After the stresses of the day, it was wonderful to come back to Bea and Alfie. I hadn’t realised quite how much I would miss him while I was at work. And Maddy had been away from him for four whole days. We’d FaceTimed each evening for a little while and Alfie had seen his mum, although he couldn’t quite work out why her face was in a box. She’d already told me that she wouldn’t be around that evening; there was a welcome dinner or something and her French colleagues were taking her and Robert out. I wondered how many colleagues there actually were.

I missed Bea too. She had slotted seamlessly into this new life with me even after only a few days, and I found myself daydreaming about her.

How would she react if I told her how I felt?

I shook the thought away.

We had almost six weeks in front of us.

What if I said something, only for her to laugh in my face and we had to spend the rest of the time avoiding each other?

I couldn’t do that to Alfie. When he was in his cot, I went back into the living room. Bea was dishing up the spag bol.

“There’s wine if you want it,” she said.

“Hmm, I was going to try and keep a clear head, unlike someone I could mention.” I winked at her, referring to her weekend’s antics. “But a nice Malbec would go well with this.” I found the bottle I wanted and uncorked it, pouring each of us a large glass.

When we sat down at the table, I took a forkful of the sauce and popped it into my mouth. The flavours exploded: tomatoes, meat, wine, chilli; it was truly delicious.

“Where did you learn to cook this?” I asked, genuinely in awe.

“I met a lot of Italians on my travels and one of them shared her Grandmother’s recipe. It’s really easy.” Bea gestured to the kitchen. “I made loads, which means I can freeze it.”

“I’m going to want you around for a lot longer than six weeks if you keep telling me things like that.”

Her fork froze in mid-air as the words tumbled out of my mouth.

Shit, shit, shit.

It was too late to take the words back and I didn’t know how to move on from there without it being super awkward. Silence was probably worse though.

“What did you get up to today?” I asked instead.

Bea visibly relaxed at my question. Perhaps it wouldn’t be awkward, after all.

“I went out to the Cottage Cafe this morning and met a couple of mummies who knew Maddy.”

I groaned inwardly, though put on a front. “Oh, really? Who was it?”

“Iona and Catrina. Apparently they both offered to help Maddy, although she declined.”

That sounded about right. I vaguely remembered meeting someone called Catrina very early on in Alfie’s life, and she was quite keen to help out. Maddy thought she had ulterior motives and had dismissed her offers. “Yeah, I think I know who you mean.”

Bea avoided looking at me as she carried on speaking. “Catrina asked me to pass on her best wishes.”

I bet she did. I remembered Catrina being over-friendly and obvious whenever she was around me. The thought of her paled in comparison to Bea. I still questioned whether I should say anything. Then I remembered what Tom had said the previous evening. If that were true… I shook my head and turned my attention back to the present.

“That was nice of her. How did you like her?”

“I thought she was rather judgemental of Maddy. I mean, I’ve never been in that situation, so I have no idea how I would feel about leaving my son for that length of time.” She glanced towards Alfie’s bedroom door. “Although I already feel guilty about leaving him now.” A smile crept across her face. “And he’s not even mine!”

“I think it’s wonderful the way you and Alfie have bonded so quickly. It makes things a lot easier for me too.” I took another swig of my wine. “I really should have stood my ground more when Maddy told me she didn’t need me at the start.”

I fell silent as I thought back. Although Maddy and I weren’t together, I didn’t walk away. I didn’t turn my back on the pair of them and I didn’t want to relinquish my responsibilities as a father. Maddy had been adamant that she didn’t want my help, and my visits were limited to once a week, with occasional overnight stays. It had always been on her terms and I knew I should have been stronger in standing up to her, particularly if I wanted to play a bigger part in Alfie’s life. It had taken something like this to make me realise how weak I’d been back then.

“Are you okay?” Bea’s eyes softened as she looked at me, and I noticed just how green they were. I could lose myself in those pools for days.

“Sure. I was thinking about Maddy.”

As I said the words, I realised that they could be misconstrued. She blinked, the softness gone.

“If you’re finished, I’ll clear away.” Bea pushed her chair back and stood up.

