Page 33 of The Wedding Proposal
‘Don’t look now,’ Lucas murmured, ‘but we seem to have attracted the attention of a little boy.’
Completely disregarding his request, Elle pivoted on her heel. ‘Carmelo!’
The little boy smiled shyly.
Elle waved, but sighed under her breath. ‘Carmelo’s from the Nicholas Centre. He’s been helping me. He’s one of the kids Joseph gives little jobs to so they can earn fizzy drinks or cakes, or even stuff for school.’
Dropping her bag on the deck, Elle hopped back onto the quayside and strolled in the boy’s direction as he edged further out from behind the trees, smiling tentatively.
‘Hello, Carmelo,’ Lucas heard her say. ‘What are you doing here?’
Carmelo shrugged.
Elle halted a few feet short of him and tilted her head. ‘Would you like a cold drink before you go home? I just have a few minutes before I go on to my other job.’
Carmelo nodded, but his smile faded.
‘Come on, then.’ Elle turned and strolled back to the Shady Lady, stepping lightly onto the bathing platform, letting the boy follow shyly behind. In an undertone, she said to Lucas, ‘I had training videos about this kind of thing. He should stay out here, in plain view.’
‘Noted,’ said Lucas, drily, not remotely surprised that Elle was reacting to a situation entirely according to her training videos. He’d done his own child protection and safeguarding training but there was no need for him to say so. Elle seemed to have all the bases covered.
‘Carmelo, this is my friend Lucas.’ Elle stepped back to the gangplank to be within reach as Carmelo edged across.
Lucas lifted a hand in greeting.
Carmelo’s smile peeped out briefly.
‘Sit with Lucas while I get the drinks,’ suggested Elle.
And Lucas found himself sharing the cockpit seat with a little Maltese boy with huge brown eyes, dark hair that hung in his face, and atrociously fitting clothes.
‘Hey,’ Lucas said, easily. In his experience, kids didn’t need to be talked at all the time.
Carmelo nodded, as if Lucas had said something interesting.
Elle’s voice floated out through the open door. ‘Carmelo, would you like water or ginger ale?’
Doubt crossed Carmelo’s face. ‘Ginger ale. Please.’
Elle came out with three glasses of ginger ale, sparkling in the sun. She smelled of sun tan lotion as she passed Lucas’s shoulder. ‘I brought one for you, Lucas.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Thank you,’ echoed Carmelo. He put the glass to his lips and took a cautious sip. Then his face cleared and he took a healthy swig.
Lucas hid a smile. He suspected that Carmelo wasn’t familiar with ginger ale and had only chosen it in the supposition that anything had to be more fun than water.
Elle sank down to sit cross-legged on the deck. ‘You must live close by, Carmelo, to be playing in the gardens.’
Carmelo looked down into his glass.
‘Did you know I was living here on a boat?’
The little boy shrugged. Lucas would bet his bank account that Carmelo had simply followed Elle home. Carmelo’s brown eyes, whenever they rested on Elle, spoke of adoration.
‘I live on the boat, too.’ Lucas took a sip of his ginger ale. Not bad. Usually he only drank it when there was a healthy slug of scotch in it.
Elle developed the theme. ‘Who do you live with, Carmelo? Your parents?’
