"It doesn"t sound like a lot of fun for you, though. Seeing someone in my position."
He raised an eyebrow and took in her naked body. "Frankly, Miss Swift, I can see nothing remotely off-putting in your current position. It seems perfect to me. And I think you should know that you can give up trying to talk me out of being a part of your life. Easy relationships are for wimps. Real men pick women with a bit of challenge to them, and you have that in abundance. So tell me, what is it about me that got you hooked?"
She slapped his chest playfully. "No way am I going to play that game!"
"Spoilsport. But I"ll tell you what did it for me. First off it was the wrath and brimstone looks you gave me - Oh no you don"t," he laughed as she opened her mouth to protest. "No interrupting or denying; that"s not how the game works. And then it was your fierce love for your sister and her children that touched me."
"No, you"ve got it all wrong. Every decision I made was done out of a sense of duty and the fact that I didn"t have a choice."
"That may have been true in the beginning, but what about now? Those kids really mean something to you, don"t they? They"re a part of your life and there"s not a d.a.m.n thing you wouldn"t do for them. I"m right, aren"t I?" When she didn"t reply, he became aware that they were a stone"s throw from getting too serious. "And on a lighter note, I"d like it to be known that regarding my attraction for you, there was one more thing that clinched matters for me."
"What was that, then? My razor-sharp wit? My scintillating intellect?"
"Um ... actually, it was the sight of you in your beret. Any chance you could wear it in bed for me some time?"
When Harriet had gone, Will remembered he hadn"t had anything to eat. He rustled up an omelette, ate it hungrily, put his plate in the dishwasher and checked what time it was. Another twenty minutes, he reckoned, and then he"d ring her.
On the stroke of eleven he was back in bed and phoned Harriet. "Hi," he said. "Are we on for some phone s.e.x now?"
She laughed. "Is this how it"s going to be?"
"Yes, every night when we"re not together, this is what we"ll do."
"What about in the morning?"
"Mornings are good for me too."
"Lunchtime?"
"That might be pushing it a bit. Jarvis is a stickler for observing old-fashioned decencies in the shop. Right then, fire away. Say something s.m.u.tty."
"You"re insane."
"And you"re blushing, aren"t you?"
"Certainly not. I was just putting on my beret."
He groaned exaggeratedly.
"Goodnight, Will. I"ll speak to you tomorrow."
Smiling, he switched off his mobile and put it on the bedside table. Harriet was right about her current situation being complicated. A serious relationship with her would not be straightforward. Could he really picture himself with two young children along with Gemma and the grieving process he still had to get through? He didn"t know for sure, but what he could picture was being with Harriet. He could imagine that all too clearly.
He turned out the light and within minutes he"d nodded off. For once he"d fallen asleep without torturing himself by reliving the last conscious moments of Suzie"s life.
At work the next day, shortly after Harriet had taken a call from Will, Howard came into her office. She was still smirking at the thought of something Will had suggested he would like to do to her when Howard pressed his considerable backside against her desk. "You"ve got that look on your face again, Hat."
"What look?" she said.
"The nun who"s just been snogged."
"I"m going to treat that remark with the contempt it deserves. What can I do for you, Howard? I"m a busy woman."
He regarded her closely. "You"re seeing that bloke again, aren"t you?"
She turned back towards her computer and pretended to be concentrating on the code she was compiling. "And which bloke would that be?"
"The one I said you should leave well alone."
"Perhaps you were wrong. Let"s face it, it can"t be a first."
"Hah! I knew it. I knew I could rely on feminine logic."
She swivelled her chair so she was facing Howard again. "What do you mean, feminine logic?"
"I knew if I told you not to do something, you"d do it. I haven"t worked with women and computers as long as I have to know that unlike a computer, a woman doesn"t function to the accepted rules of logic. You"ve got to employ cunning and reverse psychology to make them do what you want. Well done, Hat. I knew I"d get you and that bloke back together. I reckon you"ll be good for each other."
"Get out! Out of my office, you conceited, horrible man!"
He ducked the file she threw at him.
That evening, while Harriet was getting the tea ready and Carrie and Joel were setting the table with their usual propensity to clatter the cutlery and crash the crockery, she asked them how they"d got on with Dora doing the afternoon school run. With Eileen and Bob away, Dora had stepped into the breach and Harriet was concerned about Joel"s reaction to the change in their normal routine.
"Auntie Dora took us to Maywood," Joel answered.
"She never said anything when I picked you up."
