Page 45 of Special Delivery
‘You’re a fan?’ asked Poppy, glad to be veering away from the heavy topics.
‘Yep, it’s a tradition. Work, gym, dinner,The Block. I get sad whenever a season ends. I’m like: what do I watch now?A Current Affair? Kill me.’
‘That’s funny,’ said Poppy. ‘I would not have picked you as a reality TV fan.’
‘I’m not.The Blockdoesn’t count. It’s very manly and practical. You pick up lots of useful tips—manage your budget, waterproof on Wednesdays—and the auction finales are epic.’
Poppy smirked. ‘I’ll take your word for it.’
‘You don’t watchThe Block?’
‘Nope, never. I’m too busy. And a bit too cool.’
‘No-one is too cool forThe Block, Poppy.The Block iscool. Scott Cam is cool. When the next finale is on, you can come over and watch it at mine, if you want? I’ll commentate for you. You’ll be on the edge of your seat, I promise.’
Poppy glanced at him. He’d issued this invitation so casually, so confidently, like having a single mum over to his place to watch TV was normal. Was he being friendly or was he a serial killer? In this present moment, with his eyelasheslooking so dark and soft, even the latter sounded acceptable. Which was weird.
By the time they’d looped back to the cabins, Maeve had finished her sleep cycle and was awake again, as wide-eyed as a baby lemur. They hadn’t reached her verandah before Poppy started pulling off the BabyBjörn. As she fiddled with the straps and clips, James held out his hands to take Maeve as though they’d done this a million times before. It made her feel strangely shy.
‘I’ll swing back at one to pick you up,’ said James.
‘Sure,’ said Poppy as she took Maeve from him. ‘It’s a date.’
Ugh, why?!The words had slipped out before she realised how they’d sound. It wasn’t actually a date. She hoped he didn’t thinkshethought it was a date.
James was smiling, apparently unflustered. Poppy quickly shifted Maeve over her shoulder for a spontaneous burping session to avoid unnecessary eye contact.
‘See you then,’ he said, turning up the hill.
‘Yeah, bye,’ Poppy mumbled. If a sky-writing aeroplane were to spontaneously appear overhead, she suspected it would waste no time in spelling out: TYPICAL, MCKELLAR.
CHAPTER 21
As Poppy emerged onto her verandah wearing a red wrap dress printed with tiny white daisies, James looked up from where he sat on the front step. ‘You look nice.’
‘Oh …’ Poppy wasn’t sure how to respond. ‘Nice’ was the blandest compliment you could get; she tried not to feel so happy about receiving it.
James was freshly showered, his still-wet hair glistening. The collar of his navy polo stuck up as though he’d dressed in a hurry.
‘Let me get that,’ he said, standing up to grab the pram and carry it down the three stairs. As he flicked on the pram brakes, he remarked in surprise, ‘It’s heavy, isn’t it? You should be careful carrying it around.’
Poppy came to a halt at the top of the stairs. ‘Sure, I’ll get my monkey butler to carry it for me.’
James moved to the foot of the steps. ‘Youknowthat’s not how I meant it. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.’
Poppy crossed her arms. ‘Regardless, you still sound exceptionally patronising.’
James’s mouth quirked upwards. ‘I heard exceptional?’
Poppy rolled her eyes.
‘Kidding!’ He smiled, stepping onto the lowest stair, his eyes now level with hers. ‘I promise my intentions were honourable.’
‘And yet again, you sound like a tool.’ She shrugged. ‘You’re really bad at reading the room.’
He came a step closer, his mouth tilting. ‘I’m only bad at reading you.’
His hands reached up to rest on the handrails that framed either side of her hips and as his smile inched higher without breaking her gaze, Poppy was abruptly aware of the sun’s warmth on her bare arms. It felt like the heat was swirling across her skin like smoke across water. In fact, it was too hot. She needed more SPF. She needed to cover up. She needed to move but she couldn’t becausehis eyes. From this angle she could see they were scattered with tiny flecks of hazel, like hidden seams of gold. There was an ominous fight-or-flight sensation tingling up her spine. She needed to look away. Now.
