To her further annoyance, when Rosie took the lead, Beauty seemed to snap out of her bad behaviour and trotted happily along at Rosie’s side, looking up at the little girl in adoration.
When they arrived at the pontoon and Beauty sat on Rosie’s command, Libby could have sworn the bloody animal actually smirked at her. The yacht club was just as intimidating as Libby had imagined: a large building sitting over the water and looking out on a harbour that was packed with hundreds of boats of all shapes and sizes. Jamie’s BMW looked positively common compared to the other sleek, low-rise super-machines and SUVs packed onto the concrete of the car park.
Libby was just shoving yet another elastic band in her hair to contain the clumps that had managed to free themselves while Beauty was yanking her through the posh cars, when she locked eyes with someone she recognised. The blood slowly drained from her face as her hands dropped down from her head. The tall man standing in front of her was a lighter-haired, leaner version of Jamie. His face was now devoid of the red drunken tinge, and he was wearing shorts, with a baby strapped to his chest in a carrier – bit of a change from the pin-striped Saville Row number he’d had on that night, but there was no mistaking him.
‘Dan, Amy, what the fu – I mean what are you doing here?’ Dr Grantham’s annoyed voice cut through Libby’s shock and she looked over to see him striding up to Blonde Dr Grantham purposefully.
‘I … ’ Blonde Dr Grantham, a.k.a. Dan, broke off, his eyes flicking between Dr Grantham and Libby and then widening as he took in Rosie snuggled next to Beauty. ‘You … er … well, we …’
‘Hey, favourite brother-in-law.’ A short red-haired, pretty woman popped her head above the side of the harbour and then emerged up after climbing the ladder from below. ‘Don’t be cross, but when you rang to see if we’d left any kiddie lifejackets in the hull we were abitcurious, and you know it’s ages since you’ve taken us all out on the boat, so …’ She trailed off as she caught sight of Libby and Rosie. A huge smile formed on her pretty, freckle-covered face and she started toward them.
‘Uncle Jamie!’ a child’s voice shouted from over where the ladder was. Libby tore her eyes away from the redhead to see a little boy scrambling up onto the concrete. Like a small, red-haired torpedo he ran full pelt at Dr Grantham, slamming into his legs.
‘Hey, Squidget,’ Dr Grantham chuckled, one of his hands going to the boy’s red hair and giving it a rub, the other going under his armpit and starting to tickle.
‘Jesus, Seb,’ a low voice rumbled from the side of the decking, and Libby watched in confusion as a teenage version of Dr Grantham pulled himself up the ladder and onto the concrete. ‘Don’t jump off the bloody boat like that. Who do you think gets the blame when your bony little arse ends up in the water?’ His brown hair was a little longer than Dr Grantham’s and his physique more lanky, but the bone structure, eyes and hair were almost identical.
‘Will,’ Blonde Dr Grantham snapped, tearing his eyes away from Libby to frown across at the teenager, ‘enough with the swearing.’
‘But Mum sai – ’
‘I don’t care what your mother says or doesn’t say. When you’re with me, Amy and the boys you keep it PG, mate. Yourmumdoesn’t have small kids to worry about.’ Will rolled his eyes but they froze as they came to rest on Libby and Rosie. With everyone on the habourside now fixated on her, Libby started shifting uncomfortably on her feet, pushing her hands into the pockets of her long, cut-off shorts.
Dr Grantham cleared his throat and they all shifted their attention to him. ‘Guys, this is Libby and her daughter, Rosie.’ Libby forced a smile and gave a small wave. Rosie burrowed further into Beauty’s fur, not saying a word. (To be honest Libby was a little relieved; Shy Rosie was better than Kicking Random People in the Shins Rosie.) ‘Libby’s one of my medical students and Rosie is a pirate in the making, so I’m taking them out on the boat today.’
Blonde Dr Grantham narrowed his eyes at Libby. His mouth dropped open to say something, before he snapped it shut and pressed his lips together in a tight line. ‘Libby, this is my brother, Dan, his wife, Amy, and my nephews: Will, Seb and Baby Rufus.’
‘Fantastic!’ Amy practically shouted, shooting forward to engulf Libby in a very unexpected hug and then squatting down in front of Rosie. ‘Hey there, Pirate Rosie,’ she said, pushing back some of Rosie’s curls to reveal her blue eyes. ‘You ready for the high seas?’ Rosie gave a very small smile and little nod of her head.
Seb had disengaged from his uncle to come and stand next to Rosie and Beauty. Beauty gave a soft snort and licked the entirety of Seb’s face. ‘Beauty is kind ofmydog,’ he informed Rosie.
‘Seb,’ his mother said in a warning tone.
‘But you can play with him, I guess.’
‘Do you like woodlice?’ Rosie asked, lifting her head from Beauty’s fur.
‘Yeah, course,’ Seb told her.
‘Then you can be my friend … if you like,’ she said.
‘’Kay,’ Seb muttered, looking down as he pushed a stone around with his shoe.
Will and his father were still watching Libby. Dr Grantham cleared his throat again and Libby caught him shooting Dan an annoyed look, which got him moving across to Libby with his arm extended around the baby on his chest. ‘Hi,’ he muttered, shaking her hand quickly before stepping back and flicking a nervous glance over to his wife.
‘Yeah … um … hi,’ Will said, copying his father to move forward and shake her hand, his eyes moving to her chest. ‘Cool,’ he muttered, eyeing the wolf’s head on her loose-fitting black T-shirt. ‘House of Stark.’
Libby smiled. ‘Winter is coming,’ they said in unison, and then both smiled. He looked back up at her face and his eyes dropped to her mouth.
‘Yeah,’ he breathed, keeping hold of her hand as his pupils dilated. Libby could practically smell the teenage hormones pouring off him.
‘Will,’ Dan snapped. ‘Go get the tarp off the front of the boat will you?’
Will blinked a moment, then flushed bright red before letting go of Libby and moving back, next to his father. Libby looked over at Dan to see that his jaw was tight and a muscle next to his eye was twitching. She looked down at her scruffy Converse and bit her lip; it might be okay forDanto visit a strip club, but he certainly didn’t seem to want his teenage son anywhere near an actual real-life stripper. Libby wasn’t entirely sure what he expected her to do that would lead Will astray out here in broad daylight surrounded by children and boats, but she suspected he’d rather not find out. She watched as Will climbed down the ladder and walked along the pontoon. He stopped in front of a large speedboat with the nameBuntywritten on the side and started pulling the cover off its nose. Feeling very much out of her depth, she sidled up to Dr Grantham and gave his sleeve a light tug.
‘I think maybe it’s best that Rosie and I stay behind,’ she said quietly. ‘Your family’s here and – ’
‘Don’t be crazy,’ Amy said, standing from her crouch next to the children and putting her hands on her hips. ‘We’re the ones gate-crashing, and the more on the boat to crew the better. That way you can have a go at wakeboarding – it’s super fun!’ She clapped her hands and bounced on the spot to emphasise itssuper-funness, much like an adorable, overenthusiastic little pixie. Despite how awkward Libby was feeling, she couldn’t help but smile over at her. That died, however, when she noticed the stony look on Dan’s face: no chance of any overfriendly behaviour there.
