And then she saw him. Her heart didn’t so much as tumble this time as freeze, suspended in her chest, as she watched him talking and laughing with someone she couldn’t see. The mystery woman from Sunday in the bright, jaunty coat?

Olivia tried to look away, but somehow she couldn’t. She watched as he a raked a long-fingered hand through his hair, nodding at whatever his conversational partner was saying. And then a little tousle-haired boy tackled his knees.

Olivia sucked in a hard breath as Simon reached down to unwrap the boy’s arms from around his legs and then hoist him onto one hip in an easy, natural movement. The boy looked to be only four or five...and even from across the green, Olivia could see how much he looked like Simon. Dark curly hair, an impish expression, and clearly a close relationship, judging from the way the tyke was snuggling in.

Oh, she was so stupid. And yet...before that woman had accosted him in the church, it had seemed as if he was interested in her. Or had she completely misread, well, everything, and he’d just been kindly offering her a drink?

Obviously that was what had happened, because she didn’t think Simon was a player, and it looked more and more like he had a family. Well. She’d already told herself it was a blip. Now she had extra, unneeded confirmation.

She was finally about to turn away when Simon glanced in her direction—and his gaze latched on to hers. For a few endless seconds Olivia felt as if the world had shrunk to this one shared look, everything around her fading out—the chatter, the lights, the tinny Christmas carols coming from the loudspeakers.

Then she forced herself to look away—and more importantly, to walk away. If she’d been feeling a bit more self-possessed, she would have gone over to Simon and said hello, let him introduce her to his family. Unfortunately, she wasn’t quite there yet, and this was the best she could manage.

“Blip,” she muttered under her breath. “Very, very small blip.”

She walked blindly through the crowds, barely aware of where she was going, only needing some space and privacy to gather her wayward emotions together and tell them to settle down. She was halfway towards the church’s covered lych gate, thankfully shrouded in shadow, when she heard someone calling her name.

“Olivia! Olivia, wait!”

Olivia turned, blinking in the gloomy darkness, to see Simon striding towards her. Her mind buzzed blankly as he came closer, stopping in front of her with a huff of breath.

“Hey.” He smiled with a wryness that was both familiar and confusing. He was looking at her as he had before, as if he hadn’t left her hanging on Sunday, and then not come to the shop for the last three days. But of course she was overreacting. He was a stranger. She had to keep remembering that.

“I just wanted to say...” He hesitated, looking uncertain and a little embarrassed. “I saw you across the green and I realised what it might look like...that is, who I was with...” He trailed off and Olivia just waited, curious as to what he was trying to say and having no idea what to say herself. “The thing is,” he blurted, “that little boy...he’s not mine.”