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Back Where The Story Starts Save as PDF
Chapters (65)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. 55
  60. 56
  61. 57
  62. 58
  63. BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  65. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Was it okay? There were so many things about this situation that were strange that I didn’t really know what I thought. Maybe it was best not to think at all? I think I must have nodded, a tiny movement, but it was enough. He stepped towards me and kissed me again, still gentle and with none of that desperate urgency of the men I’d known in the past. I allowed myself to be kissed, fully surrendering. We were vertical and it was just a kiss. How wrong could that go? There’d be time to think about the implications later.

Then the doorbell rang and broke the spell. Clio and the kids were back. Shit! Thank God they had no key. At least it bought us a bit of time. Marlon still had no trousers on, his jeans sitting damp and cold where I’d dropped them at our feet. He scrabbled to pick them up, struggling to pull the wet fabric over his legs. He looked so earnest, and that just made me want to laugh, but I needed to answer the door so I slipped out into the hallway, pulling the kitchen door to behind me. I wondered if Clio would be able to tell what we’d been doing just by looking at me. She surely didn’t know me that well yet, did she?

When I opened the door, Noah almost fell into the house. He had a paper party hat on his head and was carrying a green balloon attached to a plastic stick. A tell-tale chocolatey mark smudged his cheek. Clio and Poppy followed behind. I eyed Poppy carefully, checking for signs of teenage sulks, but she was grinning at Clio as if the two of them shared some joke that no one else would understand.

‘Nice time?’ I asked, hoping that no one would notice my jeans.

‘The best!’ shouted Noah, dropping his balloon and kicking it along the floor, stick and all.

‘What happened to you, Mum?’ asked Poppy. She missed nothing, that girl.

‘We had a bit of an accident,’ I said. ‘I was just about to have a go at drying Marlon’s jeans.’

Right on cue Marlon appeared from the kitchen, fully dressed and displaying no clues as to what we had been up to moments before. His jeans were sticking to his legs.

‘Did you go wave-jumping?’ asked Noah.

‘We did,’ said Marlon.

27

27

MELISSA – THEN