Page 10 of Sunsets and Happy Ever Afters

CHAPTER 6

Rejuvenated, Sam was now home from his energetic mixed doubles game of badminton with his work colleagues, Daryl and Vicky, and her wife, Zara.

Now refreshed by a hot shower that eased his achy limbs, Sam couldn’t shake off thoughts of bumping into Amber’s mum. Literally. Too busy looking at his phone and not where he was going. He was sure the handle of his racket had caught her in the ribs. Whatabuffoon. He knew they didn’t see eye to eye, but it didn’t mean it was okay to send the poor woman flying. He couldn’t forget her expression of horror upon realising who he was and how fast she’d tried to get away from him. If she’d walked any faster, she’d have been running. Probably thought he’d give her another unnecessary outburst.

Shethinksyou’reaknob, he thought. He needed to remedy that when he collected Chloe later. He’d spent the whole badminton match wondering how to. Daryl and Zara had thrashed him and Vicky due to his lack of concentration.

Sam went to store his badminton racket in his study and glanced at his laptop on his desk. He still had some time until he needed to collect Chloe.

Amber’s grandparents had picked Chloe up early that morning, so he had the whole day to himself; he wasn’t collecting Chloe until after tea at Amber’s house. Even though he was keeping himself busy, he missed his daughter. She was growing up so fast, too. Weekends were his quality time with her now, as he didn’t see her so much during the week when she was at school. When she was a baby, he’d come home from work and immediately be on bath and bedtime story duties. Now, she was happy to entertain herself. She would listen to music on the smartphone she’d got for Christmas, bury her nose in a book (just like Jade used to) or dabble in art and craft activities. The amount of glitter Sam found!

With a mug of coffee in his hand, he read and answered his emails. Apparently, he had new messages on the dating sites, so he logged into them.

Sam opened Soul Mate Search. He was still miffed Heather had created the profile for him without asking, but maybe this was the kick in the proverbial he needed.

He decided he should delete his old profile on Find My HEA. His username was PeterPan26. He typed in the password he thought it would be, and it worked. This old profile hadn’t been updated in three years; he’d even deleted all the photos and details off it. It showed only his star sign, profession and that he had children, and didn’t want any more.

A few years ago, he would have loved another child. But as they’d started to plan for one, Jade had got sick and it had finalised the decision for them both.

He had friends at work, similar ages to him, who were just starting a family, but Sam wasn’t sure he could face the nappies, the lack of sleep and the food being thrown from a high-chair stage all over again. He could do more with Chloe now: the cinema, walks, sports, even take her shopping.

He was about to delete this account when he suddenly saw her. A stunning photo at the bottom of his screen, standing out among other women: Amber’s mum. Maya. Her profile name: LoisLane38.

She looked so different to the woman he’d argued with back in October. Her profile photo showed a calm, confident woman, who looked a great deal prettier when smiling and not scowling. Admittedly, it was he who had caused the scowl.

And this morning, seeing her all flushed from her run, the hollow of her neck and chest shining with moisture, something inside Sam had stirred. For the first time in four years, he’d felt aroused. She’d looked hot.

Should he read her profile?

She wouldn’t know it was him, as long as he kept this profile blank. And he was going to delete it anyway. He hesitated, the mouse curser hovering over her picture. Feeling a bit like a stalker, his heart quickened with a guilt. He felt as if he was spying on the woman. But intrigue made him click on the photo.

Had he misjudged her back in October? In her profile, she came across as level-headed and sensible, looking for similar things in a partner that he would want — that is, if he was seriously looking for one. Because he wasn’t. He’d let Heather think he was to keep her off his back. He perused all Maya’s pictures. They were all very flattering. There was a sadness in her eyes, though.

Before he realised what he was doing, Sam typed:

Wonderful profile. It’s very refreshing to read. You have a beautiful smile.

However, I thought Batman was the superhero women craved?

He picked something out of her profile, hoping it would encourage her to reply. Did he want her to reply? What was he doing?

This was the same woman who’d left his daughter unattended while she’d popped out on an errand.

She was also the same woman who’d looked bloody fantastic in running leggings. Too late anyway, he’d sent it.

For now, Sam couldn’t let on who he was. She might be embarrassed at the thought that someone she knew (albeit not that well) was messaging her. And he couldn’t delete the account now, in case she replied…

He couldn’t put a photo up now, even if he wanted to, especially as he’d messaged Maya. What would that look like?

He remembered Chloe had taken a photo of him one snowy day, a couple of years ago. He’d been wearing a woolly hat and had wrapped a scarf around his mouth, so only his eyes were visible. But those had been covered with sunglasses, because the sun had been low. He searched for the photograph and found it on Facebook. He uploaded it to this profile. There, he had a picture. He was unrecognisable, but it was him.

Or maybe he should delete this profile after all…?

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