Page 58 of His Best Friend's Baby

‘Something certainly happened that night, Pollz. At the time, I thought I was just feeling pity or concern.’

Polly wasn’t sure she deserved this gorgeous guy. ‘Perhaps Celia was right,’ she said.

‘Who’s Celia?’

‘My hairdresser friend.’

‘Oh, yeah. I remember.’

‘She kept trying to tell me that you only came looking for me because—’

‘Because I loved you,’ cut in Seth.

‘That’s what she reckoned, yeah.’

‘Celia’s a wise woman. And if she also put that stripe in your hair, she’s a talented woman, as well.’

‘I’ll have to let her know you like it.’

And then, as they snuggled together in the quiet darkness, Polly knew it was her turn to fess up. ‘Well, do you want to know something really weird?’

‘Sure,’ said Seth, and then, with more than a hint of amusement in his voice, ‘What else would I expect from you?’

Polly couldn’t help chuckling. She knew she deserved that dig. ‘I think maybeIwas in love withyouin high school,’ she said.

‘But what about the way you freaked that time I kissed you?’

‘I panicked. I was convinced that high-school romances never lasted. And I thought if we just stayed friends, I’d have less chance of losing you.’

‘Oh, Polly.’ Seth drew her into his arms for a long, slow, heavenly kiss, and of course, it was very important, after admitting how long they’d waited for this, that they made love again.

Epilogue

Polly had calledher daughter Summer, because she loved the relaxed sunny promise that this season always offered, but since she’d come back to live in Wirralong, she decided that winter had its own special magic. This was especially so in Seth’s house—which he insisted Polly now think of as ‘our house’—where winter meant logs burning in his beautiful fireplace, or outside in the fire pit on the deck.

There was something wonderfully primeval about the appeal of firelight, she decided, although these days there was a conscience factor, given climate change, which was why she and Seth had also joined a tree-planting group.

Polly especially loved the living room on winter evenings when the flickering fire highlighted the bright colours of the furniture that she’d brought with her from the apartment. She’d been rather excited to see how much Seth liked her teal-toned dresser and antique rug, and the brightly coloured funky armchairs. And it was a relief to see that these pieces actually teamed rather well with his more sedate timber and stone and leather.

This evening, a chicken was roasting in the oven with lemon and garlic. Summer had been bathed and was dressed in pyjamas, a snuggly dressing gown and fluffy slippers, and she and Polly were sitting cross-legged on the rug, doing a jigsaw puzzle together in front of the fire. Polly was thrilled that her little one loved doing jigsaws, just as Polly had done with her dad when she was very young.

Seth reckoned she was ‘another little brainiac’.

Summer’s interest in the puzzle vanished, however, as soon as Seth arrived home.

‘Dadda!’ the little girl squealed when she heard him at the back door and she was up and running down the hall to greet him, knowing that he would sweep her up and twirl her around in the air, just as he did every evening.

It was just gorgeous to witness how much these two adored each other. Polly’s heart did a happy little flip when the smiling pair came back down the hallway together.

‘Hey, Pollz.’ Seth greeted her with his customary hug and kiss. ‘Dinner smells great.’

That was another thing Polly enjoyed these days—researching great recipes and teaching herself how to cook in Seth’s—sorry,their—fabulous kitchen. Her business was going well too, IT being a perfect job to manage from home, with a little help from a nanny, who came two days a week to mind Summer.

And no, Polly hadn’t gone to Silicon Valley. From the moment Seth and she had been honest about their true feelings for each other, heading overseas had totally lost its allure.

This evening, as Seth released Polly from his hug, he frowned slightly and cocked his head to one side, eyeing her with a questioning smile. ‘I know that look,’ he said. ‘Something’s up.’

Polly tried to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about, but she couldn’t hold back her happy grin. She’d been hugging her secret all day.

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