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  Copyright © 2012 Jill Mansell

  The right of Jill Mansell to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2012

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

  eISBN : 978 0 7553 5598 3

  HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  An Hachette UK Company

  338 Euston Road

  London NW1 3BH

  www.headline.co.uk

  www.hachette.co.uk

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Book

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  About the Book

  Dexter Yates loves his fun, care-free London life; he has money, looks and girlfriends galore. But everything changes overnight when his sister dies, leaving him in charge of her eight-month-old daughter Delphi. How is he ever going to cope?

  Comic-strip artist Molly Hayes lives in the beautiful Cotswold village of Briarwood. When it comes to relationships, she has a history of choosing all the wrong men. Leaving the city behind, Dex moves to Briarwood – a much better place to work on his parenting skills – and he and Molly become neighbours. There’s an undeniable connection between them. But if Dexter’s going to adapt, he first has a lot to learn about Molly, about other people’s secrets . . . and about himself.

  About the Author

  The author of many bestselling novels, most recently A WALK IN THE PARK, Jill Mansell is a full-time writer. She lives in Bristol with her family.

  For Dad, Paul and Judi, with my love.

  Massive thanks are due to Helen Roberts, a Twitter friend and brilliant social worker who generously volunteered to advise me on the subjects of guardianship and adoption for this book. The information she gave me was wonderfully helpful, and I’m so grateful for her expertise and enthusiasm. Needless to say, any errors are mine alone.

  Chapter 1

  It was almost midnight and Dexter Yates was in bed with his girlfriend when his phone burst into life. Possessed of lightning reflexes, she grabbed it off the bedside table before he could reach it himself.

  Honestly, some people were so mistrustful.

  ‘It says Laura.’ Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the name flashing up on the screen. ‘Who’s Laura?’

  Jealousy was never a good look. ‘Can I have my phone please?’

  ‘Who is she?’

  Heroically, Dexter didn’t say, ‘Someone an awful lot nicer than you.’ He held out his hand and waited for her to pass the phone to him, which she did with the kind of huffy annoyance that meant he definitely wouldn’t be seeing her again after tonight.

  ‘Laura, hey.’

  ‘Oh Dex, I’m sorry, I know it’s late. Did I wake you up?’

  He smiled; only Laura could think he might be asleep before midnight. ‘Of course not. How’s everything with you?’

  ‘Everything . . . is perfect.’ The joy was there in her voice, shimmering down the phone line, and in that moment he knew what had happened. ‘It’s a girl, Dex. She’s here! And so beautiful, you won’t believe it. Seven pounds twelve ounces. It’s just the most amazing thing ever.’

  His smile broadened. ‘A girl! Fantastic. And why wouldn’t she be beautiful? When can I come and see her?’

  ‘Well, not tonight, obviously. Visiting hours are ten till twelve in the morning or seven till nine in the evening. Will you be able to make it tomorrow, d’you think? After work?’

  ‘I’ll make sure I can,’ Dex promised. ‘I’ll be there. Does she look like me?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous, she’s only an hour old. You’re twenty-eight. You have stubble.’

  ‘You know, you should really think about becoming a stand-up comedian.’

  ‘After all the gas and air I’ve had tonight, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t be a stand-up anything. OK, I’m getting low on battery here. I’d better go. Do you want me to email a photo or would you rather wait until you see her tomorrow?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll wait. And hey,’ Dex’s voice softened, ‘well done, you.’

  He ended the call, then lay back against the pillows and gazed up at the ceiling. Wow.

  ‘At the risk of sounding repetitive, who’s Laura?’ The atmosphere in the bedroom had by this stage turned distinctly frosty. ‘And why would you want to know if her baby looks like you?’

  ‘Come on.’ Dexter swung his legs out of bed and reached for his jeans and T-shirt. ‘It’s getting late. I’ll give you a lift home.’

  ‘Dex—’

  ‘Seriously? OK,’ said Dexter. ‘Laura’s my sister. And she’s just given birth to my niece.’

  Laura was dozing when the nurse tapped on the door and eased it open.

  ‘Hello? Are you awake?’

  Laura opened her eyes; now that she was a mother, she was going to have to get used to having her sleep interrupted. ‘Kind of, yes. What is it?’

  ‘You’ve got a visitor,’ whispered the nurse.

  ‘What, now?’

  ‘I know, and it’s not really allowed but when he explained the situation . . . well, what else could I do? I couldn’t send him away.’

  The way the girl’s eyes were sparkling and her tone of voice told Laura all she needed to know. She hauled herself into a sitting position – ooch, pain – as the door opened wider and the nurse led their nocturnal visitor into the side ward. ‘And the situation is?’

  ‘I have to be at Heathrow in three hours to catch my flight to New York.’ Dex turned to the nurse and said, ‘Darling, thank you so much. You’re an absolute star.’

