‘Have you…?’ Poppy whispered one night as we closed the door on the children’s bedroom.

‘Have I what?’

‘You know…’

I shook my head at Poppy, smiling. ‘Clearly I don’t know otherwise I wouldn’t be asking. You are being exceptionally vague.’

Poppy let out a whispered sigh. ‘Have you and Jack slept together?’ she asked, still in a whisper, as we both knew how big little ears could be, even through a door.

I turned back, one stair down. ‘No! It’s not like that.’

‘Could have fooled me.’

‘It’s not,’ I repeated, although if I was truly honest with myself, I wasn’t sure what it was like. I loved Jack’s company and spending time with him had become one of my favourite things to do. From what I could tell, he felt much the same, but nothing physical had happened between us.

‘It’s not,’ I repeated to Poppy. ‘You know what Jack’s like. If he’d have wanted anything more, he would have made a move in that direction and he hasn’t. We’re just friends. Close friends.’

‘Have you ever thought that Jack might be waiting for you to make the first move?’

The thought hadn’t crossed my mind.

‘We both know that Jack’s definitely an alpha male. He wouldn’t be waiting for me.’

‘We also both know that Jack now is not the Jack that he once was. He’s matured, and he knows you’ve had a lot to deal with in the past. Maybe he’s just waiting for a signal.’

‘He’s not,’ I said definitively. ‘And if the boys have eaten all the dessert while you’ve kept me up here nattering, I’m definitely going to give you a signal.’

Poppy laughed but put her hand on my arm to stop me as I headed back towards the kitchen.

‘Just think about it.’

I nodded, knowing that it was the easiest way to close the conversation down. But I had absolutely no intention of thinking about any of it.

27

That truly had been my intention, but reality proved different. Once Poppy had brought it up, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Surely if Jack wanted something more than a friendship then he would have broached the subject by now? He had never exactly been backwards in coming forwards before, and certainly not when it came to women. Yes, Poppy was right in that he had matured and was a much better man for it, but a leopard doesn’t entirely change its spots.

‘You look deep in thought.’ Jack’s melodic tones interrupted my musings as I crouched low and stared out over the wildlife pond that he’d been putting in, theoretically looking for creatures but in reality just daydreaming. I shot up at his presence and got a head rush, immediately looking for the nearest sturdy thing to hang on to as the blood rush settled. The nearest sturdy thing was, of course, Jack, and he laid an arm gently around me as I got my balance.

‘Better?’ he asked as I made to move away.