Promoted: to Wife and Mother

It wouldn’t have been like being just good friends, now, would it? Perdita’s inner voice, the uncomfortably sarcastic one, pointed out, and she sighed as she pulled up outside her flat in a converted warehouse overlooking the river. It was no good, she was going to have to pull herself together about this.

She wasn’t quite sure what signals Ed was giving off. Yes, he had indicated that he was ready to move on after his wife’s death, and yes, he seemed to like her, and that kiss might have been deliberate, but it could just have easily been an affectionate gesture to someone he considered a friend.

And that was how she ought to take it. Because, even if he also had been wondering what a proper kiss would have been like, even if he had hoped that she would smile and turn her face instead of standing rigidly, it wouldn’t have taken much for him to realise what a bad idea it would have been. They had to work together, after all. Much better for him to meet someone outside the office.

Someone who hadn’t already discovered to her cost that falling in love with a father meant finding yourself a very long way down his list of priorities.

She would be a friend and nothing more, Perdita decided yet again and, just to prove it, she would invite Millie to meet Ed. They were bound to get on. Millie had teenagers herself and understood the difficulties of being a single parent. And she was a lovely person, warm, friendly and motherly, completely the opposite of Perdita herself, with her ‘sharp edges’.

Yes, she would introduce him to Millie, and she would invite Grace as well. He obviously liked her too. Grace didn’t have children, but she was widowed, so they would understand each other. Millie and Grace would both be perfect partners for Ed so, by inviting them, Perdita would make it clear that she had no interest in him herself. And, so as not to be too obvious about her matchmaking, she would invite another couple who were also struggling with teenagers, and Rick, who was gay, and excellent company. At least Ed wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by women then.

Not that Perdita could imagine Ed feeling overwhelmed by anything. He was too self-contained for that.

In the end, they were to be a party of fifteen. It was a squeeze in Perdita’s flat, but she pushed two tables together and spread over a huge cloth to make it look festive. The flat looked wonderful with the early October light pouring in and the sliding doors open on to the balcony.

It was three weeks since she had shared spaghetti bolognaise with Ed and his family, and Perdita had been careful not to seem too eager about seeing him again. Because she was just going to be a friend, right?

Once she had bumped into him when she’d parked in her mother’s drive just as he was getting out of his car. Ed had suggested that it might be a good opportunity to introduce him to her mother, and she had done that, which had gone quite well. Otherwise, Perdita had kept contact to work. She was scrupulous about being professional and only talked to him about business, although none of it had helped shake the memory of that brief, impersonal kiss on her cheek.

Which was ridiculous. It wasn’t as if he were jaw-droppingly handsome. There was nothing special about him at all, in fact, apart perhaps from those uncomfortably keen eyes, but somehow, once you had started noticing his mouth and his throat and the line of his cheek, it was hard to stop noticing, and, before you knew where you were, a mere glimpse was enough to make it feel as if the ground were tilting beneath your feet and your insides had disappeared, leaving you with that alarming hollow feeling that was much too close to lust for comfort.

All right, stop it now! Perdita told herself firmly every time her thoughts wandered off in that direction. This was getting silly. Ed was her boss, a work colleague. She had always made a point of not getting involved with anyone at work, and this was not the time to start. And he was a single father, which meant that he had all the concerns Nick had had, but without anyone to share them with. That put him even further out of bounds. Perdita had learnt her lesson.

Or that was what she kept telling herself.

Ed himself had given no indication that he had given their farewell another moment’s thought, which just made Perdita feel even more ridiculous. She had pushed a note through his door with the invitation to lunch, reasoning that he could easily find an excuse if he wanted, but Ed had rung her at home to say that they would all love to come.

The sound of his voice in her kitchen had made Perdita feel very odd. She hadn’t been expecting it and her reaction had thrown her off balance. She was used to bracing herself against it at work or when she was at her mother’s, where there was always a chance that she might bump into him, but not here at home. She wondered how he had got her number but Ed explained before she could ask that it was on the card she had given him in case there was a problem at her mother’s house.

Now she was going to see him again. Perdita was conscious of a churning in her stomach that would normally have seemed like nerves if there had been any reason at all for her to feel nervous about seeing a friend. She never felt nervous when Millie or Rick came round, so why feel it because it was Ed? Hadn’t she decided that he was just going to be a friend?

As instructed, Millie turned up early on the day of the lunch to help. Her daughters, Roz and Emily, would make their own way later.

‘I’m honoured they could fit me into their busy social schedules,’ said Perdita as she handed Millie some tomatoes to slice.

‘Oh, they’ll always make an effort for you,’ said Millie, pulling off stalks. She reached for a knife. ‘I haven’t had a chance to thank you properly yet for putting me in touch with Grace. I’m so excited about the job!’

‘Is it all agreed, then?’

Millie nodded happily. ‘I’m going to start off doing three days a week in the office and we’ll see how we go.’ She smiled at her friend. ‘I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for organising this, Perdita. You’ve got enough on your mind at the moment without sorting out jobs for me!’

‘Well, you know I’ve always hated seeing your talents going to waste,’ said Perdita lightly. ‘I know you’ll be brilliant.’

‘I’m just so thankful for the chance to get some experience,’ Millie said with feeling. ‘It’s hard to get a job when you’re over forty, haven’t worked in an office for more than fifteen years and never had very impressive qualifications in the first place!’

Perdita was staring into the fridge, half her mind on the conversation, half trying to remember what still had to be done for the lunch, and all of it preoccupied by the prospect of seeing Ed again. ‘I get the feeling Grace is more interested in the kind of person you are than in any qualifications,’ she murmured.

‘She’s lovely, isn’t she? I’m glad she’s coming today.’ Millie watched critically as Perdita continued to dither in front of the fridge. ‘You seem a bit distracted, Perdita. You’re not nervous, are you?’ she asked, startling Perdita in the act of pulling out a plate of grilled peppers.

‘Of course not,’ said Perdita, just managing to stop the peppers sliding on to the floor in time. There was just the suspicion of a snap in her voice. ‘Why on earth should I be nervous?’

‘Because your gorgeous Ed is coming to lunch, perhaps?’

‘He’s not mine,’ said Perdita sharply. ‘And he’s not gorgeous.’

Millie received this in disbelieving silence. She started slicing tomatoes. ‘So why the lunch in his honour?’

‘I’m just being friendly.’ Perdita kept her voice carefully cool. ‘It’s a chance for him to meet some new people, that’s all.’

‘Because I got the impression the last time you mentioned him that you were quite keen on him,’ said Millie.

‘Not in the least,’ said Perdita. ‘In fact, I deliberately invited you and Grace because I think you would get on with him, and I’m sure he’d like you both. You can fight it out between you.’

Her head was bent as she concentrated on peeling the peppers and Millie observed her with a slight smile. ‘Well, great,’ she said cheerfully. ‘If you really don’t want him, I’ll have him! I think he sounds lovely.’

Perdita’s lips tightened slightly. ‘He’s very nice.’

‘I’m so glad now I know you’re not interested in him,’ Millie went on with enthusiasm. ‘I wish you’d told me earlier, though. I could have worn something a bit sexier!’

Sliding a glance at her friend under her lashes, she noted with some amusement that Perdita was looking decidedly cross. She might claim that she didn’t care about Ed, but Millie had known her a long time.

‘I can’t wait to meet him,’ she teased, but Perdita didn’t seem to think it was funny.

‘You’re not to embarrass him by being too obvious,’ she said tightly. ‘I don’t want Ed to think I’m