The Accidental Romeo

‘I can come back if you need me,’ Harry said. ‘My babysitter’s here.’

‘There’s really no point,’ Marnie said. ‘As I said, it’s all under control. The team have been fantastic.’

‘Shouldn’t you be at home?’ Harry asked, glancing at his watch. She’d been there since long before nine after all.

‘Shouldn’t you be?’ Marnie asked, and Harry gave a thin smile as he heard the chatter coming from the kitchen.

Marnie had made a very good point.

Happy that the patient was being well looked after, Harry headed into the kitchen and to the delicious scent of dinner. ‘Smells good,’ Harry said.

‘I’m trying something different.’ Evelyn smiled at the twins. ‘Tonight we’re eating Russian!’

‘Ooh!’ Charlotte was delighted, Adam not so sure, and Harry was simply grinning because Evelyn was so Australian she thought beef stroganoff was exotic.

Having Evelyn look after the children had, absolutely, been the best idea Harry had had.

Actually, it had been Juan’s idea that he get an older carer for the children.

Yep, mea culpa, Harry had slept with the last nanny and the one before that.

It was exhausting being a widower at times!

Seriously.

Harry didn’t want a wife—he’d had Jill. Sex, though, that was another matter entirely. Why did women always have to complicate things by falling in love?

At least Evelyn didn’t read a single thing into it when Harry suggested that instead of dashing off she join them for dinner.

‘Are you sure?’ Evelyn checked, but she was already pulling out a chair. ‘How was work?’

‘Good,’ Harry said, because, given he was home on time, it must have been a good day. ‘We’ve got a new nurse manager just started,’ Harry said. ‘She seems very efficient.’

‘She’s rude,’ Charlotte said.

‘Rude?’ Harry looked at his daughter, who was spooning sour cream onto her dinner, and tried to recall them meeting her. ‘How can you say Marnie’s rude? You barely even met her.’

‘She didn’t say hello to us,’ Charlotte said.

‘It was her first day,’ Harry commented. ‘I’m sure she had other things to think of.’ Though, as Harry wrestled the sour cream from Charlotte, he did dwell on it for just a second. Charlotte was right, well, not the rude part but usually people did comment on the twins, especially when they realised that they were twins. Charlotte, Harry decided, was just far too used to having people drop to their knees and tell her how cute she was.

Dinner was nice and Harry refused Evelyn’s offer to stay and do the dishes. ‘I can stack a dishwasher!’ Harry said, as he saw her to the door.

‘If you need me tonight,’ Evelyn offered, ‘you just have to call.’

‘I shan’t tonight,’ Harry said. ‘Juan’s on. Things might get a bit busy, though, once he’s off on his honeymoon.’

‘No problem.’

Evelyn really was fantastic, Harry thought as he saw her out. Evelyn was their next-door-but-one neighbour. She had lost her husband many years ago and desperately missed her daughter, who had moved with her husband and baby to China. Evelyn had actually cried when Harry had taken up Juan’s suggestion to get someone older and Harry had asked if she could be there for the twins.

For cash!

Perfect.

Evelyn was saving up to go and visit her family in China and she got to spoil Charlotte and Adam in the interim.

The twins went to day care but on the odd day they were sick, Evelyn was there, and if Harry was on call, Evelyn slept in the nanny’s room. She didn’t even mind the odd time when Harry had to call her during the night.

It wasn’t a complete solution but for now it was working.

Wow!

It was just after seven. Dinner was done and the dishwasher was on.

‘Can we make the banana bread?’ Adam asked.

‘Yep.’

Oh, the bliss of the absence of parental guilt, Harry thought as Adam mashed bananas. In no time there was the lovely scent of banana bread filling the house as he got the twins bathed and ready for bed.

‘The frosting!’ Charlotte said. ‘You promised that I could make the frosting.’

‘I know, but the bread had to cool.’ Harry looked up the recipe on the Internet and squeezed some orange juice, which Charlotte mashed into cream cheese. By nine p.m. the twins were in bed, there was a slice of banana bread wrapped for Adam’s breakfast and a small bowl of frosting for Charlotte. And there was just a glimpse of order to the home for the first time in a very long time.

Harry lay back on the couch and yawned.

They’d made it through another day.

He thought of Marnie stopping Miriam from going to fetch the children, and the strangest thing was he was actually grateful for it. Harry didn’t want people rushing to pick up his children and he loathed all the favours that he constantly had to ask.

It was Marnie who had done him a true favour today.

She’d given him an evening at home with the twins.

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