Chapter 9
NINE
DECLAN
‘Hi.’
Declan nodded as he was heading into the apartment block, just as Jess was returning with Maisie, a little after five o’clock.
She had collected Maisie from after-school club, then lingered at the duck pond up the road, where Maisie was delighted to see a mother with a quartet of fluffy ducks gliding across the water.
‘Hi.’ Jess took in Declan’s smart suit and handsome face, his dark hair that was always stylishly groomed, and his deep-brown eyes that gave him an almost Mediterranean look. She was surprised that she had never seen him with a partner or bumped into anyone leaving his place.
‘Have you had a good day?’ Declan asked amiably.
‘Not bad, thanks. You?’
‘Yeah, good thanks. It’s nice to be out of the office, though, especially as the weather has warmed up.’
So he worked in an office? Jess kind of knew that already, as he always left in the mornings suited and booted just before she left with Maisie. She had observed him out of the bedroom window, heading to his car. Not that she was really looking, of course.
‘I wish I could say the same. Half the city must have been out food shopping today,’ said Jess. She had barely stopped for a second. Burgers and salad had been particularly popular, and she imagined people having get-togethers on a perfect summer evening.
They chatted about their respective workplaces and when they had finished, Maisie showed Declan a painting of a whale that she pulled from her school bag.
‘They live in Antarctica and Norway mainly, but sometimes in other places around the world,’ she told him knowledgeably. ‘We are learning about them at school.’
‘Wow, that’s really good,’ said Declan, appraising the picture of the huge orca leaping out of the water. He meant it. She had real talent for such a young girl. ‘Do you like painting?’ he asked her.
‘Yes. I have got an art set this big.’ She stretched out her arms as wide as they would go. ‘Do you want to see it?’
‘Maisie, I’m sure Declan has more important things to do,’ said Jess, her face flushing slightly as she thought of her underwear draped over the radiator in the hall that she never had time to put away this morning.
‘I’m off out shortly, but maybe another time?’ Declan smiled at Maisie.
As Declan put his key in the door of his apartment on their shared landing, he turned to Jess and asked if she was going to dinner at Alice’s place the following evening.
When she said that she was, he surprised himself by feeling excited at the prospect of getting to know her a little better during the evening.
Then again, would it be wise to get involved with someone living so close and who had a child?
What if things didn’t work out? There was also the small matter of his past to consider.
All the same, an evening in the company of an attractive young woman might be nice.
‘Good.’ He smiled before he headed inside.