Page 81 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘I appreciate that, thank you,’ she said. ‘But we didn’t know each other. Not really.’

He didn’t even know her real name.

She should tell him the truth, she owed him that at least, and it wasn’t as if she could hide from him now that he knew where she was staying, where they were staying. In the room above, possibly even looking out of the window – she didn’t dare check – was their baby.

‘I know that.’ The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. ‘But that was because of the circumstances. If things had been different—’

‘You mean if we hadn’t met in a hotel bar and ended up in bed together almost immediately?’ She tilted her chin up and met his eye.

He looked down at his hands and then back at Clare. ‘It sounds sordid when you say it like that. But it didn’t feel that way at the time. At least not to me.’

Her stomach twisted. It hadn’t felt like that to her either. She wondered how things might have played out if … if …

‘The thing is, I can’t think about you without connecting it to Mum and imagining the terror she must have felt in the split second before the collision …’ A sob formed in her throat, and she squeezed her eyes tight.

Adam groaned softly. ‘I’m so sorry. That sounds lame, but I really am. Do you have siblings, other family around you to support you?’

She shook her head. ‘My godmother, Liz, who I believe may have shown you her dance moves yesterday?’

He nodded, conceding a small smile.

‘My dad is around, but my parents divorced nearly thirty years ago. He was shocked, naturally, but he didn’t grieve, not like me.’

‘My dad died last year,’ said Adam. ‘The circumstances weren’t as traumatic as – what was your mum’s name?’

‘Jen,’ Clare supplied. Which was also his daughter’s middle name. Ivy Jennifer Marriott.

‘Not as traumatic as Jen’s,’ he continued. ‘But it’s ripped a hole through our family. He was …’ He faltered and took a moment to breathe, as if trying to find the words. ‘He wasn’t just a brilliant dad, he was the best man I knew. Probably the best I’ll ever meet. So I understand what it feels like to miss someone you can’t imagine ever living without.’

‘I’m sorry for your loss, Adam,’ Clare said. ‘I really am.’

She held her hand out to him. His eyes reached hers and there was a moment of such connection between them that she could have sworn her heart stopped for a second. He scooted his chair closer so that their knees were almost touching and took hold of her hand.

‘This reminds me of when we met.’ He looked down at their joined hands.

‘You mean when you doused me with boiling water?’

He screwed his face up. ‘Not my finest moment. Although as a ruse to get to hold a beautiful woman’s hand, it did me proud.’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘So you make a habit of picking up women in hotels?’

‘No! God no!’ he proclaimed. ‘Seriously. I never normally stay in hotels.’

Her lips twitched. ‘You pick them up in other places?’

‘No!’ He slapped his free hand to his forehead and groaned. ‘I think I’d better shut up before I get myself into more hot water.’

‘Instead of just me,’ she deadpanned, and they both laughed.

She’d gone all fluttery. He was lovely. Not just hot. But actually a nice human. Or was this her abandoned sex life talking? She hadn’t dated once since that night. With Mum’s funeral, then realising that she was pregnant and then having Ivy, there’d been no space in her life for men. This was probably the first conversation she’d had like this with a man since she’d met Adam.

‘I don’t make a habit of meeting men in hotel bars either,’ she said softly. ‘In case you were thinking that I did.’

‘I wasn’t, but good to know.’ His fingers tightened around hers. ‘But I bet you do stay in a lot of hotels. You’re still a location scout, I assume?’

And here it was; the moment of truth, quite literally.

She couldn’t bring herself to lie again. What if Ivy wanted to know about her dad when she was older? Clare wouldn’t be able to lie then, it wouldn’t be fair. She’d have to tell Ivy the truth. The thought made her heart race.