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‘Thanks,’ she said.Itwas already eleven o’clock, and she was keen to get home.Shehad a husband to tell off.
Heranger atConnorhad been simmering steadily for two days now.Forthe last hour, she’d passed the time by scrolling through photos on her phone from their trip abroad to remind herself that she loved him.
ShedidloveConnor.Butshe was also really pissed off with him.
‘Morning,’ saidWallyas he ambled into the sunny breakfast room with a chipper smile. ‘Sleepokay?’
‘Ummmmm…’Shewrinkled her nose and shook her head. ‘Notreally.You?’
‘Great!Likea baby.’
Youdidn’t have the room next to theOxfordShag-a-thon,she thought.Sheremembered the residential course she’d done inFrancewithConnor, before they were together.Onthat trip, she’d also had the adjoining room to a horny couple.Shewondered briefly what had happened to them.Werethey still together?Thenshe realised she didn’t care.They’dbeen vile.
ButFrancescaandKrish…she was happy they had sorted things out.Reallyhappy.Butalso deeply, deeply tired.
‘Goodmorning,’ saidDavid, as he walked in and went straight to the cereal bar.Hepoured himself a bowl ofCocoPopsand sat at a different table fromStellaandWally.
‘Howare the allergies?’ askedStellawith concern.
‘Fine.’Heshovelled a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.Heobviously wasn’t in a talkative mood today.Maybethey’d kept him up, too.
Thestairs creaked, andStellawas surprised to seeFrancescacome in, freshly showered and lively.Stellathought they’d sleep in a bit more, especially since they’d been up until 3AM, and then at 5AM, and then again at 8AM…
‘Hello, nerds!’Francescagreeted them all with a huge grin.
Lashingsof sex seemed to agree with her.Stellahad never seen her so jolly.
‘Isthere any oat milk?’Francescaasked the owner, who scurried back to the kitchen to find some.
Davidwas eatingCocoPopslike he might find the meaning of life at the bottom of his bowl.
‘Howare your allergies?’Francescaasked him.
Hemade a strangled noise, andStellacould see his cheeks reddening from where she sat.Poorboy had probably received a bit of an education last night.Hisroom was directly aboveFrancesca’s.
‘Goodmorning!’Krishbounded in last but not least.Stellahad to admire their energy.Theywere probably still high on adrenaline and dopamine and whatever other feel-good body chemicals existed.Sheremembered the early days of her relationship withConnor, when they could barely keep their hands off each other and he paid as much attention to her out of bed as in it.Whenhad that started to change?Shecouldn’t pinpoint an exact time.Hadit been while they were travelling?Orbefore that, when she started stepping away from the business towards the end of her pregnancy?
Allshe knew was that she wanted things to get better again.
ShewatchedKrishtouchFrancescabriefly on the lower back before helping himself to the croissants and melon.Itwas such a small gesture, but it spoke so loudly, possessive and protective at the same time.
Stellawondered exactly what had gone down in that room last night.Obviously, not the physical stuff—she knew more than she wanted to aboutthat.Butthe conversation they’d had.Whatwas the terrible secret thatFrancescahad been keeping fromKrish?Stellawas dying to know.Ahidden love child?Multiplepersonalities?Aprevious marriage to a serial killer?Herimagination ran wild.
‘I’dlove to be away within the next hour,’Krishsaid. ‘Stella,Iknow you’re keen to get back toGraceandConnor.’
That, she was.Shestill hadn’t received many texts from her husband; however,Claudiahad confirmed thatGraceonly came to her house on theFriday.Agood sign, at least.
‘Ah, coffee,’ saidKrish. ‘I’mgoing to need some of that.’
Stelladraggedher camera bag up the front steps of her house.Twodays of carrying it around had made her muscles ache.Whilehaving a baby and travelling the world, she’d lost the stamina she’d had working as a wedding photographer.Reachingthe top, she unlocked the door, pushed it open, and called out, ‘Hell-oooo!Anybodyhome?’
Noreply, but she could hear the distant sound of a big piggy saying, ‘I’ma bit of an expert.’Shesmiled and slid her keys onto a coat hook, dropping her bags near the stairs.Abrief glance showed her thatConnorstill had not put up the gates as she’d asked him to.Hersmile faltered.
Sheturned into theTVroom, expecting to seeConnorandGracesnuggled up on the sofa watchingPeppaPigtogether, but they weren’t there.Retracingher steps to the hallway, she walked through the dining room and into the kitchen, where she foundConnorsitting at the island, laptop open in front of him and headphones on.Theshadow of a beard emphasised his jawline, which had the effect of making him even more ruggedly handsome.Gracewas sitting on the floor with an iPad.Stellastuck her tongue into her cheek.Thiswasn’t exactly the father-daughter time she had envisaged.
‘Connor?Hello?’ she said, tilting sideways into his line off vision.
Henoticed her and shook his head as though waking up. ‘Yay!Mummy’shome!’Heremoved his headphones and scooped upGrace, who screamedPiggy!and started to cry. ‘Sayhi to mummy!’Withhis free arm, he huggedStellaand kissed her on the cheek, simultaneously passingGraceto her.Itwas a deft move. ‘Wemissed you.How’dit go?’
