Chapter 24
Marc hurried back into the house, cake box in hand, and tried to focus on the day ahead, which stretched, seemingly endlessly, before him.
The boys had already opened their presents and were asking when their new friends were coming over.
They’d each been allowed to invite one classmate, and Noah and Bella were coming over to join in the party.
Since this was their first birthday in the new house, Marc had tried to keep things simple – some party food, a couple of games and a Home Premiere of the latest Disney movie, complete with popcorn and fizzy drinks, to keep them occupied for an hour or two.
He hoped, between the three adults, they’d be able to keep four six-year-olds under control.
Luca was already in the kitchen, itching to put the cocktail sticks into the mini sausages.
‘Is that our cake, Dad? Can I see it?’
‘Not yet.’ Marc grinned at his son. ‘You can wait until your friends get here.’ He grabbed the plastic beakers out of the cupboard. ‘Where’s your brother?’
‘Upstairs still.’ A grumpy expression passed over Luca’s face as he said it. ‘He’s cross.’
‘Oh really?’ Marc raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t tell me you two have been squabbling on your birthday?’
Luca shook his head vigorously. ‘He’s a poo head.’
‘That’s a bit harsh,’ Marc quipped. ‘He only got poo on his head once, that we know of.’
Luca’s grumpy face morphed into a smile. ‘You’re silly.’
‘I know.’ Marc handed Luca the beakers. ‘Put these on the table while I go and see what’s up with Liam.’
As he went upstairs, before he got to grips with whatever had annoyed Liam this time, he thought back to his conversation on the driveway with Lauren.
She intrigued him. She was certainly attractive, with a pretty smile and a calm manner that made him want to be around her.
Of the few dates he’d been on after Tessa, the women he’d met had all been outgoing, settled in their careers and sometimes, like him, on the other side of a relationship, mostly a divorce or separation.
He gave himself a mental telling-off; Tessa had always reminded him that he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
The way Lauren had responded to his gentle suggestion that they meet for a drink had been almost gauche, as if she’d never been asked out in that way.
Perhaps men are a bit more direct in the West Country.
He smiled to himself. Perhaps I’d have had a better response if I’d just shown up outside the café on a tractor and offered her a pint of Scrumpy and a roll in the hay!
He was still grinning when he reached the boys’ bedroom. Inside, Liam was sitting on the bed, clearly in a sulk.
‘What’s up, bud?’ Marc asked, sitting down next to him.
Liam shook his head. ‘I hate Luca.’
Sighing inwardly, Marc prepared himself to do an intervention that the United Nations would be proud of. ‘And why’s that, then?’
‘He invited Kyle to our party, and I wanted to. Kyle’s my friend, not his.’
‘So is Joe not your friend, then?’
‘Not as much as Kyle.’
‘I see.’ Marc pretended to consider this deeply. ‘So, what you’re really saying is that you’ve got two friends coming over, right? So, actually, Luca might have done you a favour.’
Liam considered this for a moment or two. ‘Maybe.’
‘Well,’ Marc dropped his voice conspiratorially. ‘Don’t tell Luca I said this, but you might need to look after him this afternoon. If you’ve got two good mates coming over, you need to make sure Luca can play, too, yeah?’
Liam looked fractionally happier. ‘Maybe.’
Score one for negotiation, Marc thought in quiet triumph. ‘So will you come down and help us to sort the food out?’
‘Okay.’ Liam hopped off the bed and darted out of the door.
Marc leaned back against the wall and let out a sigh. Conflict resolution in the Cold War would have been easier than treading a path between the twins. But if that was the only point of contention today, he’d have got off lightly.
As he walked back downstairs in Liam’s wake, he found his thoughts drifting back to Lauren.
It would be lovely to get to know her better.
But could he really find the time and space to include someone else in this chaotic life?
Would it be fair? He put that out of his mind.
Today was all about making sure the boys had a birthday to remember.
If, indeed Lauren was at the pub on Christmas Eve, and by some miracle he could get down there, even for a bit, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
In the meantime, he had a party to organise.
And a mission to make sure that the boys didn’t come to blows before the day was over.