He nodded slowly. “Friends without the plus.”
“For now.”
“I’ll take it.” His expression was serious. “I want nothing more than to be your friend.”
31
He was pursuing her. That’s the only way she could describe it. Not in an icky, overt kind of way, but in a sweet, friendly fashion that was making her heart ache. If he went out for a coffee, he’d bring her one back exactly the way she liked it. If she was overrun at the ice cream shop, he’d dive in and help, looking way too hot in the plastic gloves that she’d given him.
And then there was Isla. For the last four weeks, he’d taken her down to the pool and helped her hone her dives, telling Meghan it was her chance to have a break for a while. And when they’d come up, their skin pink from the heat and hair wet and smelling of chlorinated water, she’d ask him if he’d like to come in for a drink and he’d always say no, then he’d leave them to it.
He was giving her space, and she knew it was the right thing, but it made her ache. Because the attraction between them hadn’t disappeared. If anything, it was even stronger.
He’d revealed his vulnerability to her, and it made him a hundred times more attractive. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out.
The last weeks of the tourist rush were leading to a bigger footfall than ever, which meant all hands on deck in the shop, especially on a busy Saturday like today. Rich had apologized about ten times that he couldn’t help out because he was working a day shift. She’d shooed him away and called in all her casual staff, then asked her parents to take Isla for the weekend.
By the time she’d served her final sundae, her whole body ached. That didn’t stop her from smiling as Harper walked into the shop, her long blonde-and-pink hair flowing down her back, a pretty yellow-and-white vintage fifties-style dress flaring out around her thighs.
“Thank you for meeting me here,” Meghan said. “I was hoping I could get home and get changed in time, but it’s been non stop.”
“It’s been crazy everywhere today,” Harper agreed. “There was traffic coming in and out of town. And you could hardly see a grain of sand on the beach there were so many people.”
It was a little quieter now. The sun was still above the horizon, and its rays were still warming, but in another hour they would disappear for the night. Harper helped Meghan stack up the chairs and tables from outside, then she locked the door and turned the sign on it to ‘closed’, while Meghan ran into the office to change her clothes and touch up her makeup. When she emerged fifteen minutes later, fluffing her red hair around her shoulders, Harper let out a low whistle.
“If you can look like that after a few minutes, I’d hate to see how devastating you are after an hour.”
“I learned the art of quick changes after Isla was born.” Meghan grinned at her. “And I’ve sprayed so much damn perfume it’s sent my head spinning.”
Harper had booked them a table at Delmonico’s On The Pier, a pretty little Italian restaurant that Meghan kept meaning to try but never had. Their pasta was made on site, and was so delicious Meghan ate way too much. They also managed to get through a bottle of Prosecco plus some Limoncello shots between them, and were giggly as hell.
It felt good to spend time with a girl friend. A real estrogen rush she’d been missing. Grant and Kevin were great, and of course Gloria was always there for some gossip. But nothing beat having wine and food with a woman her age who knew exactly how it felt to be woken up in the middle of the night by a screaming baby.
“And then James decided it would be a great idea for Alyssa to wander around naked after her bath. Except he forgot to put the potty out, so Alyssa took the matter into her own hands,” Harper said, her nose wrinkling. “In the middle of the hallway. And he didn’t even notice.”
?
?Oh no.” Meghan grimaced. She had some potty training horror stories of her own.
“That’s not the worst part.” Harper waved her hand and leaned forward. “I only discovered it when I woke up from a nap and was rushing to the bathroom… in my bare feet.”
“You didn’t…” Meghan covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh I did. Stepped right in it. Then started heaving in the middle of the damn hallway and threw up on the floor.” She shook her head. “James is still groveling. How he let her out of his sight for long enough to do that on the floor, I’ll never know.” She swallowed a mouthful of wine. “Tell me it gets better.”
“Oh it does,” Meghan reassured her. “I don’t even get called into the bathroom to admire what she’s made anymore.”
Harper almost spat out her wine. “Dear god, how did we end up like this? Talking about potty training on a girls’ night out.”
“I have no idea. But at least James is groveling. That must be nice.”
“He’s brought me coffee in bed every morning this week.” Harper nodded. “Talking of groveling, how’s it going with Rich?”
Meghan’s lips curled. “Good, I think. He’s been really kind to Isla, taking her swimming and helping with her science homework.”
“And how about you? Has he been kind to you?” Harper pulled her lip between her teeth.
“Yeah, he has.” She told Harper about him helping in the ice cream shop, and the way he’s brought her coffee whenever he went out. “He’s been so sweet.”