Strictly Come Dating (The Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection, Book 3)

by Kathryn Freeman

  ‘God, Mags, don’t let him do that to you. You’re incredible. You’re raising two happy, well-adjusted, amazing children while working in a high-pressure career. I can’t even organise my own life.’

  ‘No.’ Her hand reached for his. ‘Deciding what you want to do, where to settle. That all comes from the heart, not the head.’ She gave him a watery smile. ‘It will come, when you’re ready.’

  He thought maybe, just maybe, he was ready, but it was too heavy a topic for now and besides, he owed it to her, to both of them, to be certain before he made any drastic move. So instead of pushing the conversation in a direction he suspected neither of them was ready for, he forced a smile on his face. ‘Right, better get you and Justin home.’

  She gave him a confused look. ‘Justin?’

  He cast a look behind him to the bee sat on the back seat, wearing a seat belt. ‘Justin Bee-ber.’

  Maggie groaned. ‘That’s terrible.’

  ‘Well, the challenge is on.’ He started the engine and pushed the Fiesta into gear. ‘You have around four hours to come up with a better name.’

  Bee-yonce, Bumbledore, Buzz Lightyear, Barack Obeema… Maggie had plenty of cracks at it as they headed back down the motorway.

  It was only when they passed Birmingham she started to look at her watch. ‘Are we going to make it in time? Paul said he’d bring the girls back at four.’

  He glanced at the dashboard clock. ‘I think so.’ She didn’t answer, and Seb felt the anxiety creep over her. ‘Hey, it’s not like he’s going to abandon them on the doorstep if we’re a few minutes late.’

  ‘No.’ She drew in a breath and let out a small laugh. ‘Sorry, I know it seems overly fussy, but I hate being late, especially for the girls.’

  Guilt slithered, coiling in his gut. He hadn’t been thinking of the timings when he’d pushed her onto that ghost train. ‘It’s not fussy, I suspect it’s called being a mum.’

  Glancing over at her, he caught her small smile. ‘I appreciate the cop out, but I was anal about being on time before I had children.’

  ‘Well, as long as there’s no traffic, we should be fine.’

  Of course he should never have said that, because half an hour later a sea of red brake lights flashed ahead of them. Thankfully the accident was starting to clear so the holdup was only twenty minutes, but it meant they definitely weren’t going to be back for four.

  He glanced again at Maggie as they finally left the motorway. ‘Sorry, won’t be long now.’

  ‘It’s fine.’ She looked down at her phone. ‘I’ve not heard from Paul yet, so it looks like he’s not running to schedule.’

  ‘Does he usually?’

  ‘Oh yes. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons I fell for him. His obsession with being on time makes me look chilled.’

  Seb smiled, but inside her words were like sharp needles, pricking where they touched. It made him wonder if what she’d said earlier, the so-called faults she’d listed, had been a warning to him. She might enjoy his company, enjoy the fun and flirtation, but she wasn’t going to risk her heart on a man who was so different to her. And with no firm idea what he was doing with his life, fun and flirtation were all he could reasonably offer, anyway. Especially to a woman like Maggie, who was so together, so competent and self-sufficient.

  What a shame he’d gone and buggered things up by letting his own heart become involved.

  The sound of Maggie’s phone ringing bounced him out of his thoughts.

  ‘Paul. Yes, we’re nearly with you.’ A few beats of silence, then Maggie drew in a sharp breath. Seb felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick as the air around them seemed to fill with a sense of dread. When she finally spoke again, her voice sounded tortured. ‘We’ll head straight there.’

  His fingers clenched at the steering wheel. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘It’s Tabby.’ Her voice sounded flat, as if she’d put all her emotions firmly on lockdown to deal with whatever was facing her. ‘They went to the playground to wait for us. She… she…’ Maggie let out a muffled sob. ‘She fell off the top of the climbing frame.’

  Seb’s heart almost exploded in his chest. ‘But she’s okay?’

  Maggie bit onto her lip. ‘He doesn’t know. He didn’t want to move her, she fell so badly, so he rang for an ambulance. They’ve taken her to hospital.’ She turned to him. ‘You need to take me straight there.’

  ‘Of course.’