  Laura waited until the besotted girl had left the room before rolling
her eyes. ‘And on a scale of one to ten, exactly how true is that story?’

  ‘Ah, but it got me in here, didn’t it?’ Dex’s legendary charm was a long-standing joke between them. ‘I couldn’t wait. Too excited to sleep. These are for you, by the way. Sorry they’re a bit crap.’

  He’d dropped into the twenty-four-hour supermarket in West Kensington and bought up masses of luridly bright orange roses, a giant Toblerone, a toy octopus and many, many bags of jelly worms. As you do.

  ‘They’re lovely,’ said Laura as he dumped everything on to the bed.

  ‘Well, if you will go around having babies in the middle of the night, the choices are limited. Anyway, come here.’ He gave her a hug and a noisy kiss on the cheek. ‘You clever thing. Well done. So, where is it?’

  ‘It?’

  ‘Sorry, she.’ Dex shrugged unrepentantly. ‘But we’ve been calling it “it” for months. Where are you keeping her then? In a cage under the bed?’

  ‘If you’re going to be like this, I won’t show her to you.’ But Laura didn’t mean it; from where he was standing, the cot was out of his line of vision. Tilting her head to the left, she indicated that Dex should come round to the other side of the bed.

  That was when she sat back and watched as Dex – possibly for the first time in his life – fell in love.

  It was unbelievable. You could actually see it happening. One minute he was interested, the next he was completely and utterly entranced. Before long, as if the momentousness of the occasion had made its presence felt, the newest addition to the family stirred and opened her eyes.

  ‘Her name’s Delphi,’ said Laura.

  ‘Oh my God.’ Dex exhaled slowly. ‘Look at her.’

  Laura smiled. ‘She’s looking at you.’

  ‘She’s beautiful. I mean, really beautiful.’ He was transfixed.

  Was it possible to burst with pride? Laura said, ‘Told you she was.’

  ‘Can I pick her up?’

  ‘So long as you don’t drop her.’

  Dex’s dark hair fell forward as he bent down and began to slide his hands beneath Delphi’s tiny shoulders. He stopped and looked over at Laura. ‘I don’t know how.’

  Dex spent his life being laid-back and supremely confident; it was endearing to see him admit to a weakness. Laura said encouragingly, ‘You can do it. Just remember to support her head. Like this.’ She demonstrated with her own hands and watched from the bed as Dex copied her. ‘There you go, that’s it.’

  He lifted her up, exclaiming, ‘She’s like a sunflower with a wobbly neck. Oh wow, Delphi Yates, look at you. Look at your hands.’ He shook his head in wonder. ‘What about those fingernails? And the eyelashes! Look, she’s blinking . . .’

  Laura’s smile broadened. He really was in love. She watched him take Delphi on a tour of the tiny side ward, finishing up in front of the mirror. Having carefully settled her into the crook of his arm, Dex studied the reflection of the two of them together. ‘Hello, Delphi. That’s you, that is! Go on, give us a little wave. Oh no, don’t pull that face, it’s your birthday, you’re not allowed to cry . . . nooo, look in the mirror, have a dance!’

  ‘She might be hungry,’ said Laura.

  ‘No problem, we’ll give her some Haribo. Hey, Delph, fancy a jelly worm? What’s your favourite colour?’

  ‘Dex, you can’t give her Haribo!’

  He gave her a look and she realised he’d been joking. ‘No? Well, that’s good, more for us. There, she’s not going to cry now anyway. Relax, Mum.’

  Mum. After all this time, against all the odds, it had finally happened. Just as she’d given up hope that it ever would. At the age of forty-one she had miraculously fallen pregnant and now Delphi was here.

  ‘I’m a mum,’ said Laura. ‘Can you believe it?’

  ‘And this one’s strong.’ Dex’s index finger was being grasped by Delphi’s tiny curled hand; he mimed agonising pain. ‘I think she’s going to be a wrestler when she grows up.’

  ‘Here, let me take a photo.’ Laura scooped up her phone and signalled for him to move his face closer to Delphi’s.

  ‘So did it hurt, giving birth?’ He grimaced. ‘Don’t give me any gory details.’

  ‘It was easy,’ Laura assured him. ‘Like shelling peas. No pain at all.’

  ‘Good girl.’ Happy with the lie, Dex nodded approvingly at Delphi. ‘Wait till you’re older. I’m going to teach you all the tricks of the trade. How to keep boys under control, how to break their hearts . . .’ Delphi was gazing solemnly up at him with saucer eyes as he spoke. ‘I’ll have to check them out first, see if they’re worthy of a date with Delphi Yates before letting you out of the house with them. And they’ll have me to answer to if they mess you around.’

  ‘Can you imagine? She’ll be a teenager,’ Laura marvelled. ‘Wearing unsuitable outfits, drinking cider and moaning about us behind our backs. One more photo.’

