“With an invitation like that, I can hardly refuse.”
Zadie handed him his coffee and he slid into the empty chair. “So, Alice, do you like long walks along the beach at sunset and reading books by an open fire?”
“If it’s not blowing a gale or a hundred-degree day.”
“Ah, pragmatic.”
She laughed. “No one who knows me well would ever call me that.”
“What would they say?”
Her mother’s words played in her head. “Worrying, vague, disorganized, wafting through life without any direction …”
“Your approach to dating sounds pragmatic.”
“That’s a recent phenomenon. It was forced on me by the reality of being dumped after a three-year relationship and the constant ticking of my biological clock.”
“These days you don’t need a man to have a baby.”
“Your sole parenting isn’t by choice, is it?”
“Point taken.” Harry stirred half a sachet of sugar into his coffee. “Doesn’t talking about wanting kids on the first date put blokes off?”
“You’ve never done digital dating, have you?”
“That obvious, eh?”
“On the site or the app you say if you’ve got children, are interested in having children, or not. So it’s already out there before you make contact.”
“Unless they lie.”
Alice thought of Todd. “Well, there is that.”
“Is there a spot to say vasectomy? Just asking for a friend.”
“I think that’s covered by has kids, doesn’t want any more. How are your pre-vasectomy kids?”
“Not bad. Hunter’s soccer team won on the weekend and he got MVP for the match.”
“He’d be pumped about that.”
“Bouncing more than usual you mean?” Harry’s lips quirked into his elusive smile. “By the way, I should have called and thanked you for involving Holly in the winter solstice thing. She loved it.”
Alice shuddered involuntarily.
“What?” Harry’s smile vanished. Suddenly he was the concerned parent again. “Was there a problem? Did the kids do something? Misbehave? Get upset? You should have told me!”
“Breathe, Harry.” Alice was now used to his warrior parenting style. “I would have told you if there was a problem. Holly was a huge help and Hunter was surprisingly good with the little kids.”
He frowned. “Then why do you look like someone just kicked you?”
Twin loyalty made her deflect. “You’re what, mid-forties? Sounds like it’s time to get your eyes tested.”
“Even if I was half blind, I’d have noticed. You wear your emotions on full display.”
“I do not!”
“Yeah, you do.” He sipped his coffee. “If you want to talk, I’m happy to listen.”
With her family divided over what had happened at the winter solstice celebrations, Alice found herself wanting an impartial opinion, even if it was from Harry, whose mood she could never quite predict. “There was a bit of an incident with the woman who had the baby with my brother-in-law.”
His emerald eyes widened. “That’s the reason for the marriage problems? Jeez, no wonder he looked like hell that day on the pier.”
“Oh yeah.” Alice sighed. “Jess brought her son into the butterfly tent and that was fine. I mean, I don’t choose to socialize with her, but she has a right to take part in a publicly funded community event. Anyway, Nick arrived with Indi—”
Harry quirked a brow.
“—one of his daughters. He and Libby have two girls. Nick maintains he had no idea Jess was at the event or in the tent and I saw his face drain of color when he laid eyes on her. I totally believe him. Apart from responding to her hello, he virtually ignored her.”
Harry’s shoulders squared. “What about the kid?”
“Leo? He was excited to see Nick. Then Libby found out and made a beeline for the tent.”
“Let me guess. A good KB citizen texted or called her.”
“Goes without saying. Anyway, Libby stormed in and now she’s pissed off and refusing to talk to me.”
“Why’s she angry at you?”
“Apparently, I should have prevented the meeting.”
“That’s crazy thinking.”
“Sure, but it’s her thinking. When it comes to Jess, Leo and Nick, seeing reason isn’t something she’s capable of right now.”
“I get that. Had a bit of the crazy thinking stuff for a while after H died.” He leaned forward, his gaze intense. “But you know you’re not to blame, right? You were there in an artistic capacity, not crowd control.”
“On one level, I know that. I had kids who’d come to have a good time and my job was to make everyone happy. I needed to head off a scene that would upset all the children, not just Indi and Leo. But whenever I think about how much Libby is hurting, remembering my noble aim doesn’t really help.”
“You did a good job, Alice.”
She fiddled with the spoon on her saucer. She was familiar with grumpy Harry and warrior-parent Harry, but he rarely showed this side of himself. When he did, she never knew quite what to do with the compliment. “You don’t need to be kind.”
“I’m not. I’m going on facts. Holly hasn’t stopped talking about how much fun she had helping you and the littlies, and Hunter enjoyed himself too. He’s hung his redback spider from the ceiling. I keep walking into it and getting a hell of a fright.”
“It is pretty terrifying.”
“You’re telling me.” He smiled and this time it was free of the reserve that often clung to him.
It was the most natural thing in the world for her to smile back. “Thanks for telling me that.”
“Too easy.” He checked his watch and stood. “I better get out of your hair before your next victim shows up.”
“Why do you do that?”
He looked genuinely bewildered. “Do what?”
“Be a nice guy then a bit of a dick.”
“It was a joke, Alice.”
“Would you say that to a bloke? I’m not lying to these men or deceiving them in any way. I—”
“Sorry. It was a cheap shot.”
Alice was in full flight—indignant words rushing out of her—and it took her a second to realize he’d apologized. She checked his face—he looked sheepish and repentant.
“Truth is, Alice, I’m in awe
