Lucy turned around to look at him, touched by his thoughtfulness. ‘Would you? That would be so helpful—I really ought to go to this lecture. It’s not quite the same, looking things up on the internet. My head’s been all over the place just lately, and a face-to-face meeting is so much better because you can ask questions and clear up niggling difficulties.’
He nodded, but just as she thought about getting ready to leave Matt glanced out of the kitchen window and said softly, ‘Well, now, it looks as though we have a visitor. I wonder what that little lad is doing here?’ He walked over to the sink to get a better look.
Lucy went to join him at the window, looking out on to the small garden.
‘He must be the little boy from next door,’ she said. Matt brushed up against her as he moved to get a better view, and for a while her concentration went to pieces as she stared distractedly at the patch of lawn and surrounding flowers and shrubs.
‘He can’t even be three years old,’ Matt mused, his voice low. ‘I wonder how he managed to get into the garden?’
Lucy didn’t answer straight away. Matt was so close that she could feel the warmth of his long body seeping into her, and as he lifted an arm to point out a small figure scrambling about in the bushes she was conscious of his biceps lightly grazing the softness of her breast. His thigh was gently pressuring hers, and a rush of heat spread through her, firing up every nerve ending and shooting her nervous system into a spiralling state of heightened awareness.
‘I … uh … I think he must have crawled in through a gap in the fence,’ she managed, her voice becoming husky.
‘Mmm.’ Matt half turned, looking at her. ‘I expect so.’ He sounded distant all at once, and he shifted slightly, so that she wondered if he, too, was overcome by this same feeling of warm intimacy that was bothering her, where her soft curves were brought into mind-shattering contact with his strong, firm body.
‘Perhaps I should go and talk to him,’ she murmured breathlessly, making an effort to get herself together. ‘His mother might be worrying about him.’
‘Yes, I think you’re right.’ He moved away from her, slowly, and it seemed as though his mind was somewhere else altogether. ‘I’ll come with you.’
They went out through the French doors into the garden, quietly, so as not to startle the little boy. By now, he was sitting on a collection of pebbles that were lit up in a patch of sunlight.
‘Hello,’ Lucy said softly, bending down to be on a level with the child. ‘Are you from next door? I don’t think we’ve met before, have we? I’m Lucy, and this is my friend, Matt.’
‘I’m Jacob,’ he told her, unperturbed by their sudden appearance. ‘I live over there.’ He waved an arm towards the fence. ‘I’ve never been here before.’ He looked around, his grey eyes bright with curiosity. ‘Is this your garden?’
‘Yes, it is.’ Lucy nodded.
‘I like it here.’ He pushed his fingers into the pebbles and laughed when the smaller ones fell through his fingers to the ground. ‘These are good. If I had my truck, I could fill it up wiv these.’
Matt nodded, kneeling down beside the boy. ‘I expect you could. That would be fun, wouldn’t it? But perhaps we should find out if your mother knows where you are. She might be worried.’
Jacob shook his head. ‘She won’t be worried. She’s bathing the baby.’ He frowned. ‘She has to,’ he added knowledgeably, ‘because she fills her nappy and gets stinky. Babies are like that, aren’t they? They’re smelly and they cry a lot.’
Matt laughed. ‘I suppose so, but they’re not like that all the time.’
Jacob screwed up his nose and pursed his pink mouth. Obviously he wasn’t too sure about that.
From somewhere in the distance Lucy heard the doorbell ring. ‘That’ll be the man about the cooker,’ she said, glancing worriedly at Matt. ‘I ought to go and let him in.’
‘Okay. I’ll see to it that Jacob gets home all right.’
‘Thanks.’
She smiled at the little boy. ‘Bye for now, Jacob. I’ll probably see you again sometime.’
He nodded cautiously. ‘Prob’ly,’ he said.
The repairman was nonchalantly looking around when she opened the front door to him, but as soon as he saw her, his eyes widened. He looked her up and down, taking in the clinging, cotton top she was wearing, and the skirt that hugged the line of her shapely hips.
‘Um … Domestic oven service. You called our company out because your grill’s not working?’
‘That’s right. I’m so glad you’ve come.’
He was a good-looking young man, in his mid-twenties or thereabouts, with dark, silky hair that had a natural wave. His glance moved over her once more, and he took a moment to bring his mind back on track before he said with a grin, ‘Consider me at your service.’
‘Come on in.’ She was well used to men looking at her that way, so she ignored his stares and showed him into the kitchen. ‘It’s not lighting up or getting hot or anything,’ she told him.
‘I’ll take a look.’
‘Thanks.’
He opened up his kit box and began testing various parts of the cooker. ‘Your element’s had it,’ he said after a while. ‘I can fit a new one for you. There’s one in my van.’
‘Oh, good.’ She smiled. ‘That’s a relief. I wondered if you might have to send away for the part.’ She shrugged. ‘I suppose I couldn’t expect it to go on working forever. It gets a lot of use, one way and another.’
He nodded. ‘They generally do.’ He gave her a thoughtful look and said cheerfully, ‘The only way round that is to go out for meals. I’d be happy to take you out and free you up from all that cooking … if you’re not otherwise engaged, that is?’ His glance went to the fingers of her left hand, and when he saw that she wasn’t wearing a ring, his confidence seemed to grow. ‘There’s a new place opened up in the city. I don’t know what kind of food you like, but I’ve heard good things about the restaurant. We could go there this evening, if you like.’
Lucy smiled again, but shook her head. ‘Thanks for the invitation, but I’m afraid I’ve given up on dating. I have other things to concentrate on right now … like my studies and exams.’
His mouth made a wry twist. ‘That’s a shame,’ he said. ‘An awful shame. Seems to me we should all take a break every now and again.’
He eyed her up once more before reluctantly leaving her while he went outside to his van. When he came back a short time later, he set to and fixed the new element in place, and then asked if he could wash his hands at the sink.
‘Of course, go ahead.’ She took a clean towel from a cupboard and handed it to him.
‘You know,’ he murmured, drying his hands and putting the towel to one side, ‘it would be such a pity to give up on the dating game. You’re gorgeous, absolutely stunning, in fact, and I can’t believe you’re content to stay at home and swot every night. Give me half a chance, and I could show you what you’re missing.’
She shook her head once more and said lightly, ‘Thanks for the offer, but no, thanks … I meant what I said. I’m not going to change my mind. Do you want to give me the bill, and I’ll settle up with you?’
He pulled a face and wrote out the invoice, and Lucy handed him a cheque. ‘I appreciate you fixing the grill for me,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’
‘You don’t need to thank me … just change your mind and come out with me this evening.’