Page 34 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

Sol saw her and jumped up. ‘You sit here, Sadie, beside me.’

Sadie’s heart spasmed. She smiled and sat down, and only then risked a glance at Quin, whom she fully expected to be looking stern. But he wasn’t. He was looking at her with that half-arrested expression again. Like the one he’d had when he’d seen her in that dress in the shop. Which reminded her...

She said, ‘They sent over that gold evening dress with the other clothes from the boutique. It must be a mistake. I’ll pack it up so it can be sent back.’

Quin shook his head. ‘Leave it...it’s fine.’

Sadie would have protested, but Sol had started chattering as he spooned some of the delicious pasta into his mouth, and Quin reminded him not to talk with his mouth full.

Sadie let the incredibly soothing chatter of her son wash over her, making the appropriate responses when he looked at her with those wide eyes, pasta sauce around his mouth. Without thinking she took a napkin and dipped it in a glass of water, before using it to wipe his face.

Sol merrily went back to eating. Sadie looked up and saw Quin staring at her. She immediately felt self-conscious—she hadn’t even considered that maybe she didn’t have a right to touch Sol as a mother would, without thinking. But when she looked at Quin again it was as if she’d imagined it. He was smiling at Sol indulgently and her heart turned over again. She remembered that expression because he’d looked at her like that.

Before.

When they’d finished eating, Quin stood up and said to Sol, ‘Bath time and bed.’

The little boy’s lower lip protruded almost comically, but Sadie could see that the day’s activities had worn him out.

He got up and followed his father, but then stopped and came back to Sadie. ‘I had fun today. Will you play with me again tomorrow?’

Sadie smiled. ‘I’d really like that.’

Then Quin spoke. ‘Can you wait for me to put Sol to bed? I want to talk to you.’

A quiver of tension lanced Sadie’s belly. ‘Sure,’ she answered, feigning nonchalance.

Quin and Sol disappeared. But before Sadie could start clearing the table Sara came in and said, ‘Make yourself at home in the lounge, Miss Ryan. Would you like tea or coffee?’

‘No, thank you—and please call me Sadie.’

The woman smiled and got on, clearing the table with brisk efficiency.

Feeling a little redundant now that she didn’t have anything to occupy her time or justify her existence here—because being a mother to her son was still an unspoken quantity—Sadie did as she was bade and made her way into the lounge. A room she hadn’t spent much time in at all.

She surveyed it now. The soft, comfortable furnishings were very elegant, but not intimidating. She could see scuffs and marks on the furniture. Children’s books on the lowest shelves that made up one wall. All signs that a child lived here.

She crouched down and picked out one of the books. It was a classic that even she remembered:Guess How Much I Love You.

She sat down and flicked through the pages, and her vision blurred a little as she looked at the pictures and followed the story, thinking helplessly of the amount of times she’d lain in a lonely bed somewhere and wished with all her heart that Sol and Quin could feel the love she had for them.

‘I would have thought you’re a little above that reading level.’

Sadie tensed and looked up, blinking rapidly. She’d got lost in the story. She forced a smile. ‘This was one of my favourites. It’s a classic.’

‘Yes, it is. Sol loved it.’

Sadie bit her lip in case she blurted out her sad story of sending them both her love from afar for all those years.

She got up and put the book back and faced Quin. He was obviously determined to ignore the electrical current that sprang into action whenever they were close. She would do her best to ignore it too. Even though she couldn’t help but be aware of his tall, lean body encased in low-slung denim jeans and a short-sleeved polo shirt.

Again, he reminded her of the surfer boy tech nerd she’d first met. But then, he’d never actually been either of those things. She had to remember that and use it as a shield. He’d never fully trusted her.

She said, ‘You wanted to talk?’

Quin went over to a cupboard that Sadie realised was a drinks cabinet when he pulled back a sliding door.

He looked at her. ‘Drink?’

---