Page 48 of His Best Friend's Baby

On the surface, everything was going to plan. She’d fed Summer her dinner and had read her a story before putting her to bed, and her little angel had fallen asleep with only a small amount of fuss, which was a minor miracle, given the distraction of new surroundings. With luck she would sleep right through, and be ready for her big day tomorrow.

Now, with the baby asleep, Seth was barbecuing fish fillets out on the deck and he and Polly could look forward to a quiet evening together. Which might have been fine if Polly hadn’t been zinging with tension. Even with Taylor Swift singing softly in the background and a glass of chilled rosé in her hand, a constant ripple of excitement eddied through her.

She realised now that she’d been lulled into a false sense of security over the past twelve months, as she and Seth had renewed their friendship—at a safe distance, via email. It was a totally different story to be here in his home, back in close proximity.

Seemed all she could think about tonight was the deep timbre of his voice and the strong shape of his hands as he wielded tongs to flip veggies on the barbecue. And she was far too conscious of the way the lighting on the deck caught the chestnut sheen of his hair and the warm glow in his eyes, not to mention the tempered strength of his body and his long, long legs.

And she kept remembering her stupid gaffe about bedrooms. What the heck?

The most difficult part about this was that normally easygoing Seth seemed tense too. He was smiling aplenty and making his usual effortless conversation, but there was something else going on behind the friendly veneer. If Polly hadn’t known better, she might have thought he was feeling…vulnerable?

At least she managed to keep up her end of the conversation on this dark velvet night as they sat at the rustic timber table on the deck, enjoying the delicious meal and another glass of rosé and the stretch of stars overhead. She and Seth had more things in common that they could talk about these days—Summer, for starters, and the work Seth had completed on the house, Polly’s website design, their workmates. Interestingly, they both avoided any mention of Silicon Valley.

After the meal, once they’d efficiently stacked the dishwasher, Seth suggested they relax on the sofa with a nightcap.

‘Do you fancy a peaty scotch?’ he asked.

‘I’m not sure if I’ve ever had one,’ Polly said. But if she was going to share the sofa with Seth, she would need a dose of something fortifying, so she quickly, added, ‘I’m happy to give it a go.’

Seth’s answering grin seemed to reach deep inside her.

*

The sofa wasas comfortable as it looked and by the time Polly had taken her first sip of the smooth, fiery liquid, she was already thinking about all the wrong things. She and Seth were a respectable distance apart on the lovely, soft cream leather, but Polly was imagining Seth closing that distance and taking her into his arms. She could almost feel his lips on hers.

Oh, man. She was in a bad way. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so on fire. And the weird part of this was that back in their schooldays, she’d been scared that intimacy might ruin her friendship with Seth. But now a desperate need for that intimacy had cancelled any other thoughts.

For her sanity’s sake, Polly knew she needed to be brave, to bring the unspoken into the open. She took another deep sip of the rich and complex liquid in her cut-crystal glass. ‘Seth, I’ve never really asked you about your girlfriends.’

He looked only mildly surprised as he responded with a small smile. ‘And I haven’t quizzed you about the guys in your life either.’

‘No.’

‘I’m not sure they’re conversations we need to have right now.’

‘No,’ Polly said again, and he was right. She didn’t really want to hear about his girlfriends, and she certainly didn’t want to confess that six months was the longest relationship she’d ever managed. Why distract themselves by talking about other people? ‘Well, not unless—’ she began, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to finish that sentence.

‘Unless—?’

She was stretched so tight with tension now she thought she might snap, literally break at any moment.

‘What is it, Polly?’ Seth spoke very softly, watching her intently, although he was sitting casually enough, with one arm slung along the back of the sofa, legs comfortably apart.

‘I feel like there’s this thing hanging over us,’ she said. ‘I know we’ve always been just friends—but you’re a man and—and I’m a woman.’

His mouth may have curved in the faintest of smiles. ‘Great observation, Pollz.’

‘Don’t make fun of me.’

Seth was very still now and his gaze didn’t leave her. ‘Okay, I can get serious.’

Polly’s heart thumped hard in her chest. It was so difficult to say this, and, as always, she would probably make a hash of it, but now that she’d started, she knew she had to keep going. ‘Do you think maybe we—we might need to find out—what happens if—’

‘If?’

The words Polly needed to say next were the most difficult she’d ever uttered and she had no idea how they’d be received. She squeezed her face tight. She was terrified. ‘I just wondered if maybe we needed to kiss—and get it over with.’

Phew. Now the hardest part was out, Polly managed to add, ‘And then we would know once and for all—and we could get on with our lives with the big question answered.’

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