‘Hi, Mum.’ Snowflakes dusted his coat and his cheeks were pink from the cold. ‘Where’s Dino?’
Or maybe not.
Meg tightened her grip on the door handle. So much for sneaking him out of the house. ‘Wh-why are you asking? What makes you think that Dino—?’
‘His car is parked outside the front door.’ Jamie bounced up to her and hugged her round the waist. ‘Did he do a sleepover? I’m really sad I missed it.’
‘Yes, he did a sleepover. He had to do a sleepover because he…er…he…well, it really doesn’t matter. Tell me what you did with Grandma. Did you wrap presents?’ Meg swung Jamie up into her arms before he could charge into the bedroom and carried him back down to the kitchen. ‘You’re getting too heavy for me.’
‘I’m going to get even heavier because Grandma is making us pancakes.’
Which meant her mother wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon. Feeling as though she was facing a firing squad, Meg walked into the kitchen. Hoping Dino would take the chance to escape, she closed the door behind her.
Moments later it opened and Dino walked in.
Ignoring Meg’s appalled glare, he ran his hands through his ruffled hair and smiled at her mother, who was assembling the ingredients for pancakes. ‘Buongiorno. I must apologise for my appearance but I wasn’t planning on staying the night.’
Meg’s mouth fell open and she caught a glimpse of her mother’s smug smile before Jamie threw himself at Dino. ‘You had a sleepover.’
‘Sì, a sleepover.’ Dino swung the boy into his arms and smiled at him while Meg watched, her heart in her mouth. His jaw was dark with stubble and eyes had the same sexy, dark brooding quality that had seduced her out of her knickers the night before. And seeing him with her child made her feel…
Vulnerable.
It wasn’t just about her, was it? It was about so much more than her. He’d promised not to hurt her child, but no one could make a promise like that, could they? He wasn’t even Jamie’s father. Not that you’d know that by looking at the two of them together.
Jamie was clinging, his arms locked around Dino’s neck like bindweed. ‘I didn’t know you were doing a sleepover.’
‘I’m afraid the Batmobile let me down. Really she is a warm-weather car. You know that. She has a high-performance engine and that makes her very temperamental. She loves the warm weather, but I insist on driving her in the winter so occasionally she punishes me by refusing to start. All that snow yesterday upset her. I was stranded here. Your mum kindly let me stay.’
Impressed by his impromptu excuse, Meg relaxed and then spotted the sceptical look on her mother’s face. The excuse might work on Jamie, but it wasn’t going to work on Catherine Miller. She was a much tougher audience to convince.
Jamie bounced in Dino’s arms. ‘Wow—so now you’re here you might as well stay the whole day. Sundays are my favourite day because we have pancakes for breakfast. Say you’ll stay—please. Do you like pancakes? I have them with maple syrup and chocolate.’
Dino winced. ‘Together?’
‘Yup, that’s how I like them. And then we’re going to buy our Christmas tree. You could come.’ Jamie held his breath and so did Meg because she couldn’t bear to see his disappointment. And she knew that he was going to be disappointed. There was no way Dino would want to spend the day choosing Christmas trees, was there?
Her lower lip clamped between her teeth, Meg waited for Dino to deliver a smooth excuse, but instead he nodded. ‘Thanks for inviting me, I’d love to come. As long as we call in at my house on the way so that I can change my clothes. I can’t choose a Christmas tree wearing a bow-t
ie.’
‘I could lend you something…’ Jamie looked at his shoulders doubtfully ‘…but I don’t think I have anything that would fit you. You look like a real live Superhero.’ He squeezed Dino’s shoulders with his hand, completely unselfconscious. ‘How do you get muscles like that? I want to have muscles. I want a six-pack. I do sit-ups, but so far I haven’t even got a two-pack. Will you show me how?’
Dino grinned and lowered him to the floor. ‘I think you might have to wait a few years for a two-pack. When the time comes, I’ll show you how. Meg, can I use your bathroom for a shower?’
The thought of him in her shower sent the colour flooding into her cheeks. ‘Of course.’ Her mind was in a spin as she attempted to decipher what was going on. Why had he agreed to spend the day with them?
Displaying none of her reticence, Jamie grabbed his hand. ‘I’ll show you where the bathroom is. Do you need a towel? You can borrow one of mine. Would you prefer Superman or The Incredible Hulk? Did you bring a sleeping bag for your sleepover?’
Meg watched them, man and boy, her heart twisting as she saw hero-worship and trust in her son’s eyes. This is what it should have been like. How it should have been for Jamie. Didn’t every child have a right to that?
Part of her wanted to reach out and hug him close—warn him that trusting came with a high price. But another part of her—a small part—wanted to walk further down the path and see where it led.
As the door closed behind them, her mother handed her a cup of coffee. ‘Jamie really likes him. Relax.’
‘The fact that Jamie really likes him is the reason I can’t relax. Jamie is so trusting. He just doesn’t see bad in anyone. I’m afraid…’ Meg curled her hands around the mug. ‘I’m afraid he’s going to get hurt. How far do I let this go? How close should I let him get?’
‘You can’t protect him from everything.’