Page 8 of All Yours

She grinned at her friend before making herself glance Fox’s way. She watched as his jaw slackened, his shoulders dropped. She could almost see the relief hit his body. He was buying it. She breathed out and continued. ‘It’s been a roller coaster ever since. More so now than ever actually.’

He nodded then, his eyes visibly brighter.

‘Hard work, isn’t it?’ he agreed. ‘I remember the early days.’

He stepped forward then, reached a hand out and cupped the back of Willow’s head. Robyn felt her insides contract to the point of pain. Looking at his long fingers gently cupping Willow’s skull as they ran over her silky hair, Robyn remembered the feel of his hands on her own skin. This wasn’t right. But she had no choice.

‘When did you all get back to the UK?’ Fox asked, unperturbed.

‘All?’ Robyn asked, confused.

‘Willow, her dad . . . ?’ Fox’s voice tailed off as he realised his presumption.

‘Just the two of us,’ Robyn said, lifting her chin, ‘and yesterday. It’s been a whirlwind.’

Never had she said a truer word. And now, lying to the father of her child was not going to make things any simpler.

But she could not tell him that he was, in fact, the father of her child in a bookshop in front of their mutual friends. Who knew how he’d react? What he’d say or do? All she knew of him was how hot he was in bed, that he loved games and was fun to play with. And in fact, until ten minutes ago, she’d had no intention of ever telling him at all, thinking she’d never see him again, even if she did sometimes look for his gamer tag when she was at a loose end. But now, it looked like the universe had other ideas. She shook herself. Better to keep things to herself. For now at least. She’d seen the panic on his face. And he’d abandoned her once without a word. She didn’t need to give him the opportunity to do it again.

Chapter Four

Fox

Fox could feel his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. For a moment he thought he was having another child and a heart attack all at once. Seeing Robyn there had been one thing. And she looked just as hot as he remembered, with all that long red hair and her gorgeous freckles. But then finding out she’d had a baby? That shock on top of the first was just about enough to finish him off. Only when she said she’d got pregnant later in the autumn did the blood stop rushing in his ears. It had been a full second later that he mentally shook himself. Of course it wouldn’t be his baby. They’d only had one night together, and he’d used protection.

To be fair, the night itself was a bit of a blur. He remembered the feel of her hips in his hands on the dance floor, the crashing of their mouths together in the empty lift back down from the rooftop. The heat of their naked bodies pressed to each other on the hotel bed. But he could remember specifically reaching for the condom, because if there was ever going to be a moment when he paused and considered what he was doing, then that was it.

The first time he’d had sex since his wife died. The first time he’d been close to anyone else since waking up that Sunday morning in bed with Meg, before she left for the shops and never came home.

But in the moment, he’d not been able to think of anything but Robyn, who was smiling at him, with her arms out to pull him in close again, and her hair all tumbled on the pillow. Jesus. It had been a good night. He snapped his memory shut and looked at her now with the baby in her arms.

‘Shall we sit?’ He indicated a quiet reading corner where two comfy armchairs were empty. She nodded and he picked up her coffee and led the way. ‘Somewhere we can talk.’

‘I’ll bring you one over,’ Wren called after him.

He saw the softness on Robyn’s face as she settled herself with the baby on her lap. He knew that look. That feeling. The overwhelming love. It was strange seeing her as a mother, when she’d been so free and single and independent last time. And gorgeous. And naked. Stop thinking about her naked.

‘So . . . wow!’ he said. ‘Small world, Red! Sorry, I guess I should call you Robyn.’

She nodded slowly. ‘Sure is,’ she agreed. ‘The universe does funny things sometimes.’

The words jolted him and he was back there, on that night.

From the rooftop of the games convention, the city had been lit up below them. It had seemed a good idea to take a nightcap up the fire escape and now they leaned against the railings, far above the action, feeling closer to the sky than the earth. The wind lifted the red hair of the woman beside him, and Fox was struck by the feeling of possibility, of excitement. Of something other than the norm for him. No deadlines, no routine, no name even. She was Red777. He was Silver007. He felt distant from the constraints of his normal life. He felt free. He wrapped his jacket around her shoulders, and she smiled at him before turning her face towards the full moon and closing her eyes. Her skin was luminous, her energy contagious and he felt drawn to her in a way he’d never felt before. Since the moment they’d sat beside each other earlier to play his game, he hadn’t wanted to be anywhere else. Besides being beautiful, she was quick-witted, funny and knew her way around a games console. Her eyes burned into him when he spoke, as though eager to understand the full meaning of what he said and how he felt about it. He was probably just out of practice with women, and he’d never had a one-night stand in his life, but this, it felt good.

She turned to face him again. ‘I believe in the universe above all else,’ she said, her hair a halo around her head, backlit by the stars. ‘I believe that everything happens for a reason.’

He put his arms around her then, not sure of his next move but knowing he didn’t want her to leave.

‘This night we’re having is meant to happen,’ she said, dropping her eyes to his mouth and then back again. ‘For you, for me. It’s important. Do you feel that?’

Fox brushed a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, letting his fingers graze the soft pale skin of her neck. He nodded. ‘Better not waste it then,’ he said and lowered his lips to hers, slowly, slowly, seeing hers curve into a smile as he finally tasted her mouth.

Now, in the bookshop, he cleared his throat and tugged himself back to the present.

‘So where have you been since I saw you?’ he asked, nodding a thanks to Wren as she placed a coffee beside him and departed. ‘I seem to remember you were off to Australia – with a friend of yours? Maddie? For whatever work came next.’

‘Matty,’ she clarified.