Apparently satisfied he was better at maths than Ollie, Timothy continued. “A long time. A very long time. Did you see the photos?”
Kieran and Helen got up and came over to Timothy so he could show them the photos Sandra had sent Ollie. Anna glanced over. The hanging reached the ceiling and nearly covered half of the window next to the space for which it was intended. Pride spread through her stomach.
Arthur was rubbing his spine along Ollie’s shin when another butterfly appeared into his field of vision and he pounced off in search of a chase and a tasty snack.
They all laughed, watching his small feet and skinny tail bobbing around.
Ollie sat back again, pushed her hair from her face, and slid her fingers back between Anna’s.
“How are things going with your assistant?” Helen asked, going back to her chair. Kieran followed her.
“It’s…not awful,” Ollie replied.
Anna nudged her and she rubbed at the back of her neck.
“Good. You needed someone to help you out,” Kieran said.
“I’ve been telling her that since the day we met,” Anna said, brushing Ollie’s cheek briefly with a fingertip.
There was another lull in the conversation.
“Plans to move in?” Kieran asked, and from the look between him and Helen, Anna could tell it was something they both wondered.
“Not just yet,” she said, her attention on Ollie.
Ollie shook her head. “It’s early days.” She squeezed Anna’s fingers.
“I can’t count the number of kids in my classes who talk about Jacob’s mum and how Jacob’s mum has shacked up with some bloke after knowing him for three weeks. And five minutes later they’ve broken up, and I have to deal with the subsequent ‘Jacob’s mum’s a slag’ comments.”
“Why pick up the pace?” Bethany said, and Anna’s cheeks burned. “It took you so long to get together.”
“Slow and steady wins the girl. No sense in marching on ahead,” Ollie said so quietly that Anna wasn’t sure if any of the children heard.
The sun seemed to shine just a little bit more brightly as she looked down at their joined hands. She wanted to lift Ollie’s fingers to her lips, but she wasn’t sure. She was anxious about doing anything that would irritate or anger Ollie’s children. To be fair to them, they had been through a lot. It couldn’t have been easy finding out your mum had cheated on your dad with a woman while she worked away. And Ollie was just getting to know them again.
Ollie looked right at her, however, and lifted Anna’s fingers and kissed her knuckles. She was looking at Anna as though they were alone, like the kids weren’t there watching them.
Anna’s anxiety floated away with the spring breeze. She laughed. Ollie smiled back at her, the silence between them comfortable and gentle. Anna caught the morning scent of first-mown lawns, the sweet smell of flowers starting to open. She watched the butterflies and bees and Arthur scrabbling for a spider in the grass. She sighed happily and looked around at their strange but mostly happy family gathered all around. The trees rustled, the sunlight flickering between the leaves. It dappled across Ollie’s face.
Wanting to hold on to that perfect image, Anna closed her eyes, content to sip at her fruit cocktail and hold hands with the one person she cared about the most in the world.
About Jenn Matthews
Jenn Matthews lives in England’s South West with her wife, dog, and cat. When not working full-time as a health-care assistant at a mental health rehab unit, she can be found avidly gardening, crocheting, writing, or visiting National Trust properties.
Inspired by life’s lessons and experiences, Jenn is a passionate advocate of people on the fringe of society. She hopes to explore and represent other “invisible people” with her upcoming novels.
CONNECT WITH JENN
Website: www.jennmatthews.com
Twitter: @whispersmummy
E-Mail: [email protected]
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© 2019 by Jenn Matthews
ISBN (mobi): 978-3
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ISBN (epub): 978-3-96324-135-2
Also available as paperback.
Published by Ylva Publishing, legal entity of Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Ylva Verlag, e.Kfr.
Owner: Astrid Ohletz
Am Kirschgarten 2
65830 Kriftel
Germany
www.ylva-publishing.com
First edition: 2019
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Credits
Edited by Michelle Aguilar and JoSelle
Cover Design and Print Layout by Streetlight Graphics
Hooked on You Page 33