Relief washed over me. I’d made it. “Okay, quick, tidy up all the rubbish and put it in the bin. Tam, did you say thank you to Jude?”
Tam shook his head. “He wasn’t there, so I left his cake on top of the white snake’s tank. Can I write him a letter?”
Worked for me. I whizzed around the shop, gathering up any trace of the party and shoving it into a bin bag. “Here.” I handed the bag to Delilah. “Take that and put it in the big bin by the bus stop, then go over to Mummy’s car, okay?”
Delilah didn’t move.
“Go,” I said. “You know Mum won’t come in here to get you.”
“But Jude said we could play with the white snake after the party.”
“Yeah, well. Mum’s here now. Maybe I’ll bring you back another day.”
She didn’t believe me, and I didn’t blame her. Delilah had always seen through my empty promises, and somehow she’d seen my desire to keep my real life and my crazy attraction to Jude separate. Even if she didn’t realise it.
Mina beeped her horn, reminding me that she had a date to keep with her parents. I turned a mutinous Delilah around and steered her out of the shop. Tam followed and I escorted them to where Mina was parked.
She winked at me. “How did it go?”
“Honestly?”
“No, Isha. Lie to me. It’s what I live for.”
I resisted the urge to give her the finger and grinned instead. “It was actually pretty damn good, right, kids?”
“It was amazing,” Tam said.
Delilah nodded. “I love Jude.”
Brilliant. I kissed them all goodbye and shut the car doors. Mina flashed me a wink and drove away, leaving me standing in an empty parking space with little idea of what to do next.
My car was parked at the local pub. I had to walk past Madfall to get there, and as I approached, Jude came out of the shop and locked the door behind him. He saw me a split second before I barrelled into him, and his perfect brow ticked up.
“You’re still here.”
Nine
Jude
He’s still here.I couldn’t quite believe it. I’d come back from the bathroom to find the shop deserted, all traces of the party wiped clean, and not a child in sight. It hadn’t occurred to me that Isha hadn’t gone with them.
He shrugged. “Myex-wife picked the kids up.”
His emphasis on theexwasn’t lost. “Do they live with her?”
“Most days. I have them every other weekend, take them out during the week when I have time. I’m hardly father of the year, though.”
“You did all right today.”
“Nah,youdid all right. I was a passenger.”
It was probably the nicest thing a parent had ever said to me after a children’s party, even if it did overlook the fact that Isha had stoically handled every animal I’d dropped on him. “You were great. Just because you’re not a full-time dad doesn’t mean you’re not a good one.”
“That’s sweet, but you don’t know me. Two years ago, Mina wouldn’t have bothered asking me to show up, let alone handle it. Too busy grinding money out of people who didn’t give a shit.”
He wasn’t looking at me, so I took my chance to properly take him in after a day spent fighting an uncharacteristic urge to stare. His fit body was encased in designer jeans and boots. Smart coat layered over a T-shirt that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. I liked him in billionaire mode, but the casual vibe suited him too. He seemed tired, though, and dejected.
I nudged him. It was the first deliberate physical contact we’d had for a while, and the shock of it rippled through me. “But she did ask you, so you must be okay in her book.”