By Virtue Fall (The Shakespeare Sisters 4)

‘What?’

‘I’m teaching you to be laid back, right? What’s more laid back than taking your kid out onto the water? You have to be chilled out to

do that.’

‘Or have the best life jacket ever.’

He laughed. ‘Life jackets I have. Now are you up for the challenge?’

She glanced at her watch. It was seven-thirty on a Saturday morning. ‘You mean now?’ she asked. ‘I have to be at work later this afternoon.’

‘I’ll have you both back on dry land by then,’ he said, sliding his glasses over his head. ‘Probably.’ That last word was accompanied by a wink.

‘You’d better,’ she told him. ‘Otherwise I’ll have to teach you my first lesson. Which is if you have responsibilities, you meet them. Otherwise you can lose your only source of income.’

His face took on a serious expression. ‘I hear you, and I promise you’ll be back in time for work. I’d never get in the way of a lady and her source of income.’

Half an hour later, they were all dressed and scrambling into Ryan’s car. Juliet strapped Poppy into her seat, testing the straps to make sure they were secure.

‘How big is your boat, Ryan?’ Poppy asked, leaning as far forward as her car seat would let her. She frowned when the straps stopped her in her tracks.

‘She’s a forty-footer. Bigger than a row boat, smaller than a ship.’

‘How do you know she’s a she?’ Poppy asked. Juliet couldn’t help but smile. Her daughter was always full of questions, but at least somebody else was bearing the brunt today. She glanced at Ryan from the corner of her eye. His hands were firmly on the wheel, his eyes trained on the road ahead, but it was impossible to ignore the grin on his face.

‘Because she’s beautiful,’ he told her.

‘Boys can be beautiful too,’ Poppy protested. ‘So it can’t be that.’

‘She’s called Miss Maisie,’ Charlie interjected. ‘So she can’t be a boy. I wish she was though, boys are cool.’

‘Girls are cooler.’

Juliet tuned the two of them out, this time turning to look at Ryan. Though he was concentrating, he was still relaxed, his expression light and easy. She took advantage of the fact he was looking away to take him in. Square jaw, straight nose, eyes that matched the ocean.

He was way too attractive for his own good. Or her good for that matter. They were just friends, she reminded herself, nothing more.

‘Are you sure this is okay?’ she asked him, glancing back at Charlie and Poppy. ‘I hope they don’t bicker all day. She can be a bit of a handful.’

Ryan pulled out onto the harbour road. ‘She’s nothing like you, is she?’

‘She’s fearless. So yeah, nothing like me at all.’

‘You don’t think you’re fearless?’

She shook her head. ‘I’m the complete opposite. Nearly everything scares me.’

‘You moved to a strange country when you were twenty. That sounds pretty fearless.’

‘I was blinded by love.’ She said it deadpan, making him laugh.

‘What about being a single mom? That takes guts.’

‘It takes having no other choice.’

They were at a stoplight. He glanced at her, and she saw herself reflected in the mirrors of his sunglasses.

‘There’s always a choice. You could have stayed with him. You could have gone home to London and left Poppy behind. You could have done so many things, but you chose to stay and fight for your kid. That takes guts.’