Page 42 of One Day at a Time

Six months ago, she’d have found that cute, although she’d definitely have teased him for being corny. Now she wondered if it was a line he’d used onhertoo. On the other woman.

As he closed the door behind him, Orla exhaled, stared in the mirror, reminded herself how lucky she was to see that pregnant woman staring back at her. She’d visualised herself looking like this so many times and even though her boobs ached, her backhurt and she had to pee every hour, she felt an intense gratitude for this baby.

The urge to pee yet again distracted her, so she ran to the loo, then grabbed her bag and headed out to the car, excited to be doing something that was going to be a welcome distraction from her worries about her marriage.

Last night, she’d put the address of today’s destination into her maps, so she knew it would be a twenty-five-minute drive to meet Maddie in Weirbridge. Getting the text from Maddie suggesting a coffee had been the highlight of her week and she’d immediately accepted. Her first and only ‘mum friend’. Having a pregnant pal would be great – especially after she went on maternity leave and no longer saw the girls on the ward five days a week.

She was running through the route in her mind, as she opened the car door. She’d been to the village a couple of times before, because that’s where Keli’s family lived, so she already associated Weirbridge with Sunday dinners, good times and lovely people. Hopefully Maddie would be just as nice as they were.

‘Orla, stop!’

Aidan’s voice made her jump, not just because she hadn’t realised that he was at his front door, but also because it was a barked command so different from his normal mild-mannered self.

Her stomach dropped. Did he have something else to tell her. Was there an update on Kyle’s affair with Demi? Was he about to share something that would bring her world crashing down yet again?

It was almost a relief when he pointed to her back wheel. ‘You’ve got a flat tyre.’

The new car had been an apology gift from Kyle. Not that hecalled it that, but Orla knew, because she’d previously said she loved Range Rover Evoques, but they were far too expensive and she couldn’t justify paying that much for a car, even second-hand. The gleaming white Evoque in her driveway told her that he was trying to make her happy. Not to sound ungrateful, but all it did was remind her that he’d done something so awful he’d felt the need to make this grand gesture.

Her groan was automatic. ‘Oh bugger. The one day I’ve got to be somewhere.’

‘I can change it for you if you have a spare?’

She took in his smart suit, under a black wool coat and wondered if his sisters helped plan his wardrobe or if he was just the kind of guy who took an interest in fashion. ‘Thank you, but that’s not exactly a tyre-changing outfit.’ That made him smile. ‘And, also, I was meeting someone for coffee before they start work, so I don’t have time to wait for it to be changed. I’ll just cancel and call the AA.’

‘Where are you headed? I could give you a lift?’

‘Weirbridge. I’m sure that’s nowhere near where you’re going.’ Why would he be travelling twenty-five minutes outside the city?

‘Actually, I’m going to Bankend, which is right by there. I’ve got a meeting with a client there. Small world. It’s no problem to take you if you’d be okay getting a taxi back?’

Weighing up her options took all of two seconds. The price of a taxi back from Weirbridge was worth it to make her coffee date with Maddie.

‘If you’re sure you don’t mind, that would be great. Thank you.’ Her gaze went to the next problem on the horizon. Very pregnant lady. Very low flash sports car. ‘Although, you might need a crane to get me in and out of your car.’

In the end, he patiently waited as she lowered herself in, arse first, before somehow twisting around and pulling her legs in last.Despite the chill of a typical winter day, she could feel trickles of sweat run down her back, and she knew her face was now a delicate shade of post box red. If she left a damp patch on the back of his seat, she’d be mortified. Why, oh why did she seem to be in an embarrassing situation every time she met this man? And what were they going to talk about for twenty-five minutes on the way to Weirbridge? Their only common ground was that they lived in the same street and his sister had exposed her husband’s affair. Maybe accepting a lift hadn’t been such a great idea after all. And why wouldn’t her back stop blooming sweating?

‘So… anything nice planned for this week?’ Jeez, she sounded inane, but it was all she could come up with while panicking about the silence and the sweat.

‘Actually yeah. Tonight there’s a big party at the bar my sister, Kimi, works in. It’s a year since it opened, so they’re having a birthday celebration for the staff and invited guests. My sisters are forcing me to go.’

Orla didn’t vocalise the thought that immediately ran through her mind. That was the bar that Kyle went to when he was having the affair. The one that Demi worked in. So was he going there tonight? No, he wasn’t, because he was taking her out. That was confirmation, right there, that his affair was definitely over. Done. Time to accept that and get on with forgiving him and living the rest of their lives together.

The thought lifted her spirits enough to stop the sweating and, weirdly, as they drew up outside the Copper Curls in Weirbridge, she realised that they’d chatted the whole way about… Actually, she wasn’t quite sure. It had been one of those easy conversations that had drifted through family and work and made loads of small diversions along the way. All she knew was that when they arrived, her cheeks ached a little from smiling. That’s when she faced the next problem. Somehow, she’d manoeuvred her bump into the low, sexy sports car seat, but she wasn’t sure how she was getting it back out.

He must have read her mind. ‘Stay right there, and I’ll come and help you out,’ he offered, as Orla’s cheeks burned. If there was a ‘For Sale’ sign outside this lovely man’s house next week, she’d completely understand.

He came around to the passenger side of the car to help pull her out, and when she hugged him to say thank you, she was slightly concerned that her back was probably still a tad damp. Yep, that ‘For Sale’ sign could definitely happen due to neighbours that had become a complete liability.

Blushing, she waved goodbye, then sprinted to the door as quickly as her condition would allow to escape the rain that was beginning to fall. Maddie had already explained to her that the salon and café shared a space and as soon as she entered, she could see what a great idea that was. It smelled of hot cinnamon buns, and there were already several people sitting around the café tables.

‘Orla! I’m so glad you could come by. Sheena couldn’t make it because she’s working today, but she says she’ll meet us next time.’ Maddie got up from a table, where Orla saw she’d been sitting with two other women, one about the same age as them and one in maybe her fifties or early sixties. ‘And sorry to make it so early, but I have my first client at ten thirty.’

Orla shook her head, spraying little droplets of rain. ‘Not at all. I’m so glad you texted. It’s lovely to be out and about. Although, I am now suddenly aware that I’m hungry, and I haven’t had my hair done for six months.’

‘Well, you’ve come to the right place,’ the older lady said, and Orla flushed, mortified.

‘Oh no, that sounded like I was hinting for a hairdo, and I totally wasn’t.’