convinced I should take lessons again. It means leaving Penny and Tabby—’

‘It’s a good job you’ve lots of willing babysitters then. Including their nanny.’

Maggie sighed. ‘Okay, you’ve ripped through my cunning excuse. The truth is… damn it, Alice, I want to dance again, so much, but I’m also really, embarrassingly, scared.’

Alice’s eyes flew open. ‘Scared of dancing?’

‘Scared of going to lessons. By myself,’ she qualified, feeling more and more foolish. ‘I know, I know, it’s dumb, but God, the divorce has really done a number on me. I want to be this smart, confident woman who can walk solo into a dance studio and look forward to dancing, with anyone. But I’m not that woman any more.’

‘Bollocks.’ Alice grabbed Maggie’s arms and stared fiercely back at her. ‘Paul was a dick who didn’t realise how lucky he was to be married to you. One day he will, but by then it’ll be too late because you’ll not only have realised the divorce was down to his inadequacies and not yours, you’ll have met someone who values everything about you.’ A lump of emotion lodged itself in Maggie’s throat and Alice smiled. ‘Even your need to plan things to death.’

The tears that had been brimming shifted into tears of laughter. ‘Ouch, that’s not fair.’

‘No? Why do we always have pizza on Strictly Saturdays? Why do we have a rota detailing who’s hosting when?’

‘Because then we all know what’s happening,’ she protested. ‘It’s called organisation.’

Alice laughed and threw an arm around her. ‘And it’s just one of the many things we love about you.’ Her face sobered as she caught Maggie’s eye. ‘Promise me you won’t let Paul continue to interfere with your life. Take up dancing again.’

‘I hadn’t thought about it like that, but you’re right. I refuse to let that man, hell, any man, tell me what I can and can’t do any more.’ Maggie drew in a breath and smiled back at her. ‘I’ll enrol tomorrow.’

‘Good.’

After checking the kids were settled in front of the television, Maggie and Alice wandered into Alice’s state-of-the-art kitchen to help sort out the food. Jack, who’d been opening boxes of pizza, grinned over at them. ‘Thank God, the cavalry’s arrived. I’m out of here.’

‘Typical male,’ Alice muttered as she watched her husband slink off. ‘And I bet he’s gone to grab the best spot in front of the TV.’

‘Hey, don’t knock him. At least he’s happy to watch it with you.’ More than Paul had ever done. Because she’d had enough of thinking of her ex, Maggie turned her attention to the mountain of food on the worktop. ‘Wow, chicken wings as well as pizza. Did we agree on that deviation from the rules?’

‘They were on offer, so I thought I’d make a unilateral decision.’ Alice winked. ‘I figured it was hard for the kids to make any more mess than they already do.’

‘I admire your optimism,’ Maggie said dryly, just as the doorbell sounded. ‘That must be Sarah. I’ll get it.’

But as she went to open the door, she spotted the outline of a tall male frame through the frosted glass. And when she opened it, her breath caught in her throat. Clad in a black jacket, grey shirt with several buttons open and smart black trousers, his too-long blonde hair loose around the collar, his chin sporting sexy stubble, the visitor looked like a cross between Thor and James Bond.

‘It’s you.’

Seb’s lips quirked at her inelegant greeting, then angled his head down his body, before bringing it up again to look straight into her eyes. ‘So it is.’

Damn, she deserved that. Usually she was much friendlier than this. Then again, usually she wasn’t made to feel this unbalanced. Shaking herself, she managed a smile. ‘Sorry, I was expecting you to be Sarah.’

‘And I’m a poor substitute?’ He clasped a hand to his heart. ‘You wound me.’

‘I didn’t say that.’ Why was he able to tie her up in knots?

‘Then I’m a good substitute?’

Amusement lit up his vivid blue eyes and Maggie couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I didn’t say that either.’

‘Ah, but maybe you thought it. I can live in hope.’ He winked, and she felt a small thrill to think this attractive man was, in a small, harmless way, flirting with her. ‘I’m afraid Sarah can’t make it tonight. Something’s come up at work. She asked me to let you guys know.’

‘Oh, I see. That’s a shame.’ Yet it didn’t explain what he was doing here, in person, dressed like a surfing god going to an award ceremony.

He glanced towards the door she was still holding. ‘Am I allowed in?’

Feeling stupid, she pushed the door open fully. ‘You’re not planning on joining us again, are you?’

‘Is that a problem?’ He leant towards her, the crisp, fresh smell of whatever he’d just showered with drifting deliciously up her nostrils. ‘I mean, if it’s a ticket-only affair, I think I should point out I’ve got an in with the woman hosting tonight.’

Enjoying him far more than perhaps she should, Maggie chuckled. ‘I’m surprised you want to watch it with us, that’s all. You didn’t appear to enjoy it last week.’

The eyes that were so hard to ignore, pierced through her. ‘You enjoy it, don’t you?’

She blinked. ‘Well, yes.’

‘So much that you’re going to dance with a… what was it? A broom?’

Now he was laughing at her. ‘It was a mop, and it isn’t my first choice.’

‘Interesting.’ His gaze sharpened. ‘What, or perhaps I should ask who, would be your first choice?’

Though her heart bounced at the way he looked directly at her, she forced herself to meet his gaze. ‘Someone who can dance.’

His lips curved. ‘Sounds sensible.’

She couldn’t help it, she had to know. ‘Are you really here to watch Strictly?’

‘I thought I’d give it another go.’ He sent her a slow, seductive smile. ‘I can enjoy the company, even if I don’t enjoy the programme.’

There it was again, the cheeky flirting. Part of her admired his audacity – she was years older, yet he clearly wasn’t fazed by that, or the fact she was friends with his sisters. ‘Are you sure you’ve not just come to wind us all up again?’ she asked as she stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him.

‘Me?’ His eyes widened in an entirely innocent expression.

‘The thought had crossed my mind,’ she answered dryly, more charmed than she wanted to be.

‘Okay, you’ve rumbled me.’ He dipped his head towards her, his lips so close to her ear that his breath fluttered across her skin. ‘I thought I’d wind Alice up,’ he whispered, before straightening and giving her a careful study. ‘You, I suspect, are harder to rile. Where Alice is straight to boil, I’d put you down as more of a slow simmer.’

There was something about the way he said it, in that low drawl, with just the hint of an Aussie accent, that sent a flush creeping over her skin. A flush that wasn’t appropriate for a thirty-seven-year-old woman. ‘I can boil if the occasion warrants it.’

Seb wondered what it would be like to see Maggie boil. For her to let go of all that careful control. He had a feeling it would be quite spectacular. ‘I’ll consider myself forewarned.’

The alone time with Maggie he’d been enjoying was interrupted by the appearance of Alice in the hallway.

‘Seb, what on earth are you doing here?’ Her eyes ran up and down him. ‘Why are you dressed up? And what have you done with Sarah?’

It was Alice’s way, always straight to the point, and usually it didn’t bother him. Yet as had happened last Saturday, he found being treated as the annoying younger brother in front of Maggie rankled with him. ‘Okay, so in order: I’m here to watch Strictly. I’m wearing a jacket because I’m a smart guy, though it’ll be handy when I go to the club later. As for what I’ve done with Sarah, you say that like I might have poisoned her tea, tied her up and pushed her into the boot of my car.’

Deciding he’d had enough of being interrogated, Seb walked through to where he could hear the TV, leaving Maggie to update Alice on the reason for his sister’s no-show.

There he found Maggie’s kids sitting on the floor next to his niece and nephew. Jack, who’d commandeered one of the armchairs, rose to his feet and gave him a manly handshake.

‘Good to have some more male company for these evenings.’ He nodded at Seb’s outfit. ‘Didn’t realise we blokes were dressing up too, though.’

Seb laughed. ‘I was told it was part of the rules.’

Tabby looked over at him with narrowed eyes. ‘Are you going to watch with us again?’

‘Yep.’ He settled down in the middle of the sofa. ‘I loved it so much last time, wild horses wouldn’t drag me away.’

Rebecca giggled, but Tabby didn’t seem convinced. ‘It’s Halloween night. That’s one of the bestest shows. You have to be quiet when it starts.’

‘I’ll be mouse-like,’ he promised.

As the jarring opening sounds of Strictly sounded on the television, the others rushed in carrying plates of pizza and wings which they set on the coffee table. Seb didn’t miss how Maggie immediately went to sit on the other armchair at the opposite end of the room from him. Or how Hannah chose to sit on the sofa next to him.

‘Yes, it’s Halloween week.’ On the TV, the Italian judge jumped to his feet, waving his arms flamboyantly. ‘It’s going to be a spooktacular night of dancing!’

Dancers took to the stage in a variety of ghoulish costumes, and it wasn’t long before not making a comment was like not eating the last chocolate in the box: too hard to resist. ‘This is definitely the stuff of nightmares,’ he murmured. Almost mouse-like.

Tabby whirled round, eyes wide. ‘You promised.’

He hung his head and whispered. ‘Bugger, sorry.’

To his surprise, she grinned back at him. ‘And now you said a rude word.’

Of their own volition, his eyes sought out Maggie’s, and he found her watching them. ‘Your daughter’s too sharp for me.’

‘She’s too sharp for all of us.’

Maggie’s mouth curved in a smile that was echoed in her eyes, and the force of it hit him like a train. Wow, the ice maiden was intriguing, but the woman who’d just smiled at him? She was dynamite. Really, sit up and take notice. Gorgeous with a capital G.

All too soon, her attention was back on the TV screen.

‘I’m going to be doing the tango,’ a female contestant told the camera. She was dressed in a bizarre outfit he thought was supposed to resemble a playing card but actually looked like a cross between Frankenstein’s monster and a Bavarian milkmaid. ‘And I’m terrified.’

‘Not half as terrified as I’ll be, watching you.’ The words slipped out before he’d had a chance to stop them and now it wasn’t just Tabby who turned to stare at him. It was the whole room. Feeling most of them wanted to bury him alive, he mimicked zipping his mouth closed. ‘Sorry. Again.’

He managed to keep quiet for a full ten minutes, until his sister started disagreeing with the judges’ comments.

‘No hip rotation?’ Alice stabbed a finger at the television. ‘That’s ridiculous. Were they watching the same dance I was?’

