Page 58

“We all get to be weird sometimes,” said Tilly. “What about this singing business?”

“Yeah, sorry about that too,” Sophie said. “I got caught up in some paperwork and forgot the time.” Partially true.

“It’s a bit late now,” said Tilly. “I think we’re doing okay, though. We can miss one practice.” She cleared her throat. “What about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Babysitting?”

Sophie stared at her computer screen. She’d been shaken when Tilly and Max had shown up. She’d made her promises in the village hall, thinking that the matter was mostly closed, thinking that there was no way anyone could really believe that Gio and her dad had done anything. The reality of it hit a little different.

The reality of dating someone like Tilly.

A police officer.

“You absolutely don’t have to come,” Tilly said. There was a slight catch in her voice, something Sophie hadn’t heard before. “I mean, if you don’t want to, or it’s too soon, or, or whatever.”

Still, the police had been now, hadn’t they? They’d seen that there was nothing here. They surely wouldn’t come back. She was being silly. She looked around at the half-darkened garage. The garage that would be hers one day.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Brilliant,” Tilly said, and she sounded like she was sixteen, so young, so innocent. “I’ve already talked to Mila about it. She says it’s fine. We can order a pizza or something if you like. How about around eight? I think the kids should be asleep by then.”

Sophie stretched her legs out, thinking about Tilly’s hand on her waist, thinking about the firmness of her lips. “How about around seven?” she said.

“Eager, are we?”

“I want to see you.” The raw desire in her voice took even Sophie by surprise. She took another look around the garage, wondering if she could stand another full day of working before she saw Tilly again.

“I want to see you too,” said Tilly. “I… I was worried that you weren’t going to want to see me anymore after today.”

“But you did your job anyway,” Sophie said.

“I did. It’s important to me.”

“More important than I am?” Sophie couldn’t help but ask.

“That’s not a fair question. I’ve only known you for a couple of weeks. And we have an arrangement.”

“We do,” Sophie said. “Yes. You’re right. We do.” She closed her eyes and could see Tilly’s face. “Alright, I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait,” Tilly said.

“Me neither.”

Chapter Twenty Four

“You don’t have to worry,” Mila said. “Ag will tell you what to do. You know what’s she’s like. Just make sure they’re in bed by seven. Dash can read for a half hour, Ag can read for an hour.”

“Fine,” said Tilly. Honestly, she was a police officer. She was trained to deal with drunk and disorderly adults. Surely she could handle two small children.

“You’re not allowed to use handcuffs, pepper spray, or your baton,” Max said, reading her mind. “That makes it a whole lot more difficult.”

“I’ll be fine,” said Tilly. “You just go out and have a nice time.”

“We won’t be late,” Mila said.

“We’re only going for a meal,” said Max.