Page 65 of All Yours

By now, Robyn had to accept that whatever Fox did, he was sexy and an all-round nice, genuine guy. But did she know him well enough yet to tell him about Willow? Could she brave it?

Robyn tried to picture the situation, actually saying the words out loud: ‘Willow is your daughter.’ Her imagination wouldn’t let her picture his face in response. There were so many variations of the next scene, so many ways it could go. Would he even believe her? Would he turn her away? Would he want anything to do with Willow? It was no good. She just wasn’t ready to risk it. For Willow, of course. She had to know that he’d stick around before she opened her daughter up to chance. She’d wait for a sign. The universe would tell her if, and when, it was right to do.

She sighed, and tried again to relax.

Robyn always liked to make the most of her baths, because she was going to miss them when she was gone. The thought surprised her, almost made her laugh out loud. Bathing was a luxury after all. She didn’t need it to survive. She’d just become used to being spoiled with a bath for the last few months. She could go back to showers without a problem.

Some of the showers on the conservation camps were outdoors, behind a canvas. And cold, always cold. Others she used in hostels had spiders hiding in the corners or, worse, clumps of hair tangled around the plugholes. Or they’d have a shower curtain that never seemed to fit the actual size of the door, or if it did by chance have a door, it would never have a lock.

Robyn swirled the water in her bath with her fingers, redistributing the hot top-up. But it was all the same in the long run – bath or shower. It was all just a method of getting clean, wasn’t it? Showers would be fine, even if they were cold.

Anyway, she didn’t have to think about it until after Christmas. Until then, she intended to spend at least an hour a day in this enamel heaven.

A thought hit her and she found herself wracking her brains, testing her memory. Had she seen family cubicles for showers when she was abroad? Normally there was just a bench for your toiletries or to sit on and dress, and a hook for your towel. She couldn’t recall ever seeing a changing table for a baby or an area to lay Willow down safely while she showered. Maybe she’d have to hold her in the shower and wash them both at the same time, or she’d have to find someone to mind her while she washed. Neither option was easy, but both were doable. She’d simply have to find new ways of doing things. It wasn’t just her on her own any more.

Her phone beeped on the side of the bath.

Fox: I’ve got rowing club tomorrow night and the babysitter has dropped out. Could I trouble you to stay for an extra hour?

She typed back immediately, thinking of him in the house looking at his screen.

Robyn: Of course. No problem.

Fox: Thanks. That makes things so much easier.

Suddenly her body tingled under the water, so close to him in proximity, naked and craving satisfaction, with him just a matter of feet away. Robyn paused for a moment and then typed a response, knowing she was slipping from her professional promise, but not caring one bit, feeling a yearning in the pit of her tummy.

Robyn: I wouldn’t want to make it hard for you.

She added a winking face emoji and pressed send.

She was just about to replace the phone on the side of the bath when it beeped again. She laughed out loud to see his response. A horny devil face. And a fox.

So, maybe it wasn’t just her struggling to stay professional after all.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Fox

Fox found himself going into the office more that week than any other week in ages. Mainly because he was worried that if he stayed at home and bumped into Robyn somewhere around the house, he might sack her on the spot – just so that he could kiss her again. She seemed to have turned the whole house into a sexual possibility. If he saw her in the kitchen, he daydreamed about bending her over the kitchen table. If he glimpsed her doing the laundry, he got hard at the thought of slowly easing her pants down her legs. He smelled her vanilla perfume in rooms she’d long vacated and only wanted to bury his face in her neck and taste it on her skin. He was a walking hard-on whenever he knew she was in the house and the only thing he could do was to get out. So, the office it was.

A gentle knock at the door broke his concentration. ‘Here again, Fox?’ Erin asked from the doorway, cat-ear headphones draped around her neck. ‘I’m thinking you must need one of these by now?’ She held two coffees in her hands and offered one to him with a nod of her head.

‘Perfect timing!’ he said. ‘Thanks. How did you know?’ He took the proffered cup and leaned back in his chair, taking the moment to roll his shoulders. A quick glance at his watch told him he’d been focused for a good hour and a half.

‘You’ve been frowning at your screen for ages,’ she said. ‘Wondered if you wanted to talk something through?’

Fox smiled. Whenever he saw her, she was interested in what he was doing, what he was thinking, whether she could help with a problem. Whenever they talked, he was struck by how similar her thought processes were to his.

‘Don’t worry. Just getting stuff done,’ he said. ‘Here, sit for a minute.’ He pointed at the spare chair and she sank into it. ‘It’s easier to work here than at home.’

‘I thought you had a nanny now?’

‘I do,’ he said, shaking his head at the irony. Not that he could explain it to her.

‘That must have made a difference, surely?’

He couldn’t contain his smile. ‘It sure has, in some quite unexpected ways.’