^“Morning, El,” Todd says, making me jump, with a spoon full of Nutella in my mouth. I guiltily look up at him from my seat on the sofa as he laughs.

“You have Nutella on your cheek,” he says, still laughing as I pull the spoon out of my mouth and put it back into the jar.

“So, you found my Nutella?” he asks as he comes over and wipes his thumb across my cheek. I watch as he puts his thumb in his mouth and sucks the Nutella away. I’m so blaming my hormones when I find him doing that sexy.

“Andre said no one eats it, and I could have as much as I wanted. Sorry, I didn’t know it was yours,” I say, and he sits next me.

“I can share,” he shrugs and takes my spoon out of the jar. I watch as he gets a big spoon full of Nutella and eats it. Our eyes meet as he takes way too long enjoying the Nutella before he takes the spoon out of his mouth.

“I met your sister last night,” I say, my voice coming out high-pitched. Holy ducks, I’m way too attracted to this guy. It’s bad enough that I kissed Kaiden, almost kissed Andre again, and now I am giving flirty eyes to Todd. I need to get my shit together and remember that the baby comes first. Not my insane hormones.

“Which one?” he asks as he puts the spoon back.

“Annie,” I say, and he smiles.

“Did she try to hit on you? I don’t blame her if she did,” he says, chuckling when my eyes widen. Did he just suggest that he finds me attractive?

“No, I don’t think so. She told me that you spoke of me,” I say, and he grunts as a reply.

“Oh, and thanks for the ginger biscuit idea. I carry them around now as they do make me feel better,” I tell him, and he nods as our eyes catch. I also found the three bottles of ginger ale that were in the fridge this morning. He must have gotten them for me, and it’s sweet.

“I’ve got to go and help my sister,” he says, standing up quickly and walking away. He stops and runs his hand through his hair before he looks back at me.

“Do you want to come?” he asks me, and I sit back, a little shocked that he is inviting me to meet his sister.

“Yes,” I say, and he nods. I follow him out after slipping my shoes and coat on. I’m wearing ripped jeans and a black jumper. It’s one of those super soft ones that are so nice to have on.

Todd holds the door to his blue BMW open for me when we get outside. I run quickly to him as it starts to rain. The car looks old and like someone has put a lot of effort into doing it up. The seats are dark-blue inside, and the car is well looked after. Todd gets in the car as I do my seatbelt up.

“Did you restore this car?” I ask him, and he nods.

“It’s a hobby. I find broken, classical cars and restore them. Remind me to show you the garage sometime,” he says.

“It’s beautiful,” I tell him as I run my hand over the polished headboard, and he looks at me for a second before looking back at the road.

“Sometimes the most beautiful things in the world come to us broken and in pieces. It’s up to us to decide if we want to put them back together to see the real beauty or let them fall apart,” he tells me, his words seem like he isn’t just talking about a car.

I want to reply, but my phone starts ringing in my jeans, and I pull it out. I smile widely when I see Liz’s name.

“Hello,” I say to Liz.

“Hey, Hun, how are you?” she asks me straight away.

“All good, did you get my text?” I ask her as she never replied to me.

“Yes, sorry I didn’t reply. I forgot to ask, what’s your new address?” she asks me, and I hear a male voice in the background. I can’t hear what he says, but it sounds familiar. I just can’t hear enough to know why it does.

“I can text you it in a sec, but do you want to meet up?” I reply as I hear her moving around.

“Okay, send me the address, and, yes, it would be nice to see you,” she tells me, but her tone is off. In fact, she sounds distant to me.

“Everything alright, Liz?” I ask her, and she quickly replies.

“Yes, I’m just busy with work and that. Don’t forget to send me the address. Love you,” she says and puts the phone down.

“Everything okay?” Todd asks.

“Yeah, I think so,” I say, and he nods before he looks back at the road. I quickly text Liz my new address, but she doesn’t reply. I don’t think on it anymore as Todd pulls into a quiet street. The houses are small and look old. They are all attached, with grey-stone bricks that match the grey-stone roads. Todd parks in front of the one with a white door and gets out. I get out and shut the door. Todd waits for me and then opens the front door, without knocking.

“Hello, sis, hello, little devils,” Todd shouts when he walks in, and I follow, shutting the door behind me. The corridor is small with two doors on either side and the stairs straight in front with what looks like a cupboard under the stairs.

“Uncle T!” a little boy shouts excitedly as he runs down the stairs and jumps into Todd’s arms.

“What did I tell you about jumping off the stairs?” Todd says as he balances the boy on his shoulder. The boy looks about five with a mess of dark-brown hair and a cute face.

“Not to?” the boy asks, and Todd laughs. It surprises me because his laugh is deep and sexy. I end up having to clear my throat to distract myself, and it gets the boy’s attention.

“Did you bring a girl?” he asks in a whisper.

“This is Ellie, Ellie this is my nephew, Harry,” Todd says, turning to look at me and letting the boy slide to the floor.

“Uncle T!” another little voice says before a little girl comes running into the room. The girl looks the same age as Harry, with matching, dark, curly hair that flows around her shoulders.

“Hey, Daisy,” Todd says as he picks her up, and she wraps her little arms around his neck as she hugs him. It’s clear they are twins when I look between them.

“Will you make pancakes? The ones with the heart shapes?” she asks quickly.

