Page 28 of Riding the Waves
“Do you know how long Polly will be with you?” Amy asked, reaching out to take the toddler’s hand.
“No. It was supposed to be two weeks, but it keeps getting extended.” She pressed a kiss to Polly’s forehead. “Which is fine by us.”
A lump rose in Amy’s throat at the thought of getting attached to a child, then having to give them up.
“It must be very rewarding,” she said, forcing positivity to her voice. “To know you’re helping children when they need it.”
“It is,” Tara said. “We’re still getting used to the whole thing, but it’s definitely rewarding.”
“I need to go,” Scarlett said. “Thank you for the advice.”
“You’re welcome.” Tara walked to the door with them. “Nice to meet you, Amy. Tell Damian I said hello.”
“Will do,” Amy said, tickling little Polly’s tummy before they left.
“Tara’s very nice,” she said to Scarlett in the car. “You two seem to be close.”
“She gives me good advice,” Scarlett said, immediately opening her laptop again.
“That’s nice.” Curiosity niggled at Amy. “Was it more opinions about covers? Or other work stuff?”
“No,” Scarlett muttered, then sighed heavily. “It was sex advice.”
Amy’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“There’s some stuff I don’t like to ask Fraser about. It’s easier to talk to other women, but Emily and Lizzie can be a bit …” She shook her head. “They get a bit embarrassed and awkward about it all. And, I’ll be honest, I don’t actually think they know that much. Tara’s much easier to speak to about that stuff.”
“Right.” Amy wondered if Scarlett would ever stop surprising her. “It’s good to have friends who you can be open with and get advice from.” Honestly, it was something she’d like to have in her life. She hadn’t had a lot of significant female friendship since she’d had the boys. The other mums tended to be older than her, whereas at work she had different priorities than the women in her age bracket. They were career-focused during the day and party-focused in their free time, which was a foreign concept to Amy.
“Any more questions, or can I get back to work?” Scarlett asked in the brusque tone that Amy was becoming accustomed to.
Fine raindrops dappled the windscreen as they set off, and it had turned to a downpour by the time they reached Hope Cove.
One of the great things about reading was how it seemed to lend itself perfectly to any weather. It had felt wonderful to sit in the sunshine with a book, and it was equally appealing to curl up under a blanket in the armchair while rain thrashed against the windows.
Amy set herself the task of reading through the opening chapters of five of the books in the file Lizzie had sent her. Then she’d let herself read more of Scarlett’s novel, which she was desperate to continue with.
Only one book from the submissions caught her interest – a memoir by a young woman writing about her disastrous dating experiences. She’d just put it aside to pick up Scarlett’s book when her phone rang.
Damian’s name on the screen had an instant effect on her. Automatically, she corrected her posture, as though he could somehow see her.
His voice as he greeted her sent the hairs on the back of her neck standing to attention, and it occurred to her that she’d love to sink back into the chair and idly chat with him. They didn’t do that any more though. They spoke about the kids and not much else.
“The boys keep asking when they’ll see you,” he said, proving her point.
“When’s good for you? I’m pretty flexible. I’m just meeting with Lizzie and Emily and Scarlett again on Friday afternoon.”
“How about you come over tomorrow evening? You could have dinner with us and hang around for bedtime again.”
“That sounds good. Are you okay? You sound stressed.”
“I’m fine. I just think it would be good to have some sort of plan for when the boys will see you, so I have a definite answer when they ask. Marty seems unsettled, knowing you’re nearby but not seeing you.”
Amy felt instantly guilty, which seemed to be her default when it came to her children. Actually, with most of her relationships these days.
“Sorry,” Damian said. “I didn’t mean that to sound like a dig. It’s been a long day.”
“That’s okay.” It occurred to her just how demanding Billy and Marty could be and felt yet another stab of guilt that she’d been enjoying a really lovely day while Damian had been dealing with the boys. The fact that she did it the vast majority of the time didn’t ease her guilt about taking time for herself.