Page 85 of The Polly Principle (The Laws of Love 2)

“Dad!”

“Only joking. Nice to meet you, son.” He got up and winced. His knee was obviously giving him gyp. He shook Solo’s hand heartily. “Nice you could join me to celebrate the big one. Never thought I’d see it, to be honest.”

Polly internally groaned; when Dad was nervous he tended to say too much about the past. Luckily he thumped his chest. “A few ticker problems, but sorted for now with a few drugs.”

“Ah-ha. Good to meet you, Ted.” Solo’s smile was so warm, so embracing, her own heart fluttered weirdly behind her ribs.

Then the back door banged and in breezed her big brother. Joe was big in every sense of the word. Broad-chested and over six-foot-three, he filled up the space. “Hullo, Poll.” He strode over and enveloped her in a bear hug. “Good to see you, sis.”

“Hi, Joe boy.”

Joe held her back from him with two beefy hands on her arms and surveyed her face with bright blue eyes that were just like their mum’s, but without the constant resentment that had always seemed to shadow hers.

Now it was Polly’s turn to introduce Joe to Solo. She saw Joe and Kate’s eyes appraising him, weighing up whether he was someone to get their hopes up over. Honestly, you could almost hear the cogs in their brains whirring.

Wish on, guys.

Introductions over, another wave of sandwich-making from Mim, and they all sat down for a late lunch. It was hard to swallow, hard to think. Already Polly was wishing she hadn’t invited Solo. The expectations were weighing on her, not just about whether he was her boyfriend, but whether she’d have to jump in later—appease a guest Dad had said the wrong thing to, calm Mim’s feathers. God, why did Mim keep trying to get Dad to jump through these hoops?

And now, if it all turned pear-shaped, Solo would be here to watch another Fletcher bun-fight.

And yet… oh, fuck-a-doodle, it felt good to have him here. She glanced over and a little hip-hop dance played out behind her ribs as she saw him laughing and talking tractors with Dad and Joe.

Shit, what couldn’t this guy do? Knit, command a group, kiss like a sinner, make a girl scream the house down with her orgasms.

Bake a cake. He couldn’t bake a cake. A spluttered giggle escaped her and suddenly those silver eyes were on her; he cocked an eyebrow and warmth spilled through her body.

Polly jumped up. “We had better start getting ready,” she said, knowing she was a tad wild-eyed.

“I could do with some help arranging the hay bales in the barn and getting the dance floor in place,” Joe said.

Dad got up with a grumble and both dogs lifted their heads from their baskets, ears pricked, ready for the afternoon’s work. “I’ve got to go and check some fences,” he said.

“Don’t you disappear anywhere. You’ve got to be back here in good time to spruce up,” Mim warned, turning from where she was preparing a bowl of icing for the cake.

“What for?” When Dad popped his eyes with that mock innocent look, Polly knew they resembled one another. A little knife twisted in her gut. She really wished she’d seen more of that humour when she was a kid. But those moments had been few and far between; the hurts far more frequent.

And in the end, it was the hurts that you remembered.

Solo got up on cue, piling up plates and taking them over to the sink. “Do you want a hand washing these up, Mim?”

The guy sure knew how to suck up.

“No, Solo, luv.” Mim patted his arm. “You’d be more help in the barn with Joe.”

“All this bloody fuss,” Dad muttered and ambled out, whistling to the dogs.

“Be back by five,” Mim called after him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he called back.

Joe stood up too, kissed Kate and laid a hand on her belly. His face lit up. “I just felt a kick. Here, Poll, come and have a feel.”

Solo’s eyes were burning holes in her. She felt her cheeks firing up. What the hell was wrong with her? Her lips seemed to be shaping into a silly grin, the kind of smile women got when the broody hormones kicked in. And then her hand was reaching out like it was magnetised towards the lovely round mound of Kate’s belly.

“Here,” Joe said. “A bit lower.” He took hold of Polly’s hand and gently re-arranged it. Sure enough, a littlethump thumppushed back against her palm through the cotton of Kate’s T-shirt. Polly jumped and giggled. Kate’s eyes were shining.

Polly’s throat constricted. “Aww, that is so cute. Is it happening much?”

“All the time,” Kate said proudly.

“Blimp is on the move,” Joe said.

Kate thumped Joe on the arm. “Not Blimp. Our Little Miracle.”

Polly made the mistake of looking over at Solo and their eyes locked. And suddenly there was a painful thump going on inside her own belly.

It wasn’t a phantom baby.

It was a huge great stab of envy…

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