href="#u7e357af5-bb58-5b6b-811c-1de81e3d3600">CHAPTER TEN
‘PRESS SNOOZE,’ MARNIE said.
‘It’s on your side.’
It was very hard, trying to reach the alarm with Harry spooned into her and his strong arm holding her tight.
Marnie pressed snooze and felt his erection nudging, pulled a little packet from the drawer and, really, she’d have loved not to bother. And Harry would have loved not to bother either.
They were too sensible for that.
It did break the moment, though, a moment that neither usually minded breaking, but Harry soon got back behind her. ‘Where were we?’ he asked, nuzzling the back of her neck. The alarm going off the second time didn’t actually ruin things as she reached over and turned it off. It felt natural for Harry to pull her back to his warm body and slide himself in.
Marnie loved half waking to Harry. She loved this slow, lazy sex where she barely had to move, and she loved his breath in her ear.
‘I remember you now,’ Harry said. ‘I offered to buy you a drink.’
‘No,’ Marnie corrected, as he rocked deep inside her. ‘The drinks were free that night.’
‘I offered to get you a drink…’
‘No,’ Marnie corrected again, but she couldn’t really think straight. She was trying to turn her head to meet his mouth, trying to stop her own orgasm because she didn’t want it over just yet, or maybe she did because conversation was forgotten now as both surrendered to the bliss and then lay there for a few moments afterwards. Harry stroked her stomach; Marnie felt him soften and gradually slip away.
She didn’t want him to leave.
Harry didn’t particularly want to go home either. On a wretched, black day he’d glimpsed peace and it would be so incredibly easy to just drop all balls completely and close his eyes and sleep.
But he never would.
‘I’d better go soon.’
She turned to him and decided that, yes, he’d better because she was so comfortable, so warm, so enjoying being with him; it would be too easy to kiss him, or for them to both close their eyes and convince themselves they could wake up if they had just five minutes’ more sleep.
‘Go on.’ She disentangled herself and for Harry it was incredibly hard to haul himself out of bed.
‘When the twins are better…’
‘Harry…’ She shook her head, didn’t really want to spell out to him that a single father of two wasn’t quite the date she had in mind.
He picked up his shirt and held it up. ‘You couldn’t give this a quick iron, could you?’
‘Don’t even joke.’
As he did up his shirt, Harry caught sight of a blonde Marnie holding her son and, yes, he hadn’t been lying, he did remember her now.
‘I asked why you were leaving,’ Harry said. ‘You didn’t answer.’
‘Yes, well, you wouldn’t have liked it if I had,’ Marnie said. ‘I’d just found out I was pregnant.’
‘What went wrong?’ He wondered if he’d asked too much. There were so many no-go areas with Marnie—it would seem from her previous response that dinner and a bottle of wine was a no-no, yet, Harry realised as she started to answer him, she was prepared now to talk a little about her son.
‘Premature,’ Marnie said. ‘Poor little thing didn’t stand a chance—I had a placenta the size of an AA battery…’ It was a dark joke and Harry didn’t smile; he just picked up the photo and looked at them both as Marnie spoke on. ‘So not only was he premature, he was also small for dates. Then he got an HAI and was just too small to fight it.’
No wonder she was obsessive about hand-washing and curtains being changed, Harry thought—a hospital-acquired infection explained a lot of things but it was as if she’d read his thoughts.
‘I was always a clean-freak.’ Marnie smiled. ‘Even before Declan got so ill but, yes, I go a bit overboard at work.’
‘I don’t blame you.’
‘You’d better go,’ Marnie said. It felt strange to watch him holding her picture. It felt strange to be discussing that time with anyone other than Siobhan, who, even on the other side of the world, still nursed her through the yearly hell of birthdays and anniversaries and all the things you really needed a cuddle for, but a computer screen or telephone call had to suffice.
Harry didn’t want to go, not just because he wanted to climb back into bed and forget the world for a moment. It was more that there was so much to Marnie that he’d like to know, so much about today he was having trouble letting go of.
So many things that he didn’t want to end, and so he tried again.
‘Do you want to go out at the weekend?’
‘I’d imagine you’d have trouble getting a babysitter for twins with chickenpox.’
‘I guess…’ He felt strange walking off, as if he’d been using her, when for Harry it had been anything but. ‘Have you had chickenpox?’
‘I have.’
‘Maybe you could come over. I could cook.’
‘Harry, don’t spoil it.’ She was incredibly direct.
She made no excuses, Harry noticed as he dressed, and he should be glad of it. Glad for a woman who knew what she wanted—and a single dad to twins wasn’t high on her list.
She was just moving to the top of his.
Marnie was lying in bed, watching him as he did up his tie but then, as he came over and sat down to kiss her goodbye, she suddenly found a solution.
This too will pass.
She could almost hear Dr Vermont say the words.
‘Thank God we don’t work together…’ Harry gave a rueful smile as she reached for his tie and, as Marnie so loved to do, straightened it.
‘About that,’ Marnie said.
‘About what?’
‘Do you have a bath?’
‘Yes.’
‘How about I move in for a week?’
Harry grinned. ‘This from a woman who doesn’t even want to come out with me for dinner.’
‘I’m not talking about dating or romance,’ Marnie said. ‘I’m talking about me moving in and, between us, taking care of the children. Harry, you’re in the eye of the storm at the moment but in a week’s time you’ll have your lady back to help with the children, Juan will be working…If by then you still want to
