Daisy stared down at the marble worktop. ‘Because nothing good ever lasts. Because every time I think something might work out, it doesn't.’
The kitchen went very quiet for a few seconds, except for the soft jazz and the crackle from the log burner near the sofa.
Annabelle's voice was soft but firm. ‘Look around you. Look at us. Look at your bookshop. Look at your girls. Good thingsdolast, Daise. It’s just that before that, you had a run of, well, not so nice things happen all in a long line.’
‘The bookshop is in very early days, you know that.’ Daisy's voice was flat. ‘And as for the girls, I'm doing my best, but I have no idea if I'm getting it right. Most of the time, I feel like I'm making it up as I go along.’
'That's exactly what we're all doing. Making it up as we go along and hoping for the best.'
'I'm doing this on my own.'
'You're not on your own. You have us.'
'That's not the same thing.'
'No, it's not, but it doesn't mean you have to do everything on your own forever. Maybe Miles could be part of that support.'
‘Maybe he'd decide that twins are too much work and disappear. It is no walk in the park looking after those two.'
‘Maybe he wouldn't.’
'You don't know that.' Daisy shook her head.
'You're right, I don't, but neither do you. You're so busy imagining all the ways it could go wrong that you're not even considering the ways it could go right.'
'Right. Let's be practical about this. What exactly has Miles said?'
Daisy sighed. 'He said he wants to be more involved. He said he likes spending time with me, but he feels like he's only getting half of who I am because the girls are such a big part of my life.'
Annabelle grimaced. ‘He does have a point. He’s been around for a while now.’
'I told him that it was complicated and he said he understood complicated and that he wanted to try anyway.'
‘Daise, you can't protect them from everything. You can't wrap them up in cotton wool forever.'
'I can try.'
'But should you?' Maggie asked. 'Should you really? Because what you're teaching them is that people leave and that relationships don't work out and that it's safer to be alone.'
'Itissafer to be alone.'
'Is it really? Because you don't look like someone who feels safe. You look like someone who's exhausted from trying to do everything by herself.'
Daisy felt tears prick at her eyes. 'I am exhausted, but that doesn't mean I should just trust the first man who says he wants to stick around.'
‘Oh, come on. You've been seeing him for ages! You wouldn't have kept seeing him if you didn't think there was something there.'
'That's different. That's just me. That's not the girls.'
'But you're not just you anymore, are you?' Annabelle said softly. 'You haven't been just you for years. You're their mum. So, anyone who wants to be with you has to understand that and accept that. Sorry, Daise, but it sounds like he gets that, which is why he’s pushing.'
'And what if he doesn't?'
'Then he's not the right person,' Maggie said simply. 'But what if he does?'
Daisy turned her wine glass around and around in her hands. 'I don't know how to introduce them properly. I don't know what to say or how to explain who he is.'
'What do you want him to be?' Annabelle asked.
