‘Cheers for the advice.’ Ben held his bottle up in a toast, and the other men joined him. ‘I’ll bear it in mind. If I ever find a woman to match the Donovan sisters.’
‘Maybe you should try the Compatibility Project?’ Paolo smirked. ‘Send Bridget your details.’
‘Uh oh.’ Moses sat up straighter, putting his drink on the table and shoving it over to look as if Sam had been drinking it. ‘I think this is one of the exceptions to the mostly good.’
Sofia was striding over, pushing a double buggy, her face a blank mask that seemed somehow more disquieting than if she’d been scowling.
‘Darling.’ Moses smiled, doing a sterling effort at hiding the tremor in his voice.
‘Moses.’ Sofia stuck one hand on her hip. ‘Jen informs me that we’re looking after the twins for the weekend.’
‘Uh, yes?’
‘Why?’
‘Well.’ Moses glanced around at the other men, shuffling his chair closer to Sofia. ‘I thought it would be good practice. Well. Not apracticeas such. A good… test? Trial?’
‘You have borrowed someone’s babies as a trial.’
‘I just wanted, you know, to see how it would be, to look after someone else’s children. See where we needed to get things ready, how it would work with little ones in the flat.’
‘Moses, you have to stop this.’
Moses’ face dropped. ‘I thought we agreed to fostering? It was your idea.’
‘We agreed to investigate the possibility of fostering. Not to start trialling it out with random kids.’
‘I thought it would help. Give us something to feel hopeful about again. Help us move on from the grief.’
‘Moses, I love you, but honestly I don’t know how you can be so wise and so stupid at the same time.’
‘Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll call Jen.’
Sofia took hold of the pushchair. ‘No, you won’t. She’s already booked a spa day. But we need to talk about this. Properly.’ She nodded at Moses’ drink, now sitting in front of Sam. ‘Finish your beer and then I’ll meet you by the car.’ She swivelled the pushchair around and started marching away.
‘I’ll talk to Eli’s dad, see if he’s ready to allow him home again,’ Moses called after her.
Sofia twisted her head over one shoulder, still walking. ‘Don’t you dare. That boy has a home under my roof for as long as he needs it.’
* * *
Orla arrived not long after that to help Sam back to the car, the younger children proudly displaying their tiger and unicorn faces, Harry eagerly telling his dad about how he’d helped man the inflatable.
‘Do you know where the others are?’ Paolo asked Cooper, almost managing to sound as if he wasn’t bothered about him having spent the day with Bridget.
‘Probably clearing up.’ Cooper stood to leave. ‘I’ll see if anyone needs a hand.’
But Cooper found neither Bridget nor Emma in the barn, by the van, in the house. And when Annie emerged, looking flushed and dishevelled, from an upstairs bedroom, she’d not seen them either.
He got out his phone, automatically clicking through to Bridget’s number before he checked himself, instead hurriedly calling Emma.
No answer.
Five minutes later, she sent him a message:
I’m at the Cakery. Sorry, when loaded the van couldn’t spot you anywhere. Loads to sort, please don’t wait up x
He didn’t wait up, although he meant to stay awake so he could see her when she got home.
