April looked around the room, her green eyes skittering over all the items on the shelves. ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with C.’
‘Coriander.’ Marcus was absolutely sure he was right. Her gaze had rested on the herb section for a few extra seconds.
‘Nope.’
‘How do I know that you aren’t changing your mind? Shouldn’t you write it down somewhere?’
A roll of her eyes indicated disbelief. ‘For a start, C isn’t for “cheat”. Second—surely we can trust each other to play a kids’ game?’
Humph. ‘China...cake mix...coffee...cafetière...’
April kept on shaking her head. Sitting there hugging her knees she looked absurdly youthful, and more than a little gleeful at his continued failure.
‘There is nothing else in here that begins with a C. Come on, admit it—you’re stringing me along.’ He’d known trust was overrated.
‘Nope. Do you give up?’
Reluctantly, after a final scan of the shelves, he nodded. ‘OK. I give up.’
She gave a small crow of laughter and pointed upwards. ‘Ceiling.’
‘I cannot believe I didn’t get that.’
‘
Hey, it’s your first game—cut yourself some slack! My turn again.’
Many games later, Marcus shook his head. ‘You are clearly an expert in this. You must have gone on a lot of car journeys in your childhood.’
‘A fair few—and my sisters and I were all fiercely competitive so I had to be good! Especially as I’m the youngest.’
‘It sounds like you were close when you were young.’
‘We were. I was lucky to have such a lovely childhood—and my parents are still as in love now as they were then. They gave us the right balance of love and care and boundaries. There was lots of laughter and fun, but we were also encouraged to do well and reach our potential.’
‘And you’re still close now?’
‘Yes. We are.’
‘So surely you must want to recreate that kind of family life yourself? Yet you told me that you want your life to remain exactly as it is. And if your parents encouraged you to reach your potential, surely you want to advance your career? Move on to more serious journalism...?’
There was so much about April that he didn’t understand, and he wanted to.
‘It doesn’t work like that. My upbringing was fantastic, but that doesn’t mean I can magically recreate it. It’s not like copying a painting. My life is fine as it is.’
‘So this is what you want? To be a celebrity lifestyle writer? To be single? That’s all you want for the rest of your days?’
‘Yes. Why is that so hard to believe? Don’t you want to remain single for the rest of your days?’
‘Yes, but I haven’t signed up to a life of celibacy. And I have goals. I want to learn how to fly a plane and do stunt flying. I want to build more community centres. I want to help take Lycander into the future. Expand my security business.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s important to have dreams.’
April closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. ‘I appreciate the concern, but why does it matter to you so much?’
‘Because you only get one life—and, like you said earlier, that is the most important thing. Life. So don’t waste the one you have. Make the choice to go for what you want.’
‘I have made that choice.’ Her words held finality. ‘My life is how I want it to be.’
As he opened his mouth to argue the overhead light went out, plunging them into darkness, and she gasped. On instinct he reached out and found her hand, clasped it firmly in his.