Stella dug her nails into her palms, horrified by the agonising pain she felt. She was supposed to be over him, wasn’t she? She wasn’t supposed to care any more. So why did it hurt to meet his latest girlfriend? And to hear her talking about ‘staying over’, as if it was a regular occurrence.
Well, of course it was. What had she expected? Daniel was a red-blooded male. Just because he had no interest in marriage and children, it didn’t mean he had no interest in other things.
Shaken by the depth of the pain she felt, Stella mumbled an excuse and slid past the two of them, avoiding eye contact with Daniel.
He had his life and she had hers.
And that was the way she wanted it.
‘Caring of Cumbria’ was going to be her type, she reminded herself. And he was going to stop her thinking about Daniel.
‘What do you know about this guy she’s seeing?’ Daniel stood in his brother’s kitchen, staring across the yard towards the converted stable. A light shone behind a curtain and he assumed that Stella was getting ready to go out for the evening. For some reason that he didn’t understand, the thought set his teeth on edge.
‘Nothing.’ Patrick drained the pasta. ‘Posy, sit at the table.
Alfie, help your sister. God, I’m tired. I can’t remember the last time I spent a whole night in my bed. The labour ward is crazy.’
‘You’re the boss. You’re supposed to delegate.’
‘I don’t delegate life-and-death situations. Why are so many babies born near Christmas?’
‘I don’t know.’ Daniel leaned forward and stole a piece of pasta. ‘You’re the obstetrician.’
‘Can I have extra cheese on my pasta?’ Alfie picked Posy up and sat her on her chair. Then he went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of milk.
‘Not milk,’ Patrick said absently, cursing under his breath as the water scalded his fingers. ‘Give her water. Otherwise she’s too full to eat.’
Daniel felt something pressing on his ankle and looked down to see a kitten looking up at him hopefully. ‘About this guy that Stella is seeing …’
‘I don’t know anything about the guy Stella is seeing.’
‘I do.’ Alfie replaced the milk and poured water into two cups. ‘I know he’s not in the mountain rescue team.’ He put the cup in front of his sister. ‘And I don’t think he has muscles. But I know he wants to get married and have kids. That’s why she’s picked him. I just hope he doesn’t turn out to be a real creep. She’ll find out tonight. Ellie is going to phone her at nine and if he’s really yucky then she’s going to pretend there’s a crisis at home. I guess that will work. She hasn’t given him her address or anything.’ He scooped up the kitten that was winding itself around Daniel’s legs and sneaked it onto his lap under the table, casting a furtive glance at his father.
Stunned into silence by the volume of information that Alfie had delivered, Daniel gaped at his nephew and then turned to his brother. ‘He’s ten years old.’
‘He inherited his intelligence from me.’ Patrick put a bowl of pasta in front of his golden-haired daughter. ‘Alfie spends every available minute with Stella. He knows far more about her than I do.’
Daniel turned his attention back to his nephew. ‘You’ve been spending time with her?’
‘Why not? She’s got this brilliant laptop. It’s so cool. And she does this dating thing. You ought to do it, Dad.’ Alfie squirted ketchup onto his plate. ‘Stella had three hundred and fifty replies. If you had that many they could each come here and cook a meal and you wouldn’t have to cook again for a whole year.’
‘What’s wrong with my cooking? And I know you’ve brought that kitten to the table again, Alfie. I’m not blind or stupid. Put her on the floor. And don’t eat with your fingers, Posy.’ Clearly distracted, Patrick put the fork into his daughter’s hand. ‘Alfie, eat, please. I’ve got to go back to the hospital in a minute.’
‘Dating agency?’ Feeling as though he was five steps behind everyone else, Daniel stared at his nephew. ‘Stella is using a dating agency?’
‘Yup.’ Ignoring his father, Alfie kept the kitten on his lap. ‘On the internet. It’s the only way she’s going to meet a decent man. She’s been through three hundred and fifty people and she’s chosen someone who isn’t a bit like you.’
Patrick gave a choked laugh and Daniel glared at him and then pulled out a chair and sat down next to Alfie.
‘So she’s meeting a complete stranger?’
‘Not really. She knows loads about him. I think he sounds really boring, but I’m not a girl.’ Alfie stuffed a forkful of pasta into his mouth. ‘She’s really excited. Dad—how long does it take to make a baby?’
A baby?
Daniel had to physically stop himself from sprinting across the courtyard and bolting the stable door from the outside.
There was no way Stella would be intimate with a guy that quickly, he told himself. She wasn’t that type of girl, was she? It had been ages before she’d eventually slept with him.
‘Nine months,’ Patrick said absently. ‘Alfie, Mrs Thornton is going to sit with you tonight.’
Alfie groaned. ‘Not Mrs Thornton. She’s so old.’
‘She isn’t old.’
‘She smells funny and her mouth is really red. Can’t I stay on my own?’
‘You’re too young. I won’t be late.’
‘You always say that, but babies are never predictable,’ Alfie grumbled. ‘They just don’t do what you expect them to do. You’ll be at the hospital all night, like you always are. If Mrs Thornton is here, can I watch that DVD? She’s so shortsighted, she won’t know.’
‘Which DVD?’ Only half listening, Patrick fished his mobile out of his pocket and scrolled through his messages.
‘It’s a twelve rating.’
‘You’re ten, so the answer is no.’
‘My friends have all seen it.’ Alfie wrinkled his nose. ‘I don’t think it’s unsuitable.’
‘So why is it a twelve rating?’
‘Not sure. It will either be “scenes of a violent nature” or “moderate sex references”.’ Alfie spooned another pile of cheese over his pasta. ‘It doesn’t really matter. I fast forward those bits anyway. All that kissing is boring when you’re ten.’
Patrick’s phone rang and he answered it immediately. ‘Buchannan. Yes. How many centimetres dilated is she?’ Still listening, he tucked the phone between his cheek and his shoulder and wiped the tomato sauce from his daughter’s face. ‘No—no, not yet. All right.’
Alfie sighed. ‘Wait for it. He’s going to have to go to the hospital and sort it out.’
Daniel reached forward and stole a piece of pasta from Alfie’s bowl. ‘You know everything that’s going on around here, don’t you?’
‘I have eyes and ears. Never underestimate a kid,’ Alfie said solemnly, pulling his bowl out of Daniel’s reach and wrapping an arm around it protectively. ‘I have this whole house wired. I want to be a spy when I grow up. You could stay with me tonight, then Mrs Thornton wouldn’t have to drag her creaking joints over here.’
‘Creaking joints?’ Daniel looked at his brother with disapproval, wondering