Page 25 of A New Arrival at Cwtch Cove

‘It seems you’re not shooting blanks.’

‘No. Right. Gosh.’ He sighed. ‘Wow.’

‘Look… you can be as much or as little involved as suits you. Obviously I’d prefer it if you were involved for the baby’s sake because no one wants those kind of emotional scars caused by a disinterested parent growing up, but there’s no pressure. You live in Exeter, I live in Wales, it’s a fair distance.’

‘Thanks, but… I’d never do that to you or the baby. It’s going to take me a while to process this news but of course I want to be involved. I’m going to be a dad!’

‘You are.’ She smiled in spite of the tension and Tarquin smiled too.

‘In that case…’ He squared his jaw resolutely, stood up and walked around the table then dropped to one knee. ‘Dear Alice, will you—’

‘No! No, Tarquin, no!’

He frowned.

‘Get up!’ She waved a hand at him as she scanned the pub but apart from a few elderly men sitting near the window that overlooked the village green, there was no one else around and the men were engrossed in a card game, oblivious to the fact that Tarquin had been about to propose.

‘Get up? But why? I’m doing the decent thing.’

‘Please get up and sit on your chair.’

Tarquin grimaced but he did as she’d asked. ‘You don’t want to marry me?’

‘No.’

‘Oh.’

‘You’re a lovely person but I don’t love you and you don’t love me.’

‘But you’re carrying our child and so it’s the honourable thing to do.’

‘Bless you, Tarquin, but we don’t need to get married. We can co-parent by all means but not enter into a marriage that would make us both unhappy.’

‘But I like you, Alice. We get on well.’

‘We do and I like you too but I don’t love you and to be honest, I’m not attracted to you.’

Tarquin nodded. ‘To be honest, I’m not attracted to you either.’

Their eyes met and they both burst out laughing.

‘Seeing as how we’re being honest, Alice, I’ve been wondering if I might actually prefer men. I’ve had relationships with women and men but it’s the latter I find myself more drawn towards. I mean, I can see that you’re an attractive woman and I can see why someone would fancy you but I just…’

‘Don’t.’

He nodded and his cheeks coloured. ‘Sorry.’

‘Don’t be sorry! I don’t fancy you. We were drunk when we slept together. Drunk and emotional and it was a comfort thing.’

‘And now we’re having a baby.’ He chewed at his bottom lip. ‘What are the chances?’

‘Quite high, it seems.’ Alice pushed a hand through her hair. ‘So I’ve had a scan and everything looks OK. I’m about thirteen weeks long which means we have around twenty-seven weeks to get organised.’

‘Right. We have time then. That’s good. Very good. Also… I have news. I’ve got a new job. A permanent position. As a dentist, in case you were wondering.’

‘That’s brilliant news. Where?’

‘Funnily enough, in Swansea. Pretty fortuitous in light of the circumstances, eh? So I’ll be in Wales and not far away.’

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