Hannah giggled. ‘You just fancy the pro dancer so you want them to go through.’

Seb cleared his throat. ‘Perhaps they should go to VAR.’

Jack let out a boom of a laugh and Alice raised her eyes to the ceiling. When Seb glanced towards Maggie, he was certain he saw her lips twitch.

‘What’s VAR?’ Rebecca asked him.

‘Video assistant referee. They use it in football to correct clear howlers of a decision.’

‘But this isn’t football,’ she protested.

‘Quite,’ her mother agreed. ‘Your uncle was trying to be funny.’

‘Hey, it was funny,’ Seb protested.

‘It kind of was,’ Hannah agreed, sending him a flirty smile which soothed his ego but lacked the punch of Maggie’s smile from earlier.

It was the turn of the waltz, and as they watched the next couple dip and turn, Hannah sighed. ‘That’s so beautiful. It’s like they’re gliding.’

‘Exactly.’ Maggie’s eyes were on the television, her expression one of, well, it was beyond delight. If pushed, he’d have called it enchantment. ‘The Viennese waltz is so elegant, so graceful. I love how they seem to float across the dance floor, as if they haven’t a care in the world beyond the music and each other.’

For once, he had no ready quip. Sure, there was beauty in the dance, but that wasn’t the reason he kept his lips sealed. It was the look of longing on Maggie’s face as she watched it.

Chapter Four

It was the most hectic time of the day. That hour in the morning where things had to run to a disciplined timetable, yet could so easily veer off course if Maggie wasn’t right on top of it all.

So far she could tick off getting herself up and dressed, and the girls awake enough to be sitting at the breakfast table in their uniforms, bar Tabby’s socks. Twenty minutes for them to finish eating, clean their teeth and pack their school bags.

Twenty minutes during which Hannah would hopefully arrive, and Maggie could hand over the final responsibility of actually getting them to school. Oh, and getting socks on Tabby’s feet.

‘What happened with your project?’ Maggie asked Penny as she slapped some pre-sliced cheese between two pieces of bread. It was one thing being a staunch believer in the benefits of healthy, wholesome, exciting lunches for kids. Another having the damn time to make the Greek yoghurt and salad wrap/two-bean tuna salad/chicken satay with rice and diced flipping mango. That’s if her fridge even contained ingredients beyond cheese, ham and tomato.

Penny kept her head bent, seemingly absorbed in the task of piling more Weetabix onto her spoon.

‘Penny? Did you start it yet?’ Her elder daughter, always the quieter of the two, seemed to have totally lost her tongue. ‘Should I take your silence as a no? When does it need to be in?’

‘Wednesday.’

And today was… ‘But Penny, that’s tomorrow. Have you started it yet?’

‘I don’t know what to do,’ she protested. ‘It’s a crap title.’

‘Crap isn’t an appropriate word.’ Though right now Maggie had a burning desire to shout it out loud and on repeat. ‘Remind me what it was about again?’ she asked with a heavy dose of guilt. Yes, Hannah was in charge of picking the girls up from school and supervising their homework, but she wasn’t their mum. The shivvying, chasing, the encouraging, they were all down to her. And she’d ballsed this one up.

‘We have to write about climate change. One example of it.’

‘Well, that’s not crap, it’s important. I’m sure you can think of lots of things to choose from. How about the weather? Summers are getting hotter, weather becoming more extreme and more unpredictable.’

Penny yawned. ‘That’s so lame. Only old people talk about the weather.’

Tabby giggled, which made Penny grin, and Maggie took a precious moment from her tight schedule to gaze over at her daughters. How could Paul have just upped and left them? Even now, three years later, she still felt so angry about it. Him leaving her had hurt, but she was grown up enough to understand people changed and grew apart. Leaving these precious girls, though? That wasn’t just incomprehensible, it was inexcusable.

‘Mum?’

Maggie shook off the dark thoughts. ‘Sorry. Okay, you don’t want the weather. How about the effect on wildlife and loss of their habitats, like the poles losing ice, or the oceans getting warmer… hang on a minute, I might have an idea.’ Flashbacks of the conversation she’d had with Alice and Sarah last Saturday played through her mind and she reached for her phone. ‘You need to clean your teeth in two minutes.’

Used to her meticulous timing, they both gave her the long eye-roll, but then jumped down from the table and scrambled up the stairs.

A quick call to Sarah later, and Maggie was staring down at the digits she’d scribbled on the pad.

She couldn’t explain why her pulse sped as she punched the numbers into her phone. Nor could she explain her body’s reaction to the answering deep male voice. ‘Hey, Seb here.’

Maggie found she had to clear her throat. ‘It’s me. Maggie,’ she added quickly, aware he wouldn’t have a clue who me was. ‘Do you have a minute?’

‘For Maggie the Dancer? Of course. Shoot.’

Her brain, usually so sharp, was struggling to fire. ‘Before you came back to England, you were taking people scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.’

‘Are you asking me, or telling me?’

She could hear the amusement in his voice, and it annoyed her that he was so laid back while she sounded like an uptight school teacher. ‘That part I remember Sarah telling me. What I’m asking, is would you be free later today to help my daughter with her school project?’

‘The firecracker, or the mini-you?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Which daughter?’

She was still trying to get her head around the way he’d pigeon-holed them. Tabby was outspoken, yes, but was Penny really so much like her? ‘Does it matter?’

‘It doesn’t matter, no. I was just interested. What’s the project?’

Maggie explained how she thought her daughter could use the reef as an example of climate change. ‘Penny has to hand it in tomorrow and I thought she might find it more interesting to chat to you than find information on the internet.’

‘Wow, careful there. It sounds like you’re saying I’m interesting.’

She knew, from the tone of his voice, that he was smiling. ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

Soft laughter echoed down the phone. ‘Ouch, you’re a tough nut to crack. Just like your eldest daughter.’

‘Penny’s not tough,’ Maggie countered. ‘She’s cautious with people she doesn’t know.’ There was a rustle of clothing, and in the background the hum of traffic, which made her suspect he was walking outside.

‘As I’m one of those people, will she be okay with me interfering in her project?’

‘It isn’t the project itself I’d like your help with. More getting her interested enough in the subject that she’ll actually do some work on it.’ She hesitated, aware of the imposition. ‘But only if you can spare the time.’

‘Time is something I have a fair amount of at the moment.’ There was a beat of silence. ‘So when do you want me?’

Though it was an innocent enough question, Maggie felt her cheeks flush. God, what was wrong with her? ‘Hannah brings the girls home around half three, so any time after that would be great.’ Her nanny was finally going to get the chance to be alone with Seb. Well, Seb, two girls and a heavy dose of homework.

‘And what about you? When will you be back?’

‘It depends on my patient load.’ She frowned down the phone. ‘Why do you ask?’

‘Just wondered if there’s a deadline we need to be finished by.’

Maggie started to laugh. ‘You haven’t helped a nine-year-old with their school work before, have you?’

‘Err, no. Why?’

‘Because getting her to sit down for more than five minutes will be a miracle.’ She glanced up to see the girls coming back down the stairs. Tabby still without her flipping socks on. ‘Look, just do what you can. As long as she writes something. The moment she gets fidgety, you have my full permission to escape.’

‘Okay. I might see you later, or I might not.’

‘Oh, I’m pretty certain you won’t.’

‘You don’t know how determined I can be, with the right incentive.’

Once again she could hear the smile in his voice. ‘The incentive being?’

‘If I keep Penny interested in her project for long enough, I get to see you again.’

Laughter burst out of her. God, he was incorrigible. ‘Well, just in case the dubious incentive fails, thank you for helping out.’

‘No problem. Thanks for trusting me with such an important mission.’

Maggie found herself laughing again as she ended the call, causing Penny to look over at her.

‘Who was that?’

Maggie wrapped her arms around her. ‘That, my darling daughter, is an expert on the effect of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef.’

Seb winced as he watched his dad haul himself out of the armchair. He still wasn’t steady on his feet, yet he refused to use either a walking stick or a frame. ‘I’m not a bloody invalid.’

His mum had the patience of a saint to put up with him. Then again, they’d been married for forty years, so she’d had plenty of practice.

‘I told you, you don’t have to see me out,’ Seb protested. ‘I’m capable of finding my way out of the house unaided.’

His dad straightened, resting a hand on the back of the chair to steady himself. ‘And I’m capable of walking with my son to the front door.’

Stubborn sod. Seb glanced at his mum, who just smiled in that serene way she had. ‘Fine, come on then, Dad, I’ll race you.’

‘Very funny.’ Slowly he shuffled towards the door. ‘So, have you sorted yourself out another job yet?’

Here we go again. For a few blessed moments he’d begun to think he’d escape the sermon this time round. ‘It’s taken you three hours to ask. Must be a new record.’

‘Less of the cheek, son. When I was your age—’

‘You were already climbing the career ladder,’ Seb interrupted. ‘What was it again? Marketing manager at twenty-seven?’

‘Senior marketing manager.’

‘Your parents must have been very proud.’ The remark was tart, too tart for what he knew his father had only meant as a prod, a gentle push. Yet these ‘gentle prods’ had become more and more frequent. And Seb was feeling more and more battered by them. This was his dad, though. A man who’d nearly died two weeks ago, so he gentled his voice and gave him an honest answer. ‘Look, Pops, I’m still considering what I want to do next.’

‘How about, stay in one place long enough to actually make something of yourself?’ His dad gave him a baleful look. ‘And stop with that ridiculous name. You know it winds me up.’

Just as you know making my life feel insignificant winds me up, he wanted to counter, so let’s call it even. He’d not come back to England to cause more hostility though. He’d come to build bridges and to help out his mum, so as they reached the front door, Seb swallowed the words. ‘Same time again tomorrow?’

His mum, who had followed them to the door, leant forward and kissed his cheek. ‘If you’re sure that’s okay.’

‘I don’t need babysitting, you know.’ His dad glared at the pair of them, clearly recovered enough now to realise what was going on. ‘I can be trusted to be in the house by myself.’

‘We know that.’ Seb clasped his dad around the shoulder in a hug. ‘But I’d hate to deprive you of a chance of giving me another career lecture.’

