Page 75 of The Village Midwife
‘Yes. Not directly but…well, you get a feeling for these things, don’t you?’
‘What about Alex?’
‘What about him?’
‘A little bird tells me you spent the day with him on Saturday.’
‘I spent the day with himandVictor. And it wasn’t the whole day, only some of it.’
‘I heard you and Alex got on well. Very well.’
Zoe turned to her. ‘I’m guessing this little bird has a name beginning with C? Ends in E, is married to a man who keeps alpaca and loves to bake?’
‘I’d never reveal my sources.’
‘It wasn’t anything. I went to see the alpaca with Victor, and we ran into Alex, and it seemed like a fun thing to do. I hadn’t got anything else on, and the alternative was cleaning the house.’
‘I bet you cleaned the house anyway.’
‘Well, yeah, of course. I did it later on.’
‘It wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world if you did get with Alex.’
‘How do you work that out?’
‘For one, it would make sure you’re not tempted to give it another go with Ritchie.’
‘Nobody said I was going to.’
‘You didn’t sound very convincing when you ruled it out just now. Which makes me think it’s crossed your mind.’
‘It hasn’t, honestly.’
‘Because I get that it could be tempting. You know him, you feel comfortable with him, you already know what he’s like to live with.’
‘I’m not going to go back to Ritchie!’
‘Good. That’s all I wanted to hear. But you do need a plus one for my wedding next year, don’t forget.’
‘Why can’t I come on my own?’
‘You could, but then I’d have to get you fixed up with Heath’s best man, and, trust me, you don’t want that.’
‘I’ll find someone then. What’s Flo doing? Can she be my plus one?’
Ottilie laughed lightly. They kept their banter up until they got within sight of Stacey’s house. Zoe still couldn’t get used to how close everything was in Thimblebury after living in Manchester her whole life, and it took her quite by surprise to see that within minutes they’d reached their destination. When Stacey opened the front door, she was followed by the aroma of fried chicken and coriander.
‘I’ve made nibbles,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d have eaten or not, but I’m starving anyway so they won’t go to waste.’
‘You don’t have to try very hard to persuade me to have nibbles these days.’ Ottilie patted a gentle hand on her tummy. ‘This one loves his food, just like his dad.’
Stacey let them in and then took their coats before opening non-alcoholic wine for Ottilie and something stronger for her and Zoe.
‘How’s Chloe doing?’ Zoe asked. ‘I thought she might be home.’
‘She’s staying over at Ollie’s house tonight. Taken Mackenzie with her. I think his parents are driving them to get furniture for the flat tomorrow or something.’
‘I thought she wasn’t going to move out until she’d had the baby?’ Zoe asked.