  As he drove, his mind raced, showcasing reels of Tabby, telling him to be quiet, pouting, giggling. It was only when Seb finally pulled up outside A&E that Maggie’s words fully sank in. Take me straight there. Not take us. A slip of the tongue, or did she not want him with her?

  He turned to tell her he’d park and meet her inside, but before he could, she’d thrust open the car door. He watched, helplessly, as she ran through the double doors and disappeared.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  All Maggie’s medical training drained away when she saw Tabby lying on the hospital bed. She didn’t see a patient, one she could assess, understand what was wrong, work out how to fix. Only her precious daughter, hurt, her face as pale as the sheets she lay on.

  Before she’d gone in to see her, the doctors had assured her they didn’t think there was an issue with Tabby’s spine, but they were going to take more x-rays to be certain. She had broken her ankle, so would need to wear a special boot, and they wanted her to stay in overnight for observation.

  ‘Mum, you’re here.’ Maggie’s heart squeezed as Tabby blinked up her. ‘I fell off a climbing frame and I hurt bad. I had to go in an amb… amblance and then they took pictures of my bones.’

  Desperately trying to hold in her tears, Maggie kissed her forehead. ‘You’ve had quite an adventure.’

  ‘Where’s Penny?’

  Slipping onto the chair next to the bed, she held her precious daughter’s hand, aware it was more for her than for Tabby who, typically, appeared unfazed by her experience. ‘Your sister went with one of the nurses to find something to eat.’

  ‘Dad brung me here.’ A cloud crossed her face. ‘He wasn’t happy I fell off.’

  Maggie could imagine Paul’s reaction. ‘That’s because he was worried you’d hurt yourself.’

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘He’s gone to phone Isabelle. Apparently she had to leave.’ For a brief moment Maggie’s mind shifted to Seb. She’d been so numbed by fear, so focused on seeing Tabby, she hadn’t even said goodbye to him.

  A little while later, the male nurse came into the small side room Tabby currently had to herself, and checked Tabby’s chart.

  ‘You’re going to have to wear a special boot for about six weeks to help the ankle heal.’ He grinned at Tabby. ‘It means you can boss your parents and your big sister around for a while as you won’t be able to walk easily. You can be like, “Penny, can you get me a drink please,” and she won’t be able to complain.’

  Maggie glanced over at him. ‘Speaking of Penny, have you seen her? One of the nurses took her to a vending machine but I thought she’d be back by now.’

  The nurse smiled. ‘Don’t worry. She met your friend, the one waiting outside the ward, and said she wanted to stay with him.’

  ‘My friend?’

  It was the nurse’s turn to look anxious. ‘He said he was your friend, and Penny seemed very happy to sit with him. Tall guy, fair hair, looks like he’d be more at home riding the waves or on a beach than sitting here.’

  ‘Seb’s waiting outside?’

  The nurse breathed in a sigh of relief. ‘Yeah, that’s what he said his name was, Seb.’

  ‘I want to see Seb.’ Tabby’s eyes pleaded with her. ‘I want to show him my hurt.’

  ‘Yes, fine.’ Her mind racing, Maggie rose to her feet. ‘I’ll go and fetch him.’

  He’d stayed. Maggie couldn’t explain why the realisation made her chest hurt, and her eyes well. She’d not thought to ask him, but he’d come to support her anyway. I don’t thin
k it’s possible to date you and not fall in love with you. Her heart had nearly broken when he’d told her that. Especially when she’d looked into the deep blue of his eyes and seen everything he’d told her mirrored there. There was no guile to Seb, no playing it coy. He absolutely believed he was falling for her, and wasn’t afraid to let her know.

  Of course he’d not had a serious relationship before, so it was entirely possible his natural enthusiasm for life was running ahead of him. A life, she had to remind herself, that didn’t belong here.

  She, on the other hand, knew the cost of giving her heart away too soon. And to the wrong person. Yet when she pushed open the door to the ward and saw Seb and Penny sat on two plastic chairs, their heads down as they stared at Seb’s phone, her heart flip-flopped in her chest, confirming her fears.

  No, she thought, swallowing hard. Seb wasn’t the only one falling in love. Not the only one who might get hurt.

  They both looked up when she cleared her throat.

  ‘Mum, Seb’s been quizzing me on the map of the world. I got nine out of ten.’