It was just after four by the time Seb knocked on the door of the address Maggie had given him. A big detached house down a leafy lane. The sort of place owned by grown-up people with families and good jobs, he thought ruefully.

Hannah opened the door, a wide smile lighting up her face when she saw him. ‘Hey there, come on in. I hear you’re the reef expert.’

‘Wow, expert.’ He rubbed a hand over his chin. ‘That’s a word that’s never been assigned to me before. Ever.’

Hannah laughed, ushering him inside. ‘Apparently Maggie told Penny that’s what you were.’ She leant in closer, and he wasn’t sure if it was accidental or not, but he felt the brush of her breast against his arm. ‘I think she was disappointed when I told her it was you.’

He wasn’t surprised. Just like her mother, Penny seemed cautious. Still, he’d back himself to charm a nine-year-old, given long enough. Her mother was a different matter. Not just a cautious nature, but with walls a mile high. He suspected there’d be a few surprise barriers, too, just when a guy thought he’d scaled the wall. Most of them probably courtesy of her ex – and yes, he’d gone to the trouble of asking his sister about Maggie. She fascinated him, the wary grey eyes in a quietly beautiful face, the sharp attitude. It was disappointing to know, despite his boast to her, he probably wouldn’t see her tonight.

‘Penny’s in the kitchen.’ Seb dragged his mind back to what Hannah was saying. ‘She’s doing homework but you can go on in. I think Maggie wants her to get the project done.’ She flicked him a glance. ‘Unless you fancy a drink and a bit of grown-up talk, first?’

Yep, he hadn’t been imagining it. Hannah was flirting with him. His ego wagged its tail, yet he wasn’t sure he felt anything more than that. Maybe it was down to the setting: Maggie’s house, Maggie’s kids. ‘I’d better see Penny.’ He flashed Hannah a smile. ‘But I wouldn’t say no to a tea if you’re offering.’

He took a quick scan of the rooms either side of the hallway as he followed Hannah down, trying not to feel too intimidated. The house was as he’d expected, impeccably neat, the furnishings tasteful, the muted colour scheme classy. Yet it was also so much more than he’d bargained for. More rooms, more space. More expensive.

He was pleased to find Tabby also in the L-shaped kitchen, though rather than sitting at the centre island like Penny, the younger sister was in what appeared to be a space designed for the kids to watch TV as Mum prepared tea. And… holy shit, what was that bright orange thing she was sitting on? No way was that Maggie’s choice.

As soon as she saw him, Tabby jumped up from the satsuma of a sofa. ‘We’re not watching Strictly. That’s for Saturdays but we get to watch It Takes Two if we’re good. Penny has to do her thing for school now but I can watch the telly ’cos I’ve done my homework.’ She pursed her lips as she glanced over at the TV screen. ‘I guess you can watch with me. It’s SpongeBob.’ A grin lit up her face. ‘He’s well funny.’

God, Tabby cracked him up. ‘That’s quite some offer, thank you.’ He glanced at Penny, who was staring at him with serious grey eyes identical to her mother’s. ‘First I need to see if I can help Penny with her project though.’

Aware of the elder sister’s eyes on him, he walked over to where Penny was working and slipped onto the stool opposite her. ‘Your mum tells me your project is about climate change.’ Penny inclined her head, but remained silent. ‘She thought you could use the Great Barrier Reef as an example of something that’s been affected by it.’ Another nod, and Seb felt the first knot of worry. What was he supposed to do if she refused to engage with him? Just bugger off home?

The thought of Maggie coming home to find Penny hadn’t done any work towards her project, and he’d snuck off with his tail between his legs… nope, wasn’t going to happen.

Resolutely he picked up the iPad in front of Penny and entered the website address of his home for the last few months. ‘Did you know I was living on the Great Barrier Reef a few weeks ago?’

This time Penny’s eyes caught his. ‘You lived in the sea?’

‘Not quite.’ He found the picture he wanted and handed the iPad over to her. ‘On the sea.’

Chapter Five

Maggie hadn’t been sure what to expect when she let herself in. Penny and Tabby in front of the television, homework and project abandoned? A reasonable bet. Seb still there, flirting with Hannah as he watched her cook tonight’s tea? Maybe.

It certainly wasn’t the sight of Penny still working, pointing out something in her workbook to Seb. Nor was it the absolute focus on Seb’s face as he listened to her.

Tabby was the first to notice her mum’s arrival. She jumped off the sofa, the one Maggie hated with a passion because Paul had chosen it – everything else in this house is so damn bland, Maggie – and wrapped her arms around Maggie’s legs. ‘I did my homework and Hannah said ’cos I’d been good I could watch SpongeBob. Then I watched Blue Peter.’

Hannah, who was chopping up vegetables, looked up and smiled. ‘She’s left out the part where she conned me into letting her have a cookie, too.’

Tabby gave Maggie a look of outraged innocence. ‘I was good two times. Doing my homework and setting the table. That means two treats.’

‘So it does.’ Laughing, because it was hard to do anything else when Tabby used her special brand of logic, Maggie hugged her back before walking over to Penny and kissing the top of her head. ‘How about you, Penny?’ Maggie glanced briefly at Seb, who was now leaning back in his chair, before turning her attention back to her daughter. ‘I didn’t expect you still to be working on your project.’

‘We’re nearly done.’ Penny pointed to the iPad, and a photo of a pontoon over the most beautiful turquoise water. Blue cloudless sky above, sun glinting off the water. Nothing else in sight but the ocean and the horizon. ‘Did you know Seb used to live on the Barrier Reef?’

‘Live on it? I think you mean he used to work on it.’ Her eyes found Seb’s, and once again she was struck by their colour, the blue so similar to the sea in the photograph.

‘Yes, but he lived on it, too,’ Penny protested, looking at Seb for confirmation. ‘Didn’t you?’

At the fond smile Seb threw her daughter, Maggie felt a small, but definite, squeeze in her chest. He might be too brash for her taste, and he might unsettle her, but it was hard not to like a man who treated her daughters with such respect, yet such indulgence, too.

‘I did live on it.’ Seb confirmed, his eyes drifting to the photo. ‘Not all the time, we had a rota, but for a few months, off and on, I lived on a pontoon floating right over the Great Barrier Reef.’

A shadow crossed his face, and though it was over in a flash, it was enough to make Maggie pause. ‘You must miss it.’

Those bright eyes snapped to hers, his surprise clear. ‘That’s the first time I’ve been asked, since I’ve been back.’

She wasn’t sure what it said about her that she’d recognised the sadness in his eyes, where his family hadn’t. ‘Well, look at what you’ve come back to.’ She waved her hand towards the window, where the dark had already descended, and the lashing rain was making a din against the glass. ‘Why would anyone think you’d miss life on a sun-drenched pontoon over the ocean?’

He chuckled, and when his eyes met hers, they shared a smile. A real smile, devoid of mick-taking or pretence. For the first time Maggie felt she’d seen the real guy behind the smart-mouthed, cocky drifter act he seemed to wear like armour.

Clearing his throat, Seb tapped a finger over Penny’s workbook. ‘How are we doing? Have you captured the part about the plastic, the bottles, the bags?’

Her daughter’s eyes skimmed over the page. ‘Yes.’ She gave Seb a shy smile. ‘It’s in the bit about what people should do to help keep the reef from dying.’

‘Okay, good stuff. Anything we missed?’

As Penny proceeded to turn over the pages to check, Maggie’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. ‘Wow, there’s a lot there.’

‘There has to be, because there’s so much that can hurt the reef.’ Penny counted off the items on her fingers. ‘There’s the weather, and then the… the acid of the sea, and the way the sea’s getting higher.’ She looked up at Maggie, grey eyes alive with interest. ‘Did you know where Seb worked, there’s a bit of reef in the shape of a heart? It’s so cool.’

‘No, I didn’t.’ Again she glanced at Seb, her friends’ kid brother, the wayward one who’d set off backpacking round the globe instead of settling down. She wondered if Alice and Sarah had ever actually asked him about his life, his experiences. ‘How long did you live in Australia?’

‘Long enough to develop a bit of an Ozzie twang, according to Alice.’ Crossing one long, jean-clad leg over the other, he leant back again and smiled straight into her eyes. ‘But if you’re interested in the proper answer, I spent the last two years there, the last eighteen months in the Whitsundays.’ He shrugged. ‘The longest time I’d spent in one place since leaving the UK.’

‘And before Australia?’

He gave her a long, steady look. ‘You really want to know this stuff?’

Maggie was aware that Hannah had stopped chopping and was listening. Aware too that Penny was watching her. Yet she was right to be interested, wasn’t she? His experiences were so different to her got a job as soon as she left university, got married to a man who worked even longer hours than she had. She could count on one hand the number of times she’d been abroad. ‘If I didn’t want to know, I wouldn’t have asked.’

Her rather tart answer made him laugh. ‘Fair enough. It’s just some people ask out of politeness, and then glaze over when I start telling them how an orphan sun bear adopted me while I was teaching English to kids in Cambodia, or the time I was dive bombed by flying squirrels when I led a trek through the Borneo jungle.’

Penny’s eyes grew wide. ‘Are there really squirrels that fly?’

‘It’s actually more gliding than flying, but it’s pretty awesome to watch.’

Penny turned to her, and Maggie had rarely seen her daughter so animated. ‘Can we go to Borneo? It sounds so cool.’

Maggie laughed, though inside she felt a twinge of guilt. Holidays had never been a key priority for them as a family. Paul had been so focused on work, he’d never wanted to leave the country for long so they’d mainly stuck to UK holidays. And since the divorce, it had taken all her effort just to get by, juggling work with life as a single mum to two girls who’d not understood why their dad had all but disappeared from their lives, barring the occasional phone call. Holidays had slipped off her to-do list. ‘Maybe one day.’

Uncomfortably aware she’d hogged too much of Seb’s time, Maggie stepped back. ‘I think we should let Seb go home now. I’m sure you can finish it on your own.’

For the first time since he’d come back, Seb could truthfully say he’d been enjoying himself. Two hours spent with a switched-on kid who’d fired questions at him as if he really was an expert, and who’d absorbed his answers with a focus he could only aspire to. Add to that the last five minutes he’d spent talking to Maggie, who’d seemed genuinely interested in what he’d been saying.