  He held Delphi up again, careful to cradle her head in the palm of his hand, and Laura felt her heart take a picture of its own. There was a connection between the two of them that was clear to see; as they gazed into each other’s eyes, it was as if they were sharing the most amazing secret. The physical similarities were there too, in the shape of their eyes and the angle of their dark brows; you just knew Delphi would grow up looking like Dex. Laura pressed the button and captured the moment forever. Magically, their images were now enclosed within the phone.

  ‘Send me a copy,’ said Dex.

  ‘I will. You’ll have to be careful who you show it to, mind. Might cramp your style.’

  ‘True.’ He grinned at Delphi. ‘Is that what you’re going to do, hmm? That’s the plan? Oh my, you are dangerous.’

  ‘How’s the new girlfriend?’ Laura couldn’t remember her name but it didn’t matter, Dex no longer expected her to. He got through them at such a rate of knots.

  ‘It’s over.’ Dex looked mournful. ‘I’m all alone and single again. Poor me.’

  As if. Laura said, ‘I know, you’ll probably be a sad and lonely bachelor for the rest of your life.’

  The door creaked open a few inches and the nurse popped her head round to whisper, ‘Sorry, but you’re going to have to go now before I get into trouble.’

  Dex said at once, ‘And we can’t have that. Thanks so much for letting me in. You’ve been an angel and I really appreciate it.’

  ‘That’s OK.’ Her cheeks dimpled with pleasure. ‘At least you got the chance to see Delphi.’

  ‘Which makes two new people I’m really glad I met tonight. Oh God, that sounds pukey, forget I said it.’ Having carefully placed Delphi back in Laura’s outstretched arms, Dex kissed each of them in turn and said, ‘Time for you to get some sleep. By the way, you don’t happen to know if Alice has a boyfriend, do you?’

  Behind him, Alice was still hovering half in and half out of the door. She blushed scarlet at the realisation he’d checked out her name badge earlier.

  ‘Funnily enough,’ said Laura, ‘I didn’t get round to asking her. I was kind of busy having a baby.’

  ‘Well, she isn’t wearing any rings,’ said Dex. ‘So that’s a good start.’

  ‘I don’t have a boyfriend,’ said Alice. ‘Why?’

  He turned to look at her. ‘I was just wondering when you’re next due an evening off. Because if you think you might like to come out for a drink with me, I’d definitely like to go out for a drink with you.’

  Laura watched and waited; he was completely incorrigible. Flirting came as naturally to Dexter as breathing. Were his chat-up lines spontaneous or did he keep to a tried and tested rota?

  The recipient of this one, meanwhile, was flushing with pleasure. ‘Um, well, I’m actually off tomorrow night . . .’

  ‘Fantastic!’

  ‘But that wouldn’t be any good, would it?’ Alice was shaking her head. ‘Because you’ll be in New York!’

  Dex tapped his temple. ‘You’re right. I’ve got jetlag already. Although it’s only a flying visit.
I’ll be back the day after that.’

  ‘I’m free next Thursday.’ Alice looked expectant.

  ‘I tell you what, give me a contact number and I’ll call you. I’m not an axe murderer, I promise.’ He took out his mobile and keyed in the number she gave him. ‘And now I must go before you get told off. This place is such a maze, isn’t it? I don’t know how I’m going to find my way out.’

  Visibly bowled over, Alice said, ‘Come on, I’ll show you where the lifts are.’

  ‘Bye.’ Waving from the bed as they left the room, Laura called out mischievously, ‘Don’t forget to bring us back something fabulous from New York!’

  Chapter 2

  At the precise moment Dexter Yates was leaving one hospital in the early hours of the morning, a hundred miles away Molly Hayes was pulling up outside another.

  And wondering how she’d been blackmailed into doing so.

  Except there was an answer to that, and it was niggling at her like a tiny sharp-edged stone in her shoe. Because there was a fine line between being a good sport and a soft touch.

  And she was beginning to think she might have just crossed it.

  On the upside, at least there was space to park at this time of night, although from the sound of it, there were some pretty inebriated patients too, determined not to let the unfortunate turn their evening out had taken spoil their fun. Hopping out of the car – no she jolly well wasn’t going to Pay and Display – Molly made her way past the ticket machine and headed across to A&E. Approaching the entrance, she caught her own reflection in the glass, blond hair uncombed and all over the place. Oh well, too bad.

  It soon became apparent that the inebriated patient making the most noise of all was the one she’d come to pick up.

  Oh joy.

  ‘Hey, here she is!’ Spotting her, Graham abruptly broke off his rendition of ‘Return to Sender’ and launched into ‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’. Which was even more embarrassing than usual, given that she was currently looking more like Wurzel Gummidge.

  Soon realising this for himself, Graham peered in puzzlement at Molly and said, ‘What’s happened to your hair? And your . . . you know, face?’ He made scrunched-up motions with his fingers. ‘Why are you all . . . different?’