  Though she was talking to Penny, somehow Maggie’s eyes wouldn’t move from the bright blue of his. ‘What did you get wrong?’

  ‘Guyana. It’s in South America.’

  It took a huge effort to force her gaze away from Seb and onto Penny’s. ‘Did you find the vending machine?’

  ‘Yep, I got a bag of Minstrels.’

  ‘Do you want to show Tabby? Maybe ask the nurse if you can share them with her? I’ll be along in a minute.’

  Penny darted off, and Maggie looked once again at Seb, her heart now firmly lodged in her throat. ‘I didn’t realise you were still here.’

  ‘You thought I’d just drop you and go?’ He looked so offended, so hurt.

  ‘I wasn’t thinking at all. My mind was too full of Tabby.’ And guilt, she thought. There’d been plenty of that, too.

  His expression softened. ‘How is she? I asked the nurse but she wouldn’t tell me as I’m not family. Penny said she’s got a broken ankle. Is that right? Is she okay apart from that?’

  Maggie nodded. ‘They’re keeping her in tonight as a precaution but they’re pretty confident it’s just the ankle.’ Maggie sat on the seat Penny had vacated and leant into him. How stupid to think he hadn’t been worried, too.

  ‘Thank God.’ Immediately he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to him. ‘Don’t shut me out,’ he said quietly, his voice rough with emotion. ‘Lean on me.’

  ‘I didn’t mean to shut you out.’ Reacting to his warmth, to the strength in the arms that held her, her body relaxed and she nestled closer. ‘It’s been me and the girls for so long, and I’m talking years before my divorce, too. I’m not used to having someone else to share things with.’ She’d also pushed him into an ‘only for good times’ box, she realised shamefully. It had been both thoughtless and unfair.

  He kissed the top of her head, but when he spoke again, his voice sounded sad. ‘When Dad died, the thought of seeing you, of talking to you, was the only thing that anchored me.’

  He didn’t say the words, but she read the subtext clear as day. It hurt to know she didn’t need him in the same way. ‘This wasn’t on that scale, Seb.’ She twisted her hands on her lap. ‘I’m also fighting a heck of a lot of guilt. If I hadn’t gone away with you—’

  ‘If I hadn’t pushed you to go on the Ghost Train.’

  Hearing the agony in his voice, her heart crumpled. All this time he’d been sitting out here, fighting his own brand of guilt. ‘You didn’t push me. Heck, I wasn’t even keeping track of the time. How irresponsible was that?’ And how rare, for her, to have turned off her brain to such a degree.

  His arms tightened around her. ‘Thoughts like that don’t help. The number of times I’ve beaten myself up over the last conversation I had with Dad, wishing I’d thanked him for his advice instead of turning defensive. Wishing I’d told him how much I loved him.’ He drew in a shaky breath. ‘None of that soul thrashing brought him back though. It just made me more miserable, which was of no use to anyone. Myself included.’ Soft kisses on her nose, her eyes, her cheeks. ‘Don’t go there, Mags, because once you do, it’s a real struggle to haul yourself out of that mindset.’

  He’d been wrong to think she hadn’t needed him. She just hadn’t known how much, until now. Placing her hands either side of his face, she looked him straight in the eye. ‘You have no idea how much it means to me to have you here.’

  ‘Good.’ Briefly he touched his forehead to hers, before straightening up. ‘I guess you’d better get back to the girls. Stop Tabby from smearing chocolate all over those pristine white sheets.’

  ‘Good point.’ When she stood, she reached for his hand. ‘But this is a job for both of us.’ Surprise shot across his gorgeous face, and she smiled. ‘Come on, I know a little girl who wants to see you.’

  Seb nearly bawled his eyes out when he first saw Tabby. Christ, seeing a kid in a hospital bed, especially if you’d grown ridiculously fond of her, really grabbed a guy by the throat and squeezed, hard.

  Thankfully Tabs was her usual perky self, at least for a short while, keeping them all entertained before tiredness crept up on her and her eyes slowly drifted closed.

  That’s when her father chose to march into the room.

  ‘What’s he doing here?’

  Paul’s eyes snapped to his, and Seb sighed inwardly. This was one of the reasons he’d stayed outside the ward. The other being he wasn’t sure if Maggie had wanted him with her or not. The last thing she needed was a confrontation. ‘I stayed to see how Tabs was doing.’