Well, until a few seconds ago when she’d suddenly closed up, his time apparently up. He wasn’t ready to be dismissed though, not ready to leave the warm kitchen, the cute kids or the striking mother who, for a few precious minutes, had made him feel more than he was.

‘I’m not in a rush,’ he replied evenly. ‘And I can’t leave a job before it’s finished, it’s not in my nature.’

She clearly hadn’t been prepared for that, but he was coming to realise Maggie was pretty good at hiding her real feelings because she gave him one of her polite smiles. ‘Fine. I’ll leave you and Penny to finish up while I help Hannah.’

Tabby, who’d been as good as gold while they’d been working, wriggled off the sofa and meandered over. ‘I want to see the squirrel. The one with wings.’

Chuckling, he ruffled the top of her head. An instinctive gesture, yet one glance at Maggie, who’d stopped pulling a jug out of the cupboard to stare at him, and he realised it was too familiar. Snatching his hand away, he reached for the iPad. ‘They don’t have wings, Tabs. They have this extra skin, called a patagium, that connects the front and back legs. Here, let me find you a photo.’

For the next twenty minutes, he had fun showing Tabby photos of weird animals he’d come across on his travels while Penny finished her project. If he ever needed another stroke to his ego, he thought, he’d come here. The girls had made him feel like a bloody king for a while.

All too soon though, Maggie declared tea was ready. ‘Go and wash your hands, girls.’

As the pair of them disappeared, Seb wondered about his odds of bagging an invite to stay. Probably hovering around zero. Still, he’d always been partial to an outside bet. ‘Smells good. What is it?’

‘Lasagne. Hannah’s signature dish.’ Maggie turned to smile at Hannah. ‘The girls pester Hannah to make it at least once a week.’

You can stay and try some if you like. The invitation didn’t materialise. Clearly she didn’t want him getting too familiar. A shame, because her kids were a real crack, and he could have done with another hour of fielding questions from their enquiring minds, while eating a plate of someone else’s cooking.

And yes, okay, he’d like another shot at trying to impress Maggie too.

Instead all he had to look forward to was an evening rattling around Sarah’s place, waiting for her to come home. It wasn’t that he didn’t have friends here – he’d enjoyed catching up with his old school mates at the weekend – but during the week they, unlike him, were too knackered to go out because they’d been at work all day.

‘Right, well, I’ll leave you to it.’ He stood and picked up the coat he’d slung over the back of his chair.

At that moment the girls dashed back into the room. ‘Is Seb going?’ Tabby pouted. ‘He can stay and watch It Takes Two with us after tea.’ She glanced up to Maggie. ‘Can’t he, Mum? He doesn’t have to be quiet in that.’

Maggie looked towards Hannah, and then back at him. ‘Well, if Seb wants to stay, I’m sure Hannah won’t mind, but he’s probably got much better things to do.’

He didn’t. Still, he wasn’t quite sure what he was letting himself in for. Or why it was down to whether Hannah minded. ‘What’s It Takes Two? If it features another dude dressed as a sponge, I’m out of here.’

Tabby giggled. ‘Duh, It Takes Two is about Strictly. It’s where they talk to the dancers about costumes and stuff.’

Ah. Maggie must have seen his pained expression because she smiled. ‘I think Seb might prefer SpongeBob.’

‘No, it’s fine.’ It beat an empty house, anyway. ‘I get to eat the best ever lasagne first though, yes?’

Hannah rolled her eyes at him. ‘No pressure, huh?’

As it turned out the lasagne was tasty and the conversation, dominated by the girls, was easy. It was only as he helped clear the plates away with Hannah that Seb realised Maggie was making moves to leave.

‘Is she going out?’ he asked as he watched Maggie walk back into the room wearing a dark navy coat and clutching her handbag. She’d clearly given her hair a quick brush and applied a subtle pink lipstick.

‘She’s going dancing.’

He felt a small, but definite, tug of disappointment. ‘The lessons she was talking about?’

‘Yep. It took a lot of effort but we managed to persuade her. Apparently she used to be crazy about dancing before she got married.’

It wasn’t his business. Still, Seb couldn’t resist asking. ‘Paul didn’t like dancing, I take it?’

Hannah gave him a funny look. ‘You know about Paul?’

‘Well, not really,’ he had to admit. ‘Only what I’ve heard from Alice and Sarah.’

‘Oh yes, I keep forgetting they’re your sisters.’ She shook her head. ‘It must have been a real hoot growing up with them. They’re like, what, ten years older than you?’

‘About that,’ he murmured as Maggie finished saying goodbye to the girls and came over to them.

‘So, thank you for today, Seb.’ Her smile was the warmest he’d received so far from her. ‘Not just for helping Penny, but for making it fun, too. I have to say, I didn’t think you’d still be working on it when I got home.’

He waited until her eyes met his and then smiled straight into them. ‘I told you, I can work miracles with the right incentive.’

She shook her head, laughing softly. ‘Seriously, have you ever thought about going into teaching? You’ve got a real way with the kids.’

‘Thanks.’ She was being kind, but not only had her comment effectively deflected his flirty remark, it had also reinforced the chasm between them. Whether that was deliberate he didn’t know, but now he felt like the chump who still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, being advised by the wise professional. ‘Not all kids are as bright and receptive as Penny and Tabby.’

In what was clearly an unconscious gesture, Maggie glanced over to where her daughters sat on the satsuma sofa. The love, the pride, on her face, caught at him. Had his parents ever looked at him that way? They loved him, sure, but were they proud of him? Then again, what had he done to make them proud? Seb gave himself a mental shake. Nope, he’d done with the crappy pity party. ‘Hannah tells me you’re going to those dance lessons tonight?’

And there it was again, the shift in her body language from relaxed, when she was talking about her kids, to formal when the conversation turned to her. ‘I am. I’ll be hoping to avoid the mop.’

‘Stuff the mop, you’re going to get tall, dark and handsome,’ Hannah interjected. ‘I can feel it.’

‘I’ve had enough tall, dark and handsome to last me a lifetime, thanks.’ A cloud crossed Maggie’s face and Seb guessed that Paul had been exactly that. ‘I’ll settle for a guy who doesn’t stamp on my toes.’

‘Hey, you should aim higher than that. I hear blonde is the new dark.’ He waggled his eyebrows and though Hannah laughed, Maggie gave him a wary look. Either she thought he wasn’t funny or, worse, she knew he was coming on to her and didn’t like it.

An awkward pause followed, and Seb figured it was time for him to leave. It felt odd staying in Maggie’s house without Maggie. Odd and, though he hated to admit it, not quite as appealing. ‘I ought to go, too.’ Maggie looked at him in alarm and he laughed. ‘Chill, I don’t mean to the lessons. I mean leave Hannah and the girls to watch their programme in peace.’

Maggie cast a glance at Hannah, and whatever they communicated, it seemed to be in favour of him staying because Hannah gave him a bright smile. ‘We want you to stay. And you never know, with you being a fan of Strictly now, you might even enjoy It Takes Two.’

Once Maggie had left, Hannah threaded her arm through his and led him over to the sofa. It was nice to feel wanted, he realised as he settled down with them. Plus, Hannah was easy company; open, fun. A woman his own age, who laughed at his jokes and didn’t seem like she’d be offended if he asked questions that were too personal.

And if now and again he wondered how Maggie was getting on in her dance lessons, well, it was only because It Takes Two was even less his thing than Strictly.

Chapter Six

It was Maggie’s turn to host Strictly Saturday. The pizzas were out of their boxes and on trays beside the already warmed oven. Glasses and plates rested on the island, napkins by their side. A crisp salad waited in the fridge. Hannah was already here, sitting with the girls in the living room. All Maggie needed now were her other guests.

Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

After settling the pizzas into the oven, she went to open the door, finding not only the people she’d expected, but also one she hadn’t. Her shock must have shown on her face, because Alice winced.

‘He’s promised to be good. Okay, that’s a lie. When I went to pick Sarah up, Seb gave us the sad eye look and, well, we’re suckers for it, so huge apologies but here he is. If it helps, Jack and Edward have ducked out. I tried to get Seb to meet up with them, but he insisted he wanted to come here.’

Seb, dressed smartly again, this time in black jeans, a light pink shirt that emphasised his tan, and a grey jacket, gave her a wide, winsome smile. She suspected it was the same one he’d given his sisters.

It was unnerving to realise she, too, was a sucker for it. ‘The girls will be pleased to see you,’ she told him, trying to ignore the butterflies in her belly. She suspected Hannah would be pleased, too. Her nanny had admitted to enjoying having Seb round on Wednesday, though Maggie had been surprised, and relieved, to find him already gone when she’d arrived home. It was one thing telling Hannah what a disaster the evening had been. Quite another admitting it to the man she still didn’t feel entirely comfortable around. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him. Far from it. It was more that she didn’t like the feelings he evoked in her.

Unconsciously she caught his eye and, as if to reinforce her thoughts, a ripple of awareness ran through her.

‘It’s good to know I have at least two fans,’ he drawled, shooting her another of his easy smiles.

Ignoring the fluttery sensation, Maggie forced herself to smile back. ‘Penny wanted to show you the comment the teacher put on her project.’

‘Great.’ He laughed softly. ‘At least I hope it’s great or I’ll have to downgrade my earlier statement to one fan.’ Then he laughed again. ‘And Tabs will no doubt withdraw her vote the moment I open my mouth during Strictly.’

She wanted to tell him her daughter was called Tabby, but it felt petty, mean even, considering he was so lovely with them. And considering Tabby hadn’t batted an eyelid when he’d called her that on Wednesday. It had been just after she’d watched him ruffle her hair in a gesture so affectionate, so natural, it had caused her heart to ache at what both her daughters were missing out on. Paul should have been the one helping Penny with her project, ruffling Tabby’s hair.

‘I’ll head on in then.’ Seb’s voice brought her back, and she watched as he strode past her into the hallway, as if he was a frequent visitor. As this was his second visit in the space of a few days, maybe he now qualified as that.

‘Good to see he’s dressed for the occasion,’ she murmured to Sarah and Alice, drawn to the view of his broad shoulders, enhanced by the jacket, and his trim backside, showcased by the dark jeans.