"We saw Miles in his bookshop," joined in Carrie.
"Oh, yes? How was he?"
"I asked him if he was coming to help you with any jobs this week and he said if there was anything you needed doing, you knew where he was."
Later, during their bedtime story, Joel said, "Carrie thinks you"re going to marry Miles. Is that true?"
Carrie rolled her eyes and kicked his foot. "I told you not to say anything."
"It"s okay," Harriet said. She decided to be completely honest with them. "Miles and I have always been very close; after all, we"ve known one another nearly all our lives. But friends is all we"ll ever be."
"But I saw you kissing him."
"Yes, Carrie, you did. But - "
"You don"t want to s.h.a.g him, is that it?"
Harriet"s eyes opened wide. "Carrie! Where did you get that from?"
Her niece didn"t even blush. "Is s.h.a.g a very bad word?" she asked.
"Put it this way: it"s not the kind of word you should repeat in front of Grandma and Granddad."
"What does it mean?" asked Joel "It means to be s.e.xy with someone," Carrie informed him importantly.
The definition was near enough for Harriet to let it go. She was about to suggest they get back to their book when Joel said, "Auntie Dora says she thinks you"re more likely to marry Will than Miles. Are you s.e.xy with Will?"
Harriet felt the colour cover her from top to toe.
"Is he your boyfriend?" asked Carrie.
Thinking that she must stick to her policy of being honest with the children, she said, "Sort of."
Her niece looked at her doubtfully. "What does sort of mean?"
"I suppose it means yes. Will is my boyfriend. Is that okay with you two?"
Both of the children smiled.
"I"ll take that as a yes, then. Now how about this story? Shall we get back to it?"
"Do you kiss him?"
"Yes, Carrie, I do." Harriet tapped the book on her lap. "The story?"
"What about being s.e.xy? Are you s.e.xy together?"
"Carrie!"
When Harriet was lying in bed, her mobile went off. It was Will.
"Hi," he said. "How was your day?"
"It kicked off with an obscene caller, followed by an interrogation by my boss on my love life and then this evening the children gave me a thorough grilling."
"What did they want to know?"
"It appears that Carrie has picked up the word "s.h.a.g" from somewhere and wanted to know if that"s what we get up to."
"She knows about me?"
"Apparently she had her information from Dora. I thought it best to be honest with them. Is that okay?"
"Hey, does the amba.s.sador like chocolates? So am I officially your boyfriend now?"
"I thought that was a given."
"Excellent. It makes me sound at least ten years younger. So when do I get the chance to show off my girl round town?"
"That"ll have to keep for a few days, but you can come for supper tomorrow evening if you like."
"Count me in. What time do you want me there?"
"I"ve got to fetch the children from Dora"s after work at six thirty, so any time after seven."
"I could pick them up if you want."
"Really?"
"Sure. I can do it when I"ve finished at the shop; that way they can cross-examine me without you around. And I shall tell them we do much more than s.h.a.g."
Laughing, she said, "Will?"
"Yes?"
"I"m so glad that woman from the call centre phoned you last night and you had such a good chat with her."
"So am I. If I"d left things to you, you"d still be fiddling with your watch strap and wondering how to tell me you fancied the pants off me."
"You knew?"
"Of course I did. I"ve always known."
"Liar."
"Well, okay then. When you turned up out of the blue, my pathetic male ego kicked in and I hoped my luck was in too."
"Am I that obvious to read?"
"Nah. It"s my stunning intuitive powers of deduction."
When they"d said goodnight and Harriet had switched off her mobile, she thought she heard a noise coming from Carrie"s bedroom. She got out of bed and crossed the landing, her feet sinking into the new carpet. "Are you all right, Carrie?" she said softly at her open door.
Carrie raised her head from the pillow. "I heard you talking to someone. Who was it?"
Harriet went and knelt by the side of her bed. "It was Will. He"s coming to see us tomorrow evening. Is that okay with you?"
Carrie nodded sleepily. "Mm ... that"ll be nice. Will"s fun."
"Yes, he is." Bending down to kiss her niece goodnight, Harriet thought that the word "fun" summed up Will best. Despite everything he was going through, he still managed to be wonderful company. He made such a difference to her life. She just hoped she did the same for him.
"Harriet?" Her niece didn"t sound so sleepy now.
"Yes, Carrie?"
"You won"t ... you won"t ever leave us, will you?"
"Hey there kiddo, what kind of a question is that?"
"You might if you got bored with us. Or if we did something really bad."