  ‘Tabby.’

  Seb kept quiet.

  ‘Are you the reason Maggie was late?’

  God, the guy was an arsehole. ‘Technically it was the traffic that made us late.’

  Paul narrowed his eyes. ‘Where were you on your way back from?’

  ‘Blackpool.’

  ‘Blackpool?’ Paul started to laugh. ‘You took Maggie to the tackiest seaside resort in the country. In February.’ His eyes skimmed over Seb’s well-worn jeans, his hoodie. ‘Good God, you’ve got a lot to learn about how to treat women.’

  So many things Seb wanted to say. That’s rich, coming from the guy who cheated on his wife… who made an incredible woman feel less about herself… who hardly bothered with his daughters after the divorce. He settled for, ‘We both have.’

  Paul snorted. ‘Well, next time you plan a tacky jaunt, make sure you’re back when you say you’ll be.’ He turned his attention towards the bed, and Tabby. ‘This could have been avoided.’

  Despite his determination not to let the bastard get to him, Seb flinched. Looks like Paul had seen Seb’s festering wound and decided to grind a tonne of salt straight into it. He’d meant what he’d said to Maggie, going through what-if scenarios weren’t healthy, yet neither could he deny the facts. Maggie had trusted him to get her back in time, and he’d failed.

  ‘Stop it, Paul.’ Maggie gave her ex a long, cold look. ‘Nobody is to blame for this. Not us for being late, not you for taking the girls to the park while you waited for us.’

  Paul’s eyes flared and tension crackled around them. Seb had never been prone to violence, but the desire to grab Paul by his expensive leather jacket and haul him out of the ward burned hot in his gut. It would certainly make him feel better, but sadly it wouldn’t help defuse the situation. He caught Maggie’s eye. ‘I’ll go and wait outside.’

  ‘No.’ She gave him a too-bright smile. One he sensed hid her weariness, and her frustration. ‘Would you fetch my bag from the car, please? I’m going to stay here with Tabby tonight.’ She glanced down at Penny. ‘Is that all right, darling? Will you be okay if I ask Hannah to stay over?’

  Penny nodded at her mum, and then raised her head to look at him. ‘Will Seb take me home?’

  Paul glared at him before looking at his daughter. ‘I’ll take you home.’

  But Penny shook her head. ‘I want Seb to take me
.’

  His chest felt like it was in a vice. How was it possible for these two girls to have wormed their way into his heart as much as their mother had? Maggie’s gaze settled on his and he nodded. ‘Whatever you and Penny prefer.’ He hoped Paul read the underlying message. This isn’t your choice, mate.

  ‘I’m her father.’

  Where were you the last three years then? The words were there, right on the tip of Seb’s tongue, but one glance at Maggie and he swallowed them down.

  It was Penny who spoke. ‘I’ll be okay with Seb, Dad. You can go back to Isabelle.’

  Her quiet words took the heat out of the situation. Clearly mollified, Paul patted Penny’s head. ‘Okay, thanks, honey. She’s sorry she couldn’t stay.’ He bent to whisper. ‘Between you and me, she doesn’t like hospitals.’ Straightening, he smiled at his daughter. ‘I’ll see you next week, yes? Isabelle wants to go looking at bridesmaids’ dresses for you and your sister.’

  Seb saw Penny stiffen, but she didn’t say anything.

  After Paul had left, they stayed with Maggie and Tabby until Penny started yawning.

  ‘I think someone needs to get to bed.’ Maggie looked at her watch. ‘Hannah said she’d be round at seven.’

  Seb stood, wanting to kiss Maggie so much he ached, yet aware she wouldn’t want the display of affection in front of Penny.

  As if she knew what he was thinking, Maggie rose to her feet and his heart faltered when she put her arms around his neck. ‘Thank you for the weekend, for being here, for taking care of Penny.’ She drew up on tiptoe and whispered. ‘And for not punching Paul when I know you wanted to.’

  Swallowing down his emotion, he told her quietly. ‘Thank you for coming away with me, despite the tackiness of the destination, and for keeping your cool when I failed to get us back on time.’

  Her face fell. ‘Please don’t take any notice of Paul. He’s never understood me, not really.’