‘Oh, he’s got some woman picking him up later.’ Alice shook her head. ‘To think this is where women’s liberation has taken us. Seems backwards to me.’

‘To be fair, he’s not got a car,’ Sarah pointed out.

‘True. To get a car, he needs to get a job, though maybe that’ll change soon with this youth centre thing.’

She couldn’t say why she was so interested, but she was. ‘Has he applied for a job there?’

Alice shrugged. ‘He said he’d been to see them. I know he’s worked with youth clubs during his travels so hopefully it will work out.’

‘He’ll be good.’ When they both stared at her, Maggie added defensively. ‘He’s got a knack with children. Alice, you must know that, from the way he is with Edward and Rebecca.’

‘Eds and Beccs.’ Alice shuddered as she mimicked her brother’s drawl. ‘I see he’s taken to calling Tabby “Tabs” now too. The man might be good with kids, but he’s a nightmare with their flaming names.’ She shook her head. ‘But enough about our brother, let’s get onto more important matters. How was the dance lesson? Were you swept off your feet?’

‘Did you get to trip the light fantastic?’ Sarah added.

Maggie raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Are there any more clichés coming or can I answer?’ When they both looked at her expectantly, Maggie laughed. ‘God, you’re like dogs waiting for a bone. Sadly, it isn’t the juicy one you’re hoping for. The evening was like something out of a comedy show, only without the laughs.’ Her voice cracked on the last word proving, annoyingly, that she hadn’t yet put the disappointment behind her. Embarrassing enough that she’d cried the whole journey home. She really didn’t want her friends to know how stupidly she’d raised her hopes of not just dancing again, but dancing with a man who made her knees weak and her belly sizzle.

‘Tell us.’ Alice took her hand, giving it a squeeze. ‘It can’t have been that bad, can it?’

Maggie sighed. ‘Probably not.’ If she’d only approached it with her usual caution, instead of letting her head get so carried away. ‘Everyone was quite a bit older than me, which didn’t help. On the plus side, there were several of us without partners.’

‘That’s… good?’ Sarah prompted.

‘It would have been, if the two males without partners weren’t bald and boob height.’

‘Boob height?’ All three of them turned to find Seb lurking in the hallway, his eyebrows raised so high they were lost in his hairline. ‘Does that mean what I think it does?’

Bugger, bugger, bugger. The last thing Maggie wanted was for Seb to hear her tale of humiliation. ‘I was exaggerating, one of them possibly came up to my shoulder.’ She released a breath, aware there was no point in not telling them the truth. ‘Fact was, with my dancing heels on, neither of them could look me straight in the eye.’

‘But they could look you straight in the—’

‘Seb!’ Alice and Sarah both frowned over at him.

‘Hey, okay, I was only repeating what Maggie said.’ Amusement made his bright blue eyes seem even brighter. ‘Could they dance, at least?’

‘They were learning, like I was.’ Though after she’d had a blast of stale coffee breath from the taller, and a waft of ripe BO from the other, she’d worked hard to avoid them for the rest of the evening. Details she’d reserve for when Seb wasn’t listening.

‘Will you go back?’ Sarah asked.

Much as she desperately wanted to dance again, Maggie wasn’t sure she could put herself through that again. ‘Maybe,’ she demurred, aware that if she said no outright, they’d gang up on her.

‘But you love dancing, you can’t just give up on the idea.’ Sarah glanced at Seb, and Maggie felt the bottom fall out of her stomach. God no, she wasn’t going to suggest… ‘You have to give it another go.’

Relief flooded through her. Sarah had clearly read no bloody way from Seb’s expression, which suited Maggie just fine. She absolutely didn’t want anyone she knew witnessing her fumbling attempts to dance again. Nor did she want anyone to feel forced to dance with her. Especially not the man who unnerved her.

‘Sarah’s right. Maybe next time you’ll get to dance with someone whose head isn’t jammed against your—’

‘Thank you.’ Maggie cut off Alice’s comment, keen to move the conversation away from her blasted boobs. Taking hold of her friends’ hands, she gave them a quick squeeze. ‘I appreciate you both looking out for me, but I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions. Now we’d better get a move on because Strictly’s on in a few minutes and I haven’t taken the pizzas out yet.’

They headed towards the sitting room, but Seb remained where he was and when Maggie stepped past him, he cleared his throat. ‘Have you got a sec?’

Her heart gave out a loud thump – why was that? – and she eyed him cautiously. ‘Of course.’

Seb wasn’t sure what possessed him to call Maggie back. Was he really about to make the very same offer he’d silently begged Sarah not to make? Yet it wasn’t that he didn’t want to dance with her. More that he didn’t want to be foisted on her.

Still, he couldn’t get the conversation he’d overhead in the hallway out of his head… The evening was like something out of a comedy show, only without the laughs. Her disappointment, buried behind the stoic front, tugged at some deeply hidden chivalrous part of him. ‘Look, I just wanted to say that if you think having, I don’t know, a wing man I guess.’ God, he was stumbling over his words like a gawky kid. ‘If you think that would help next week, I’m happy to be that for you.’

To his surprise he didn’t get the polite smile. He got the warm one, which made her eyes glint. ‘Happy? Are you sure that’s the right word?’ Before he had a chance to reply, she lightly touched his arm. ‘Don’t worry. I know Alice and Sarah put you up to this, but I’m officially letting you off the hook.’

‘They didn’t.’ He wasn’t sure why he blurted that out. Only that he was sorry he had when her smile slipped.

‘Oh, well, I must have sounded very sorry for myself then.’ Her eyes avoided his and a faint flush entered her cheeks.

‘No.’ He was getting this all wrong, or she was too sensitive. Probably a bit of both. ‘I can see how much you like dancing. It’s right there on your face when you watch it. I guess I just figured if going with you would help you get some of that pleasure back, give you a sort of leg up, or whatever you want to call it, then I’d like to do that.’ Trying to find his cool, his casual, he slipped a hand in his jeans pocket. ‘We should all do stuff that gives us a kick now and again. Makes the crap and tedium easier to handle.’

‘Thanks, I’ll bear it in mind.’ Though she smiled, he was pretty certain she had no intention of following him up on his offer. A lucky escape, he reminded himself. Just when he thought the conversation was over though, she surprised him. ‘What about you? What are you doing that gives you a kick at the moment?’

His mind flashed to the Whitsundays. The beauty of the reef. The joy of sun on his face, of a white sandy beach. Of a life he missed. But then he thought of his parents, and the family he’d missed when he’d been out there. ‘I’m driving my sisters crazy.’

Maggie laughed. ‘You’re certainly doing that, by all accounts.’

Their gazes collided, and once again he felt a pull, just like he had on Wednesday. There was something about this woman, about making her smile… maybe it was just an ego thing, proof that he had it in him to charm a beautiful woman.

‘Mum, Strictly is nearly starting and the pizzas aren’t out of the oven.’ Tabby, hands on hips, shouted at them from the living-room doorway.

‘Well, that told me,’ Maggie said under her breath before giving her daughter a wide, amused smile. ‘We’d better hurry up then.’

Seb followed Maggie down the hall, watching her slender hips sway, just slightly, from side to side, and her ponytail bounce – yeah, he’d noticed that straightaway tonight. Usually she wore her hair down, but the ponytail, well, it made her look younger. More approachable. He had a funny feeling he was deluding himself about the ego trip, and that what he was starting to feel for Maggie wasn’t simply a detached interest in his sisters’ friend. It was an attraction he could really do without. Jobless, homeless, unsure where his life was headed, what he absolutely didn’t need right now was a crush on the unattainable Maggie Peterson.

Shaking the thought off, he walked back into the living room where everyone was gathered. The sofas here were a more tasteful muted grey, with cream scatter cushions. Hannah gave him a bright smile and patted the seat next to her. Realising it would be rude to ignore her, he went to sit down, hoping she wasn’t getting any ideas. She was fun, he’d enjoyed her company the other night, but friendship was all he was interested in.

‘You’re looking smart,’ she remarked, looking him up and down. ‘Is this for our benefit?’

‘I’m off out later.’

‘Oh?’

‘Blazers. The wine bar?’ He’d somehow managed to bag a lift there off the sister of one of his old mates.

‘I know it. I’ve never been.’

Ah. He didn’t want to give any mixed messages so he kept quiet and the silence between them stretched, becoming uncomfortable. Thank God for the arrival of his sisters, who entered carrying the obligatory pizza. Maggie followed behind with plates and napkins, which made him smile. It wasn’t that she was fussy – hell, she was letting them eat pizza in her fancy room – more that she was so meticulously organised.

After grabbing a slice, and ignoring the napkin – it was as close as he could get to living dangerously right now – he settled back against the sofa. A moment later the opening credits of Strictly jangled round the room and Seb realised with a touch of embarrassment that he was actually, sort of, looking forward to watching it.

Of their own volition, his eyes drifted over to Maggie, whose gaze was riveted on the screen, her expression one of utter absorption.

Was it the programme he was looking forward to? he wondered. Or seeing the emotions flit across Maggie’s face?

Chapter Seven

A week later, Maggie opened the car door for the girls, who dived inside.

‘It’s going to be a quiet Strictly Saturday tonight,’ she told them as she climbed into the driver’s seat. ‘Jack has taken Alice away for the weekend and Hannah just phoned to say she’s coming down with a cold, so she won’t be able to make it either.’

‘Will Rebecca be there?’ Penny asked, snapping her seat belt in place.

‘Yes, and Edward. Sarah’s offered to look after them for the weekend.’ Alice had been so chuffed when her husband had announced he was whisking her away for two days, without the kids. ‘I love them,’ she’d told Maggie excitedly, ‘but I’ll love them even more after this weekend.’

‘What about Seb?’ Tabby demanded.

Maggie didn’t like the way her heart reacted, just a little, at the mention of his name. ‘I don’t know.’ I hope not. Call her a coward, but she could do without another dose of him tonight. His offer to dance with her had been kind but also really, really embarrassing. He must have her down as some pathetic divorcee trying to recapture her pre-marriage youth.

‘If he is there, I’ll have to tell him to be quiet again.’ Tabby sniggered. ‘He’s funny. Last time he asked if people had to be orange to dance.’

‘What do you mean, orange?’ Penny asked, frowning.

