Louise Bentley is a feisty, wild, 'let's-go-to-Capri-for-the-weekend-yeah?' kind of girl. She spends her days working at a party-planning company. Oh, and she never wants kids. Ever.
Ben Langford is a studious, quiet, 'I'm-busy-reading' sort of man...
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Louise was relieved to find the house in one piece.
Natalia — Ben's childhood nanny — was sitting on the sofa, eating a bowl of popcorn and cackling at a German soap opera. A stack of romance books sat next to her. She looked up as they entered, spilling popcorn on the couch. Louise nodded at the top book in the pile: The Duke of Wicked Lies.
"Well?" Louise asked. "What did you think?"
Natalia shrugged. "It was okay."
"Only okay?"
"It was very..." Natalia seemed to think this through. "Tame. Not enough sexy time."
Ben turned to hang up his coat, the tips of his ears turning red. Louise smirked. He looked mildly traumatized at the idea of his former nanny using the phrase "sexy time."
"How were the kids?" Ben asked.
Natalia shrugged. "Nobody's dead."
"Well," Louise said dryly, "that's a good start."
Ben asked Natalia how much they owed her, and Louise took the opportunity to slip upstairs. Giggles drifted down the corridor, followed by a shushing noise. She smiled, following the sound to Hugh's room.
A fortress was set up in the middle of the room, a ramshackle tower of white sheets and chairs. Someone had switched on the stars; yellow pinpricks dotted the ceiling, a million glittering fireflies. She could see black silhouettes twisting under the sheets.
Louise paused outside the tent. "My goodness. Where could Hugh and Vienna be?"
Giggling.
"Did they sneak outside somehow?"
More giggling.
"I know." Louise yanked back the curtain. "They're in here!"
Vienna squealed, launching herself at her. Louise collapsed on to the floor of the tent, ruffling the toddler's dark curls. Across the tent, Hugh gave her a long-suffering "I-know-what-you're-doing-but-I'll-play-along" sort of look. Louise stuck out her tongue.
"Well?" Ben asked, ducking in after her. "Everyone's still breathing?"
She smiled. "Indeed."
He lay down next to her. "All limbs still intact?"
"For now."
Ben pillowed his arms behind his head. His white shirt rode up, revealing a strip of flat stomach, and his hair was still damp from the rain. Louise hastily averted her gaze. No need to scar the children.
"So," Ben said. "I was offered a promotion."
Louise stilled. "You were?"
"Yup." Ben's eyes were fixed on the roof of the tent. "Victor called me into his office this afternoon." A pause. "He offered me a role as a partner."
