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Wendy wasn’t the only one.

Josh’s breath touched the skin behind her ear, and her nipples hardened against him. Time to climb off before he noticed. Reluctantly leaving the warmth of his chest, she rolled off Josh, and they both lay on their backs, sobbing with laughter.

“My face aches!” Kitty said.

Not wanting to be left out, Ammy ran over and launched into Josh like a missile. He hugged her tight, eyes closed. His golden lashes brushed his cheeks, and his mouth, soft and full, formed a contented smile. He was beautiful.Kitty rolled away, feeling like an intruder, and climbed onto the sofa to join a sheepish Wendy.

“Okay, missy,” said Josh to Ammy, “time to get to bed.”

Amelia protested with a half-hearted cry, but Josh bundled her up and carried her, rugby ball style, under his arm.

“Say goodnight and thank you to Kitty,” he said, pausing at the door.

“Good night, Kitty. Thank poo.” The little girl gave her a toothy grin, amused at her play on words.

“Thank poo, too,” Kitty smiled back. “Sleep well.”

Amidst thumping floorboards and shrieks of laughter from overhead, Kitty packed away the Twister game. She couldn’t remember when she’d laughed so much. After a few minutes, everything went quiet upstairs, and Kitty couldn’t help wishing it washerwho Josh was tucking into bed. With a sigh, she found her half-finished glass of wine and took a healthy slug.

“Reprobate,” came a familiar, honeyed voice as Josh appeared at the door.

“Reprobate?” she asked. “I need all help I can get. Twister was never my strong point. Though, on the back of tonight’s win, I may take it up again.”

“Then I demand a rematch, so you best get training,” he said, joining her and refilling their glasses.

Kitty followed Josh through to the sitting room, and they flopped down together on Thea’s well-loved couch.The room was small, cosy, and as cluttered as the rest of the house, with an enormous fireplace at one end. Josh handed over her glass and raised his in a toast.

“To Twister.”

“To Twister and the Kama Sutra,” Kitty said, clinking her glass against his with a clear chime.

Josh smiled. “You hungry?” he asked. “Thea has some Dairy Milk in the fridge. Refrigerating chocolate is sacrilege in my opinion but it’s essential in a heatwave.”

“No thanks. I’m a Snickers kind of girl. They’re my kryptonite.”

“Interesting,” he said, his eyes drifting across her face. “Hold still.”

Josh lifted his hand and brushed his thumb against the line of her cheek. At the intense look in his eyes, Kitty’s breath caught, and her heart almost beat out of her chest.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for an hour.”

“What?” she asked, eyes wide.

“You had a paint smudge.”

Kitty’s face warmed, and she brought her palm up to her cheek.

“Oh great,” she said. “I must look like a chimney sweep.”

Josh’s eyes crinkled. “You look perfect.”

A burn filled her chest, and racing blood roared in her ears. He’d said she looked perfect. Plain old Kitty. Kitty, who nobody really glanced at, looked perfect?

Josh shifted on the sofa and cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. “Any news on the job front?”

Kitty’s insides thumped back down to earth, and she attempted a smile instead of bursting into a scream of frustration. She didn’t want to talk about the new job. She wanted to revel in her “perfection”.

“I had an email this morning about a great role. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think it could be the one. It’ll be busy, with lots of travel, but I’m sure I can handle it.” Josh listened as Kitty told him the details. “I’m so happy. It’s the sort of role I’ve always wanted.”