Maggie glanced in the rear-view mirror and smiled as she saw Tabby shrug her shoulders. ‘Dunno. I said Mum can dance, and she’s not orange.’

‘I’m learning to dance,’ Maggie corrected, though she wasn’t sure how long that statement would remain true. ‘I think Seb was referring to the dancers having fake tans.’

‘What’s that?’ Tabby looked confused

‘It’s where they spray a lotion to make your skin look a shade browner, like you’ve been out in the sun. People think a tan is more attractive than pale skin.’ She glanced down at her hands as they rested on the steering room. Yep, there was skin that had barely seen the sun. Unlike Seb’s, which positively glowed, making him look healthy, vital. His eyes vivid.

God, no. She shook the image away. The man made her uncomfortable enough. She didn’t need to start thinking he was attractive.

Ten minutes later Maggie rang Sarah’s bell. Only it wasn’t Sarah who opened it. Of course it wasn’t. ‘Oh, hi.’

Seb, dressed casually tonight in faded jeans and a T-shirt with the words I’d rather be surfing, gave her an amused smile. ‘That’s the second time you’ve sounded less than enthusiastic to see me.’

‘It’s also the second time I’ve been expecting Sarah.’

‘Fair enough.’ He glanced down at the girls. ‘I’m afraid only Strictly Come Dancing fans are welcome here tonight.’

Tabby grinned. ‘That’s us.’

He nodded, as if considering. ‘But I only have your word for it. How about some proof. Name me one of the presenters.’

‘Tess Daly.’ Tabby rolled her eyes. ‘That was easy peasy.’

He smiled and opened the door wider. ‘Okay, young lady, you can go in.’ His gaze landed on Penny. ‘Umm, the climate change wizard needs a less easy peasy question. Let me think.’ He furrowed his brow, as if thinking very hard. ‘Name me not one, but two of the judges.’

Penny gave him a shy smile. ‘Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas.’

‘Is she the one in charge?’ When Penny nodded her head, he winked at her. ‘Excellent, in you go.’ Seb looked over Maggie’s shoulder. ‘Where’s Hannah?’

‘She can’t come tonight, she’s ill.’

‘Ah.’

She’d been enjoying the little diversion on the doorstep, admiring how effortlessly he talked to her daughters, but now she felt a twinge of unease. ‘Ah?’

He shifted awkwardly, and it was only then she realised he was barefoot. He caught her staring, and laughed softly. ‘You want to tell me to put some socks on.’

Was she that transparent? That boring? ‘It is November.’

‘Yeah, but where I’ve been living, it’s thirty degrees in November. Socks aren’t something I’m used to wearing. They feel too restricting.’ As if to emphasise the point, he wriggled his toes and, God help her, she watched.

‘Can we get back to the ah?’

‘Yes, right.’ He rested a hand on the door frame. ‘Sarah’s got to work late.’

Maggie’s heart plummeted. No Alice, no Sarah, no Hannah. No way could she stay. ‘That’s a shame. Don’t worry, I’ll grab the girls and we’ll be out of your way.’

‘What? Wait.’ He removed his hand from the door frame and raked it restlessly through his mane of shaggy blonde hair. ‘I promised Sarah I’d host. I’ve bought pizzas, as instructed. Lots of the ruddy things.’

She didn’t know where the ripple of panic came from. Only that it was there, and she needed to leave. ‘I’m sure you can enjoy them with Rebecca and Edward.’

‘I’m sure I can.’ He rested his arm back against the door frame, and those bright blue eyes unerringly found hers. ‘I’m also sure I can enjoy them with Penny and Tabby. And you.’

Now, alongside the panic, was a flash of heat.

‘So, can I tempt you to come in?’ He flashed his sexy-as-sin crooked smile. ‘I promise not to bite unless you ask me to.’

Maggie spluttered with laughter. She was being ridiculous, getting all flustered over nothing. Seb was Alice and Sarah’s younger brother. He was fun, entertaining, harmless company.

Nodding her head, she stepped inside.

She found Penny and Tabby larking around with Alice’s kids in the living room. A glance through the open doors to the kitchen revealed… okay, better not to look. She didn’t want to interfere.

‘I’ll stick the pizzas in now, shall I?’ Seb strolled past her into the kitchen. ‘Bugger, I forgot to put the oven on.’

‘Bugger’s not a nice word,’ Tabby announced.

Seb stilled and turned towards Tabby. ‘True, but your mum will be calling me worse words if the pizza isn’t ready in time for your programme.’

Maggie cringed. God, he must have her down as a total control freak.

‘Mum doesn’t say rude words.’

Seb glanced at Maggie and raised an eyebrow. Not just a control freak, but a squeaky clean head-girl type, too. The boring one. Damn it, she wasn’t though. She’d become weighed down with the responsibility of raising a family while trying to work. That Paul hadn’t been able to see past that. That instead of helping her, he’d chosen to ditch her for some young carefree model…

‘Maggie?’ Seb wondered where she’d disappeared to. She looked upset, no, more than that, she seemed angry.

But then she appeared to shake herself and wherever her mind had taken her, she was back, and her walls firmly intact. ‘I don’t swear in front of the girls.’

‘Ah, so you do let rip a juicy f-word sometimes?’

She smiled in that way he was starting to enjoy. A small, sort of surprised curve of the lips, as if she wasn’t sure why she was smiling, but couldn’t stop. ‘If the occasion warrants it, yes.’

Her gaze left his and flicked towards the kitchen, which, granted, looked like he’d tried to empty the contents of the entire place, blindfolded.

‘Bet you’d let one rip now if that was your kitchen, eh?’

This time she laughed. A gentle sound, but it crinkled her eyes and made him feel ten foot tall. ‘Quite possibly.’

‘In my defence, I haven’t learned where everything goes yet. Plus I’d only just got home when you arrived. Sarah warned me you were always on time, but Becca and Eds dawdled after their swimming lessons, though it’s fair to say the stop for an ice-cream hadn’t been strictly necessary.’ He grinned. ‘Strictly… see, I’m getting into the mood of the evening already.’

Another bout of soft laughter. ‘Glad to hear it. Do you want a hand in there?’

‘No, no, I’ve got it.’ When she gave him a sceptical glance, he grinned. ‘What you see is organised chaos. There’s a difference.’ He gave her another study, noting her hair was loose tonight, falling in a curly wave around her shoulders. With that, the dark jeans and the same black sequinned top he’d seen her wear for previous Strictly nights, she looked both unshowy and strikingly attractive. ‘Then again, if you want to help, I’m not about to stop you.’

‘Maybe I could sort out some drinks?’

Damn, he was a crap host. ‘That’d be great, thanks.’

‘So, how are you settling in?’ she asked as she went straight to the right cupboard to find the glasses. ‘You don’t seem short of friends to go out with.’

He gave her a quizzical look. ‘I don’t?’

Her eyes were focused on pouring the orange juice. ‘Alice said you were going on to a club last weekend after Strictly.’

His mind skipped back to last Saturday. Was Maggie interested? Or was she making conversation? ‘I went with a few of the guys I used to go to school with. One of their sisters gave me a lift.’ For some reason he found himself willing her to ask more, and was disappointed when she simply smiled and nodded to the juice, indicating she’d take it out to the kids.

‘How about you?’ he asked when she came back. ‘What do you do for entertainment, aside from watching Strictly Come Dancing?’

‘Entertainment?’ She said the word as if it was foreign. ‘I’m nearly forty, and a single mum. Entertainment for me is being in bed at ten o’clock with a good book.’

He wanted to say she was thirty-seven, not seventy-three. That she was in her prime. And having kids didn’t mean she had to put her own life on hold. The words died on his lips though as the opening sounds of the Strictly theme tune reverberated round the house.

Maggie disappeared out of the kitchen faster than Bruno doing a quick step.

See, he was learning something from these Saturday evenings.

He made it in with the pizzas just in time to hear the opening announcement. ‘Tonight, the couples all dare to dream of a seaside resort two hundred miles north of here.’

‘North of here?’ he repeated. ‘Who on earth dreams of a seaside resort that’s not sunny?’

Tabby shook her head at him, as he’d kind of hoped she would. ‘They don’t want to go to the beach, silly. They want to dance in Blackpool.’

‘Ah.’ He placed the tower of pizza on the coffee table, wondering if he should have put a mat down first. Then realised even if he could be bothered, he didn’t know where they were. ‘Well, I can see why they don’t want to go to the beach there. The golden mile might be a mile, but it sure as hell… heck isn’t golden.’

‘Shh.’ His niece gave him an admonishing look.

‘You have to be a mouse again.’ Tabby grinned adorably at him.

Chuckling, he grabbed a slice of pizza and sat on the vacant armchair. ‘I’ll nibble on my pizza in silence,’ he promised.

And stuck to it, in the main.

He’d cooked too many pizzas and made way too much salad. Blame it on the fact that he’d forgotten, or maybe never consciously twigged, that kids didn’t eat as much as grown-ups, women tended to eat less than guys, and nobody really wanted the green stuff, given the choice.

As the closing credits flashed up on the screen, Maggie looked over at her girls. ‘I’m just going to help Seb clear away and then it’s time to go.’

Seb watched as she began to pick up the plates. Clearly his guest was in a hurry to leave, which didn’t say a lot for his hosting skills. Or his ability to entertain a woman considerably smarter and classier than he was.

‘Can’t we stay for a bit?’ Penny gave Maggie a beseeching look that Seb wouldn’t have been able to refuse. ‘Rebecca wants us to play her new marble run game.’

Maggie glanced at him, and he wasn’t sure from her expression whether she was hoping he’d turf them out, or encourage them to stay. ‘You can hang here as long as you like. Sarah will probably be back soon,’ he added, figuring it might push Maggie into staying for a while, and yes, he wanted that. A little bit of time, just the two of them, to see if he could nudge at that wall of hers. The one he wasn’t sure was permanent, or if she just put up when she was around him.

‘Okay, but not too long,’ she warned. ‘Just while we clear up.’

All of them dashed up the stairs and Seb grabbed a few empty glasses before going to join Maggie in the kitchen where she was meticulously rinsing plates under the tap before stacking them neatly in the dishwasher. The desire to rumple her, to turn the neat and tidy into a flustered, uninhibited mess, caught him by the throat. Shit, he really was developing a crush on his sisters’ friend.