“Wait.” I reached out and grabbed her hand. “I meant I was thinking about Maddy’s behaviour when I suggested being there for her and Alfie. Not in any romantic kind of way.”

“Oh.”

“Leave the tidying up; let’s go and sit down.”

Not letting go of her hand, I led us to the sofa. We sank down into the cushions, side by side, me still holding her hand.

“There’s something I want to tell you,” I began.

Her grip tightened on my wrist and I could feel her pulse racing.

“We’ve known each other a long time; I remember the first time I properly noticed you. Tom and I were doing revision for our A Levels; you must have been about fifteen and you were really upset about some boy from school who’d said no when you asked him out. I recall thinking that he must be stupid because you were gorgeous, clever and funny.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything at the time?”

“Because by then, I was already dating someone else, and I wasn’t brave enough to tell you how I felt.” I paused, feeling my own pulse speed up. “A bit like now.”

Her mouth fell open. “What are you trying to say?”

I decided that words weren’t necessary and leaned towards her, taking her face in my palms, my thumbs caressing her jawline. The tip of my finger traced the shape of her lips and I moved closer, feeling her breath hitch as I did so. My lips met hers, gently at first, then harder, more urgent and insistent.

“Hayden,” she moaned against me. Her hands threaded through my hair, pulling me closer to her, her tongue gently probing inside my mouth. She drew back long enough to shift her body, her legs straddling mine, as she bent her head towards me again.

Immediately, my dick hardened. I didn’t want to wait any longer. I’d waited seven years already and that was plenty long enough. Without a word, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her into my room, laying her down on my bed.

“Are you sure?” she asked, her green gaze trained on me.

“Are you?” I countered.

She nodded in response, pulling her T-shirt over her head. Underneath, she wore a beautiful eggshell-blue lace bra and, as she wriggled out of her jeans, a pair of matching panties. I couldn’t wait to get them off her. I stripped off my own clothes and joined her on the bed.

I had waited so long for this, I didn’t want it to be over too soon. Patience, Hayden, patience, I told myself.

I reached around and unfastened her bra, discarding it as I drank in the sight of her almost completely naked body. My fingers followed the gentle curve of her perfect, apple-shaped breasts, and Bea quivered beneath my caress. I slid the tips underneath the flimsy material of her bra, grazing her nipples, the constant stimulation making them hard beneath my touch. As I continued, she reached around the back of my neck with one hand and drew me down to her, lips crashing together. Her other found my dick through the cotton of my boxers and my own breath caught at the gentle pressure of her palm. Our breathing was in time as we carried on kissing, coming up for air every so often. I pulled back for a moment, desperate to go further, but wanting to slow things down at the same time. Bea’s eyes met mine, bright, pupils dilated, full of longing. I wasn’t going to be able to wait much longer.

She gasped as I slid my hand lightly down between her breasts, across her stomach, and reached her slick core. I slid my thumb underneath the lace of her panties and began stroking her, listening as her breathing became more ragged as I increased the pressure.

“Oh, that feels so good.” Bea’s hips bucked against me and I knew I wouldn’t be able to prolong the anticipation.

I reached into the drawer in the bedside table and grabbed a condom, putting it on as quickly as possible. I slid her panties off, and moved so that I was above her. She welcomed me, grabbing my hips as I thrust into her, her nails digging into my buttocks. We rocked together, and I buried my face in her neck as I came, embarrassingly quickly.

“I’m sorry,” I breathed, as we lay together afterwards.

“For what?” Bea rolled onto her side, propping herself up with her elbow.

“I wanted it to last longer.”

She frowned. “I’m hoping that wasn’t the first and only time we’ll get to do that.”

I laughed. “I hope so too. If you’re not put off…”

Bea screwed up her face as if contemplating what I’d said, and for a moment I thought she was going to turn me down. “I think we ought to try it again, to make sure.”

With a growl, I flipped her onto her back, wishing I was ready to go for a second time. As I was about to lean down and kiss her again, I heard Alfie crying from his room and immediately, all thoughts of sex slipped from my mind.

Bea’s gaze fell on my erect dick. She got up and pulled my robe around her naked body. “I guess we’ll put that on hold for now. I’ll go and check he’s okay.”

Alfie, my boy, you really do have impeccable timing.