Setting him down in the hall, she took hold of his hand, tugged in a breath and pulled the front door open. ‘Morning,’ she said cheerfully, though she felt far from cheerful, knowing she was going to have to say goodbye to her little boy for a whole weekend.
Clearly noting her pyjamas, Steve arched an eyebrow curiously, and then bent to sweep Ollie up as he launched himself at his legs. ‘Hiya, Batman,’ he said, hoisting him high in his arms. ‘How you doing, hey?’
‘I’m not Batman, I’m Spider-Man,’ Ollie pointed out, plucking his shirt away from his chest, showing off the grass stain as he did so, to Sarah’s dismay.
Ah well, she doubted he would stay clean for very long anyway. ‘Sorry I’m not dressed yet,’ she said, moving back to allow Steve in. ‘You caught me by surprise.’
‘I gathered,’ Steve said, stepping into the hall. ‘I take it you’ve got company?’
Hesitating, Sarah was debating how to answer when Ollie piped up, ‘It’s Joe. He’s Mummy’s friend and he’s having a shower.’
‘Is he?’ Steve glanced at Sarah, his expression somewhere between troubled and puzzled. ‘Well, that’s nice, isn’t it?’
‘Uh-huh. He’s my friend as well,’ Ollie went on excitedly. ‘He plays football with me. And Duplo. He made me a subma …’ Pausing, he knitted his brow.
‘Submarine,’ Sarah reminded him.
‘Submarine,’ Ollie repeated with a satisfied nod.
‘Did he now? That was nice of him, wasn’t it?’ Steve arranged his face into a smile. The flinty look in his eyes, though, told Sarah he was less than pleased.
‘He made some superheroes too. Do you want to see?’ Ollie asked.
‘You bet,’ Steve said enthusiastically. ‘Tell you what, why don’t you go and get them, and pack your Duplo set up while you’re at it. I could have a go at making some superheroes too. See if I can make them as good as Mummy’s friend does.’
‘Okay, but you might have to practise,’ Ollie said innocently.
‘Bound to. I’m obviously not as accomplished as Joe,’ Steve replied, a definite hint of sarcasm in his tone, Sarah noted, as he lowered Ollie to the floor.
‘So, this Joe.’ Straightening up, he met Sarah’s gaze, his own quizzical. ‘Is he someone you’ve been seeing long?’
Standing in the hall in her pyjamas while Joe was upstairs in the shower, Sarah felt immediately wrong-footed. ‘No, not very long,’ she answered, hoping to God he wasn’t imagining she might have been seeing him before they’d split up.
‘Oh. Right,’ Steve said flatly. ‘About the same time I’ve been seeing Laura, perhaps? Just wondering, out of curiosity.’
Shit. Realising she’d put her foot squarely in it, having demanded to meet Laura and then telling Steve nothing about a man who was clearly spending a considerable amount of time here, Sarah groped for a way to backtrack. ‘I’ve known him a while, though. We went out together once before.’
Steve didn’t look appeased. ‘Right,’ he repeated with a short nod.
God, could she not just think before opening her mouth? ‘Years ago,’ she clarified, thinking his imagination would now be on a roll. ‘Before you and I met. I think I mentioned him. We went to—’
‘No explanations necessary, Sarah.’ Steve cut across her, a flash of palpable anger now in his eyes. ‘Who you sleep with is your business. I was wondering how it is, though, that you get to vet my girlfriend – which, incidentally, Laura found pretty bloody traumatic – but this Joe character gets full access to my son while I know nothing about him.’
‘Steve …’ Sarah looked at him, astonished. He hardly ever swore. She’d never known him to use bad language with Ollie in the house. Laura evidently had brought out his protective gene. But he was right. And he had every right to be angry. ‘Look, Steve, I’m really sorry. I—’
‘Did you have to give her such a hard time?’ he growled over her.
‘I did no such thing.’ Sarah was flabbergasted. ‘I only wanted to meet her out of concern for Ollie. I would have told you about Joe, but we weren’t actually properly together then. And I know I should have said something once we were seeing each other, but … Well, I didn’t, and I’m sorry.’
‘Gets better, doesn’t it?’ Steve smiled cynically. ‘You’re concerned for Ollie, yet you let a bloke you’ve been going out with for five minutes spend the night? Several nights, judging by how well Ollie appears to be getting on with him.’
‘But I know him, I’ve said.’ Sarah tried to justify herself, but knew she couldn’t. ‘He’s all right, Steve, I promise. He’s a policeman. And he’s only ever stayed a couple of—’
‘I don’t care if he’s the bloody Chief of Police.’ Steve stared at her, disbelieving. ‘You never even mentioned him. You can’t set out ground rules and then completely ignore them yourself. Do you know how uncomfortable you made Laura feel, thinking she might be a danger to Ollie? This is someone who works in a hospice, for Christ’s sake; she’s obviously caring. Would you have climbed down if I’d told you what her job was? If I’d said, she’s all right?’
‘But you didn’t.’ Sarah felt her eyes filling up. ‘And I didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. Or at least I didn’t think I had. She didn’t seem …’ Seeing Joe descending the stairs, she stopped, not sure whether to be relieved or wary.
‘Sorry to interrupt,’ he said, reaching the hall. His hair was wet from the shower. Sarah noted Steve’s agitated expression as he noticed it too. ‘I thought I should probably introduce myself, as I appear to be the subject under discussion.’ Smiling, he walked towards Steve. ‘Joe Sartini. Pleased to meet you.’
Steve looked warily down at the hand Joe was offering him, and then, grudgingly, shook it. ‘Likewise,’ he managed, looking anything but. ‘Steve,’ he said. ‘Ollie’s father.’
‘I gathered. Ollie’s mentioned you a couple of thousand times.’ Joe nodded to where Ollie was standing in the lounge doorway with his Duplo, looking uncertainly between them. ‘He’s a great kid.’
Steve followed his gaze and then squeezed his eyes closed. Clearly he’d realised, as Sarah had, that they’d been bordering on an argument in front of their child. ‘Yeah, he is.’ Giving Joe a tight smile, he swung around to pick Ollie up. ‘If a little confused right now,’ he added acerbically.
‘Come on, trooper,’ he said cheerfully to Ollie. ‘Let’s get going, shall we, since it’s getting a bit late.’ Having imparted that pointed comment, he moved past Joe and Sarah and headed for the front door. ‘I’ll call you this evening. Let you know how he is.’
‘Steve, wait.’ Sarah followed him. ‘His coat.’ Unhooking Ollie’s coat from the peg, she handed it to him and picked up the overnight bag she’d packed. ‘He has a change of clothes in here, and his PJs and bedtime story book. He’s into the “Never Ask” stories now. Oh, and his blue bunny soft toy. He won’t go to sleep without it,’ she reminded him. ‘Laura said she’d bought him some toys, so I didn’t pack too many.’