‘How was the dance class?’ he asked, needing to divert his thoughts. ‘Any taller men come forward?’

Her attention remained on loading the dishwasher. ‘It was fine.’

‘You’re going to keep going then?’

‘I’m not sure. I’ve paid up until Christmas, but, well, we’ll see.’

Her lack of eye contact was beginning to frustrate him. ‘Where is it held?’ That got her attention. Her head snapped up so fast he had to laugh. ‘Hey, I’m not planning on going to watch.’ Though actually, now he’d said it, the thought held a lot of appeal. ‘I was just making conversation. I imagine these classes are held in some dreary hall with zero atmosphere.’

She gave him a tight smile. ‘You’re right.’ She named the town, one over from theirs. ‘It’s a long way from the Tower ballroom at Blackpool.’

‘Have you ever been?’

‘No, well, not to dance, anyway. Paul and I drove along the prom once on our way to the Lake District, but he refused to stop. Said it was too tacky.’

‘True.’ Seb grinned. ‘But they say that’s part of its charm. And you can’t deny a place that has the tallest rollercoaster in the UK.’

She screwed up her face. ‘You’d never get me on there.’

He wasn’t sure whether it was the emphatic way she said it, or just this ridiculous crush raising its head again, but he took a step towards her, one hand on the work surface, the other on the island, almost trapping her where she was. ‘Is that a dare?’

Her eyes widened, the grey looking less cool now, more… turbulent. He wondered if her pulse was racing as fast as his. If she was feeling the air between them crackle, as he was.

Wondered too, if the way her eyes darted to his mouth, and then away again, was a sign that she was thinking what it would be like to kiss him.

Because in that moment, it was all he could think of. Would her lips feel as soft as they looked? If he leant forward, if he pressed his mouth against hers, would she melt? Could he lower some of those walls, relax some of that stiffness? Or would she slap him round the face?

He’d never know, because at that moment the front door opened.

‘I’m back,’ Sarah called from the hallway. ‘What did I miss?’

Me nearly kissing your friend. ‘A bit of dancing. A lot of pizza,’ he shouted back, turning to give Maggie a wry smile. She wasn’t looking at him though. Her head was bent as she slowly, and with seemingly rapt attention, wiped her hands on the tea towel.

‘There you are.’ Sarah appeared in the doorway and glanced between him and Maggie, the question in her eyes making it clear he wasn’t the only one aware of the tension in the room.

‘I didn’t realise we were playing hide and seek,’ he answered, figuring sarcasm was his best route out. ‘I’d have chosen a better spot.’

Sarah ignored him and turned her attention to Maggie, who’d finally put the towel down. ‘I’m sorry I’m so late. I hope Seb looked after you properly.’

Was it his imagination, or did Maggie look less composed than usual? ‘He did. The pizzas were plentiful and only a few minutes behind schedule.’

Sarah laughed and grabbed Maggie’s hand. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear it. And I hope you’re not planning on dashing off just yet. I could really do with a big glass of wine, a few slices of that plentiful pizza, and a good chat with my friend.’

Seb cleared his throat. ‘What about your brother?’

Sarah looked pointedly at the mess behind him. ‘He can finish off tidying up, and then check on the little people he’s supposed to be looking after.’

Thanks, sis.

As he listened to the faint hum of female voices in the other room a few moments later, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if Sarah hadn’t come back. Would he have dared to kiss Maggie? Would she have let him?

With a resigned sigh he finished emptying the bin, and then trudged upstairs to play marble run.

Chapter Eight

Monday morning and Maggie was in a bind. Hannah had phoned an hour ago, and it had been clear from her voice, and from the constant coughing, she was still in the grip of the virus she’d caught. Though she’d offered to take the girls if Maggie was stuck, Maggie had told her not to worry, she’d manage. All Hannah needed to do was focus on getting better.

It had been easy to say, but now she was having a mild panic. She could drop the girls off to school early – yep, that idea had gone down well – and, traffic willing, just about make it in time for her first patient. But she couldn’t pick Penny and Tabby up.

Sarah was working. Alice was working, and her two children were being picked up by Jack’s mother. There was no way Maggie could foist another two onto the seventy-year-old.

Of course Maggie knew of one person who wasn’t working. A guy her girls seemed to like, probably because he acted like a big kid himself, but who she sensed, deep down, was far more responsible than he let on. Why else would he come back to England to help out his family? Still, she really didn’t want to phone him.

Her belly gave a long, slow flip. God, they’d nearly kissed on Saturday night.

Even now, knee deep in Monday morning stress, her mind kept darting back, replaying every vivid moment. Seb’s husky-voiced question, Is that a dare? Delivered with a sexy smirk. The way he’d moved towards her, caging her in with his tall, athletic, sun-kissed body. Never had she been so aware of a man before; his fresh, outdoor smell, the incredible blue of his eyes. The sensuous curve of his lips and the heat of his body. All that young, virile maleness.

Thank heavens Sarah had come in when she had. If she’d been ten minutes later… Maggie’s stomach pitched. She didn’t know how Sarah would have reacted to the idea of Maggie kissing her brother. No, it was worse than that. Seb was Sarah’s younger-by-ten-years brother. One thing for certain, Maggie didn’t plan on ever finding out. This crazy over-reaction to him was a sign she needed to get out there and date again. And she would, once she’d found someone suitable: a man nearer to her age and experience, who wouldn’t make her conscious of her stretch marks, her wrinkles, her saggy bits. Who was looking for a meaningful relationship rather than a couple of hot trysts.

None of which helped her dilemma.

‘Who’s going to pick us up?’ Penny asked as she shrugged on her coat.

‘I’m not sure yet.’

‘Will it be the woman Rebecca and Edward have sometimes? I don’t like her.’

‘No.’ Alice’s childminder had been efficient but horribly grumpy. Maggie had used her occasionally, in those dark days after Paul had left and before Hannah had arrived. ‘She retired earlier in the year, which is why their grandma picks them up now.’

‘What about our grandma?’

‘She’d love to, I’m sure.’ A white lie wouldn’t hurt. Penny didn’t need to know her mum’s parents were still far too busy running their company to bother with things like wanting to help their daughter, or their granddaughters. ‘But it’s a bit far to come.’ Damn it, she was going to have to grit her teeth and ask the favour of Seb. It wasn’t fair on the girls to not know who’d be picking them up. ‘If Seb is free, would you mind him picking you up?’

Penny shook her head. ‘I don’t mind. He’s funny. And I can ask him some more about the reef.’

‘Okay then.’ Her children would be happy and safe with Seb. That was more important than her wobbly emotions. ‘I’ll give him a quick call while you get your shoes on and help Tabby with hers.’

Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her phone and called the number Sarah had given her a few weeks ago. The number she’d put into her contacts out of habit, and a need to be organised, without expecting to use it again.

‘Hello?’ The answering voice sounded deep and husky with sleep.

‘It’s Maggie. Sorry, did I wake you?’

A rustle of what she assumed was bedding. ‘Morning, Mags. And yeah, I guess if it’s still before eight, you did wake me.’

‘Sorry.’ Had he really just called her Mags? She hated that. Then again, she needed a favour, so maybe now wasn’t the time to tell him.

‘You already said that, and no worries. How can I help? I assume you need my help, and aren’t just phoning to say you missed me.’

The smile in his voice was unmistakable, and made it pretty hard not to smile back. ‘It’s the first one.’

‘Damn, I knew you’d be hard to charm. Go on then, ask away.’

Her smile faltered, and Maggie inhaled a deep breath. She hated asking for help, and hated even more asking it of a man she wasn’t sure was flirting with her out of habit, to prove something or because he was genuinely interested. Whatever it was, she’d feel more comfortable seeing less of him, rather than more. ‘Hannah’s still not well, so I wondered if you were free later today to pick Tabby and Penny up from school? You could take them to Sarah’s or to ours, whatever’s easier.’ There was a beat of silence. ‘But no problem if you can’t,’ she added hastily, aware she sounded pushy. And awkward. God, she definitely sounded that.

‘What time are you back? I need to be at the youth centre for six.’

Damn, she hadn’t anticipated that one. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realise. I should be back in time.’ Patients willing. Unconsciously she crossed her fingers. ‘Are you working there now?’

‘Sort of. I’m volunteering for a few days so we can both get a feel for whether it’s a good fit.’

‘It will be.’ Oops, she’d not meant to say that out loud.

Again she heard a smile in his voice. ‘I’m glad someone is confident.’

‘I just meant that from what I’ve seen, you’re a natural with children.’

‘I don’t know about that, but you’re trusting me with yours, so I must be doing something right.’ There was a pause, and as Maggie tried to work out how to bring the conversation back to more practical matters, he did it for her. ‘So, you’d better give me the name of this school. And where you work, as I guess I’ll need to collect your key if I’m taking them back to yours.’

Maggie rattled off the name of the school. ‘I’ll tell them to wait in the playground, as usual. And I’ll leave the house key with the receptionist at the surgery.’

‘Okay then, I’ll catch you later. Oh, and no worries if you’re running late. I’ll take them along with me to the youth centre.’

As she thanked him, Maggie felt the stress of the morning slide away.

Seb slid his phone back on the bedside table and sank back against the pillow. Damn and blast, he hated being this guy. Not the one who was needed by Maggie, oh no, that felt frigging fantastic. But. She’d only asked him because he was the one person she knew who wasn’t working.

And she’d assumed, of course she had, that he had the available means of transport to pick her girls up. He was guessing that didn’t include his ten-year-old battered push bike.

Groaning, his head fragile from too many Sunday night beers – as the alternative had been staying in with sister and watching the Strictly results show, the beers had seemed like a good idea – he considered his options. He could ask to borrow his dad’s car, but the fragile way he was feeling now, he didn’t think he could stomach giving the man another opportunity to lecture him on where his life was going.

Public transport was out, because to get him to the school, and then to the surgery and on to Maggie’s house would take all evening, the way the buses were around here. He could taxi it, but by the time he’d paid for that, he might as well hire a car. At least then he’d have the flexibility of being able to use it to drive to the youth centre later.