“Maybe we should let uncle Todd and his friend into the house first before we demand he makes pancakes, Daisy,” a woman says coming into the room. I can see the resemblance to Todd straight away, in fact they look very alike. She has dyed-blonde hair that’s up in a messy bun and has a tight, smart dress on. It’s their faces that are similar, and they have the same eyes.

“Ellie, this is my twin sister, Jude. Jude this is–”

“Ellie, I got that,” she interrupts him and walks over to me. She offers me her hand, and I smile.

“Nice to meet you, Jude,” I say, and she smiles.

“You too, Ellie,” she says and lets go. Harry runs over and takes my hand.

“I want to show Ellie my toys,” he says to his mum as he pulls my hand.

“I don’t think–” Jude gets out, but I interrupt this time.

“It’s alright,” I say, and she smiles.

“I have to go to work, now. So, be good for Uncle Todd and Ellie,” she tells them. They both give her cheeky grins before Harry pulls on my hand again.

“Be careful with Ellie, Harry. She has a baby in her stomach,” Todd says, as Harry pulls me towards the stairs.

“Okay,” he shouts back and gives me a cheeky grin.

“I’m coming, too!” I hear Daisy shout behind me as I let Harry pull me up the stairs. For a little boy, he is damn strong.

“No, Ellie is all mine!” Harry shouts.

“Guys, you can share Ellie!” Jude shouts, and I hear her laugh at the same time I hear Todd’s deep laugh.

The upstairs is two bedrooms and a bathroom in the middle, the left room is where Harry takes me, and it’s full of toys. The room has a bunkbed and two small wardrobes. There is a large, wooden toy box at the end of the bed, and toys are scattered all over the floor. The walls are a neutral cream colour and the floor has a cream-carpeted floor.

“This is my room, want to play cars?” he asks me.

“No, this is my room, too, and she is a girl, she wants to play Barbies with me,” Daisy says in a sarcastic tone, that makes me chuckle as she sounds older than she is. Who knew five-year-olds could be sarcastic?

“How about you two play toys, while I make pancakes with Ellie? Then we can all eat and watch a movie?” Todd says coming into the room.

“Yay, pancakes, and we have to watch Despicable Me!” Daisy says jumping up and down. Holy ducks, where does she get the energy from?

“Okay!” Harry shouts and lets me go. Clearly food and a movie is the way to bribe these kids. Todd nods his head in the direction of the stairs. I follow him out and down the stairs. To the left of the stairs is a large kitchen with brown cabinets and wooden floors. I watch as Todd starts opening cupboards to find things.

“So, you make heart-shaped pancakes for five-year olds?” I ask him because I’m in shock. This is not what I expected from him. When Andre told me that he was a gentle giant sometimes, I think he was right.

“I also make smiley faces,” Todd tells me, and I chuckle. I move closer and lean against one of the wooden counters.

“They love you,” I say referring to the twins.

“I’m the only male figure in their life, other than my friends, sometimes. It’s been difficult for them and Jude,” he says as he moves around the kitchen. It’s clear he does this a lot as he knows where everything is in the kitchen, from the electric whisk to the saucepans.

“Where is their dad? If you don’t mind me asking,” I say, and he pours all the ingredients into a bowl before he answers.

“He walked out on them. He was a piece of shit anyway,” he shrugs as he roughly chucks ingredients into the bowl. He doesn’t even measure the milk or flour, he just knows how much to put in.

“I’m sorry, and he is missing out, they seem like lovely kids,” I say, and he shakes his head.

“Nothing to be sorry for because he didn’t deserve them,” Todd says.

“I noticed you have an American accent, but your sister doesn’t,” I say, and he tenses a little, but he does turn to answer me.

“I lived with my father in Texas until I was sixteen. I moved back in with my mother and my three sisters because my father was travelling a lot. I struggled to support them all until Eric met me and offered me a job.”

“Why did you have to support your sisters?” I ask.

“My mother died a month after I moved to England, a car accident. My dad had a new wife, and didn’t want me or Jude to live with him. My sisters have different dads, but for different reasons they weren’t around all the time, and none of them wanted to live with their dads. I wasn’t going to force them out of their home after they lost mum. Anyway, my uncle got custody of us but he basically just left me to look after them. He walked out the moment I turned eighteen,” he tells me, and I don’t reply as he turns on the electric whisk. I don’t know why I do it, but I walk over and wrap my arms around his waist as I rest my head on his back. He tightens up, but I don’t move for a second as he turns the whisk off.

“El, you shouldn’t be near me,” Todd says as his hands cover mine on his stomach and hold them tight. His words contradict his actions, but I don’t say a word. As I press my forehead into his back, I realise how nice he smells. It must be his aftershave.

“Thanks for telling me that and bringing me here, Todd,” I say against his back, my words seem loud in the quiet kitchen. I let go and step back as Todd turns around. I don’t move as he wraps an arm around my waist and presses his forehead to mine.

“You’re Andre’s girl,” he says, our mouths too close, and I don’t respond to him. Am I?

“I’m no one’s girl,” I say, the words seem true to me because Andre has never said he wants a relationship with me. Kaiden hasn’t said a word to me since the kiss that I can’t stop thinking about, and that was two days ago.

“You couldn’t be more wrong, Ellie,” Todd says and kisses my forehead.

“Ew, can you stop kissing Ellie, so you can do my pancakes?” Daisy asks, making us both laugh.

Todd gets back to the pancakes, while Daisy and Harry show me where the TV is and how to put the movie on.

It’s a fun day, and yet Todd’s last words to me flitter around my mind all day.