‘You need to try them on, Sphea, then Daddy can ask Alice to take the others back.’
‘Alice?’
‘My PA and general life organiser.’
She smiled. ‘You really shouldn’t have.’
‘Technically, I didn’t.’
She shook her head, her eyes wide with some unknown thought, and then she looked at the wellies and to Lily. ‘Do you have a size six there?’
‘I’ll find it,’ his daughter declared, pulling out the right pair quicker than he could even say anything.
Not that he knew what to say because every phrase that entered his head seemed too inappropriate and...gushy. It was a word he had never used, let alone attributed to himself. And he could be neither of those things, particularly in front of Lily. But he wanted to tell her how lovely she looked, how much they’d been looking forward to this outing, how much—
Stop, just stop.
‘Here you go...’ Lily lifted the pair of shiny red wellies high above her head. ‘The colour matches your hair and Daddy got me a matching pair too!’
‘Thank you.’ Sophia smiled down at her, her expression so unguarded with affection for Lily. He could be excused for getting wrapped up in that same look, surely. It had nothing to do with him softening towards her, nothing whatsoever.
He’d hardly been soft with Elena, hardly let such emotion in at all until he’d first held Lily in his arms.
‘I’ll just go and put my shoes away.’
She turned to leave and Lily grabbed her hand. ‘Wait!’
Lily bent low and picked up a small bag, offering it out. ‘Daddy got you welly socks too!’
‘He did?’ Sophia’s brow lifted, her eyes widening further on another laugh. ‘How thoughtful...’
‘Sorry if it’s too much...’ he started but she shook her head.
‘No, not at all. I won’t be long.’
She was still shaking her head as she returned, her eyes dancing bright and blue as she pulled a knitted beige bobble hat from her pocket and slid it on. ‘Let’s go before those ominous grey clouds return.’
* * *
‘Higher, Daddy, higher!’ Lily squealed as Jack pushed her on the swing and Sophia watched on.
The play park was relatively quiet—people avoiding the wet equipment, she supposed—but it meant Lily could hop from one thing to the next, no jostling for best position, and she was keeping them both on their toes as she rushed about.
They’d done jumping in puddles, they’d done ice cream in the freezing cold, and they’d made themselves sick on the roundabout and enjoyed the grown-up slide, which had produced waves worthy of a log flume, much to Lily’s delight, not so much Jack’s. He’d managed to get a shower of it to the face as he waited for her at the bottom, something which had evoked fits of giggles from both Lily and Sophia, and no matter how he’d frowned at them they couldn’t quit it.
Even now, Sophia was still grinning and laughing, her cheeks and belly aching from the effort.
It was such a perfect afternoon, perfect and so different to how she’d spent the previous weekend and the weekend before that. Memories of Amy haunted her as they always did this time of year but it was so nice to be out in the fresh air and not be worrying, not be anxious.
She’d known Jack would prove to be a distraction and though she knew he and his daughter were a fleeting presence in her life she couldn’t stop herself from taking pleasure in every second.
‘Hey, Soph, what are you doing here?’
Oh, God.
She turned to see Samantha, her friend and next-door neighbour, heading towards her, her son Noah scooting along in front, and she felt her cheeks flush.
‘Hi, guys!’