Grabbing his phone again, he found a local hire company and reserved the cheapest car he could find, putting yet more money onto his credit card. He hoped Maggie was right, and the youth centre thing worked out. With his savings currently sitting in an Australian bank, and his English account not exactly brimming with surplus cash, if he couldn’t get work soon, watching Strictly was going to be his main form of entertainment.

The rest of the morning he spent with his parents, as had been the pattern since he’d come home – shit, had he really been here over three weeks?

‘When are you heading back to Australia?’ his mum asked as she walked him out.

He looked at her tired face. ‘When Dad’s back to being Dad.’ Instead of the moody man he’d left slumped in front of the television.

She gave him a wan smile. ‘You might be here some time then.’

Seb reached his arms around her and hugged her tight. ‘He’ll get there. And in the meantime, I’m here to give you breathing space.’

‘You’re such a good son.’ Her eyes welled, and Seb felt a lump jump into his throat. ‘I know your father gives you a hard time, but he only wants the best for you.’

‘I know he does.’ His dad had never understood him though. Had never twigged that Seb wasn’t an over-achieving, super-bright version of him, like his sisters were. Seb was average, and still trying to find something he could stick at. Travelling had been fun, Australia had been fun, but it was only ever a short-term gig. He’d always known family would bring him home at some point. He only wished the trigger had been a happier one. And that his life plan had been sorted when he’d stepped on that plane.

Christ, there were kids everywhere, all dressed in green jumpers, white shirts and grey trousers or skirts. How the hell was he supposed to find the two he needed among this swarm?

But magically, the moment he stepped through the school gate and into the playground, Tabby and Penny dashed towards him.

‘You’re late,’ Tabby greeted him. ‘Hannah is always waiting for us when we finish lessons.’

‘Hey, Tabs, good to see you, too.’ He flashed her a grin, and as happy was Tabby’s default, she dropped the pout and grinned back. Then he turned to her quieter sister. ‘And how are you, young Penelope?’

She opened her mouth, he presumed to say hello, then frowned and closed it again. Finally, she spoke. ‘Nobody calls me Penelope.’

‘Is Penny not short for Penelope?’

‘Yes, but everyone calls me Penny.’

He smiled. ‘Ah, but I’m not everyone.’

‘I’m Tabitha.’ Tabby scrunched up her nose. ‘Why do I get Tabs?’

‘Because I can’t cause Penny Pens, can I?’

The pair of them giggled, and Seb thought, not for the first time, what lovely kids they were. Happy, polite. Girls it was a pleasure to spend time with.

Following a fifteen-minute drive to the surgery, they all piled out of the hired Kia – he wasn’t sure of the rules about leaving minors alone in a car. Herding them inside, he told the girls to sit down and headed to the reception desk.

The lady there greeted him with a smile that told him she was pleased he wasn’t yet another pensioner. Then her eyes flickered behind him, and her smile widened. ‘Well, well, you must be Seb. How… interesting.’

‘He’s taking us home today,’ Tabby piped up, swinging her legs. ‘Usually we only see him when we watch Strictly.’

Oh boy. Now, the forty-something-year-old was looking at him with blatant curiosity. Deciding the best way to handle the question in her eyes was to ignore it, Seb cleared his throat. ‘Mags…’ Shit. ‘Maggie said she’d leave a key for me?’

‘Yes.’ The woman reached into a drawer and pulled out a dancing bear keyring, complete with pink tutu. A present from her daughters, he’d like to bet.

‘Thanks.’ Feeling faintly foolish, he shoved it into his jeans pocket.

‘Before you go, she also left you a note. Well, it’s more of a list.’

‘Of course it is.’ Smiling to himself, he read the neat handwriting.

Leave the key on the hall table once you’ve let yourself in.

Presumably so he didn’t run off with it.

Make sure they take their shoes off and leave them by the door so we know where to find them tomorrow morning.

Please get the girls to do their homework. Tabby will say she doesn’t have any but check her homework book. She’ll also say she’s finished when she hasn’t, so please check what she’s done.

They’re allowed a cookie with their drink – they’re in the cookie jar by the bread bin. Don’t be conned into letting them have more or they won’t eat their tea.

Please message me if you need to take the girls with you to the youth centre, so I know where to pick them up.

As if he didn’t already know that.

One of the doors down the corridor opened, and Maggie stepped out. She caught his eye and, after a start of surprise, gave him an uncertain smile and began walking towards him.

He waved the paper in the air. ‘Just getting my orders.’

‘They’re not—’ She sighed when she saw him smirk. ‘Okay, I deserved that.’

He scanned down the list. ‘I wouldn’t have run off with the key. And I wouldn’t take them anywhere else without letting you know.’

He’d intended to sound matter-of-fact but it clearly hadn’t come across that way because her expression tightened and that guard he hated came down. ‘Noted. But you’ve not looked after them before, so I wanted to make sure.’ Her gaze finally settled on his. ‘I know my lists aren’t always appreciated, but they’re intended to help.’

Ah. It didn’t take a genius to work out that lists must have been a bone of contention with her ex. And the realisation he’d reacted exactly like the jerk who’d left her annoyed him. ‘You’re right, sorry. Being the kid brother I was always the irresponsible one.’ He gave her a half smile. ‘I guess this made me feel ten again.’

She blinked. ‘Looks like we both over-reacted.’

Her attention moved over his shoulder and she gave Tabby and Penny a wide smile. The one that made everything inside him sit up and take notice of her.

The one he wished she’d direct at him.

Going over to them, she gave them both a quick kiss on the top of their heads. ‘Be good for Seb.’

‘I’m always good,’ Tabby protested, making them all laugh, and thankfully defusing the remaining tension.

‘Okay, well.’ Maggie glanced back at him. ‘Thanks again for taking care of them.’

‘No problem.’ He nodded down to the sheet of paper in his hand. ‘Thanks for making it easy by giving me such a comprehensive list.’

For a split second he feared she’d take his joke the wrong way, but then her mouth curved, and her eyes lit up with silent laughter. Damn if it wasn’t one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.

She was late. Maggie parked in the youth centre car park and ran up the steps. Her job often overran – people needed time to talk to their doctor, not be herded through the system like cattle. It was fine when she had Hannah, a friend whom she paid to stay with her children. It hadn’t been fine with Paul.

She didn’t know if it was going to be fine with the man helping her out simply because she’d asked him to. A man who’d had to bring two children to his first shift in his new job. Bugger, bugger, bugger.

Feeling breathless, she marched down the corridor, pausing to look through the open doors. He wasn’t playing pool in the games room.

Nor in what looked to be a computer room.

The double doors at the end had a glass window, and after a glance through them, she exhaled in relief. It was a large multi-purpose hall/gym and Tabby and Penny were at one end of it, trying to throw a ball through a hoop.

Seb was at the other end with a group of around ten kids in their early teens, showing them how to dribble with a basketball.

Edging the door open, Maggie slipped inside. Immediately the girls saw her and ran over. ‘Hello, darlings, sorry I’m late.’

‘’S okay. We did our homework and watched some telly and then Seb brung us here in his new car which isn’t really his car and we played trying to get the ball in the hole.’ Tabby’s words tumbled over each other. ‘And he called me Tabs again, and Penny Penelope ’cos he can’t call her Pens.’ She sniggered. ‘That was well funny.’

Oh dear. Maggie gave her eldest, and at times rather sensitive, daughter a hug. ‘Do you want me to tell him not to?’

Penny shook her head. ‘It’s fine.’ She shrugged, twisting her hands. ‘In a way, I kind of like it.’

‘Me too,’ Tabby piped up.

Maggie glanced towards the man who seemed to have won her daughters over. Wearing a hoodie and scruffy jeans, laughing and mucking around with the kids, from this distance he looked like he was barely older than they were. She, on the other hand, in her prim work skirt and blouse, felt old and straight-laced.

He looked over and waved when he saw her, saying something to the group before jogging over, his loose-limbed style a dead giveaway that he was physically fit. As if the athletic body wasn’t enough of a clue.

And yes, now he was standing in front of her, six foot something of virile male, flashing that grin, he no longer looked like a kid. He looked like a man who made her knees weak.

‘I’m really sorry I’m late.’ The more his eyes danced in amusement, the more flustered and defensive she felt. It was one thing being in his debt. Another finding herself embarrassingly attracted to him. ‘I try not to be but it’s not always in my control. Sometimes patients—’

‘Hey, do I look annoyed? Worried?’

She bit into her lip, feeling like the up-tight woman he must have her down as. ‘No, but when I asked you, I fully intended to be home in time. I didn’t want to put you out even more by having to bring them to work.’

‘Then it’s lucky they’re not bad company, for a couple of ankle biters.’ He winked at the girls. ‘Remember your bags, kiddos. You left them in the games room.’ In a flash, before Maggie could ask them to wait, they’d all go together, they were off. As she followed them, Seb held the door open for her. ‘Don’t worry. They know where they’re going.’

‘I wasn’t worried.’

He shrugged, leaning on the door. ‘Okay.’

Damn, why did she always do this? Put up the defensive wall, when he was only trying to be kind? ‘Right, well, thank you for today. It meant a lot to know they were in good hands.’

His mouth curved. ‘Good hands, eh?’

‘Yes.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘My daughters like you, and that’s important to me.’

He nodded, folding his arms across his chest. ‘The boy in me wants to ask if you like me, but the man in me thinks it’ll make me sound like a prat, so instead I’ll ask if you’re okay for childcare tomorrow?’

A smile hovered across her lips. He seemed to have a knack of bringing it out of her. ‘Thank you, but I spoke to Hannah on the way over here and she sounds better so you’re off the hook.’

Silence descended between them. Oddly, it wasn’t awkward. More of a tingling silence that crackled with awareness. It made her realise her worry hadn’t really been whether he’d be cross she was late – that would almost have been a relief, because then she could have dismissed him.

Instead he’d made everything so easy: asking him the favour, pushing her luck with the timing so much he’d had to take them to work. Even the niggle about the list he’d smoothed out and turned into a joke. It all meant that this inconvenient attraction, instead of dwindling the more she got to know him, flared brighter and hotter.

Relieved to hear the girls clatter out of the room two doors down, Maggie gave Seb a quick smile and sped after them. Away from his lazy grin, his too blue eyes, and his chilled yet very powerful appeal.

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