Page 15 of Wild Tonic
Poppy took the drawing and passed it over to Nate. There were four crayon people: a little girl in the middle, a man and a woman on one side of her and a man on the other. In her own way, India had depicted her family. Nate felt a tiny pang of regret that things hadn’t worked out with him and Poppy, and India had to deal with two sets of parents.
“I don’t want you giving India false hope,” said Poppy.
“What do you mean?”
“Bringing home women that aren’t going to stay in her life. She needs stability at her age.”
“For fuck’s sake, Poppy, I wasn’t suggesting that Clem comes over for tea or anything. Since when have I brought any women here?”
Poppy covered India’s ears. The little girl wriggled away and ran back into the other room. “Be careful of your language around her too. She’s starting to copy things I say. It’s very embarrassing at nursery.”
Nate clenched his fists under the table. He was tired of being told what he could and couldn’t do. “I’m sure it is.”
They fell silent, both picking up their mugs and sipping coffee. Nate didn’t know what else Poppy wanted from him.
“What do you want me to say to this reporter then?” she asked. “If he contacts me again.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Nate shook his head. “I’m going to carry on seeing Clem and that’s the end of it. I doubt I’ll be inviting her out for drinks with the group, though.”
“So I’ll have to read about it in the gossip magazines or on social media? Thanks, Nate, glad to hear you care about my feelings.” Poppy slammed her coffee mug down on the table with a bang. “I don’t even know why you came here today.”
She was the one who moved on first, why should I care about her feelings?thought Nate.
“Maybe because you asked me to. For India’s sake,” he said instead.
“You can see India any time you want. You don’t have to wait until I ask you over.”
“Really? Because I don’t always feel welcome if I just turn up.” There had been a few times recently when Nate had felt like an intruder in his former home.
“You’re always welcome here, Nate.” Poppy’s tone softened. “We have a daughter together and this is her home.”
“That’s one thing you’ve got right, Poppy. India is my daughter too. I’m not going to neglect her because I’m seeing someone else.”
“Daddy! Want tea?” India came dashing back into the room, a tiny tea cup in her hand. She reached her other hand out to him and Nate followed her into the living room.
On the floor was a group of toys set up around a tiny child-size table. There were two teddy bears and a doll that had her face covered by something India had clearly torn out of a magazine and stuck over it. Nate bit the inside of his cheek as he realised his daughter had inadvertently cut out a picture of Clem and pasted it on her doll. He glanced at Poppy, who had followed them into the room.
“Who’s at the tea party, India?” asked Nate.
Solemnly, India pointed at each of the guests as she spoke. “Teddy, Big Teddy and the Princess! Isn’t she pwetty?”
Poppy huffed and shook her head as Nate laughed.
“Yes, sweetheart, she really is a pwetty princess.”
Chapter Eleven
Lexi had insisted they meet at the boutique hotel just off of Sloane Square where they’d had one of their first dates.
It had been a couple of days since she’d initially got back in contact and she’d been badgering him with messages ever since. Parker had done his best to hide it from Poppy. He didn’t know how she’d react to him seeing Lexi, particularly so soon after she’d found out about Nate and his potential new girlfriend. She’d been unreasonably grumpy about it, especially about the age difference between them. To some extent, it was a relief to leave that stress behind for a while.
He settled himself in the bar with a bottle of sparking mineral water and a newspaper. He sensed he was going to need a clear head to deal with whatever Lexi needed to talk to him about.
As usual, she was late. Half an hour after she’d told him to meet her, she swept in, a huge pair of sunglasses almost obscuring her face, a trench coat wrapped around her petite figure. All she needed was a hat and she’d be the double of a female spy. Parker watched as she took off her glasses and scanned the room.
“Lexi! Over here!”
She scuttled towards him. “Sssshhhh! Don’t draw attention to us.” She grabbed his arm. “I booked a room, we can talk there. I don’t want anyone overhearing us.”
