Double Trouble: Pregnancy Surprise: Two Little Miracles / Expecting Royal Twins! / Miracle: Twin Babies

‘Come and see the garden,’ she said, and led him through the gate at the side.

He’d been out there with the dog, of course, but he’d never really examined it, and, as she walked him through it and talked about it, he began to see it through her eyes.

And it was beautiful. A little ragged round the edges, of course, in the middle of winter, but even now there were daffodils and crocuses coming up, and buds were forming on the rose bushes, and, if he looked hard, he could imagine it in summer.

‘I’ve got photos of it with the roses all flowering,’ she said. ‘It’s stunning.’

It would be. He could see that. And he remembered what she’d said, on the day that she’d left him.

I want…a house, a garden, time to potter amongst the plants, to stick my fingers in the soil and smell the roses…We never stop and smell the roses, Max. Never.

Well, she had her garden now, and her roses. Watching her talk about them, he could see the change in her, the glow in her eyes, the warmth in her skin, the life in her. Real life, not just the adrenaline high of another conquest, but genuine satisfaction and contentment.

And what shocked him more than any of that was that he wanted it, too.

‘Why don’t you have a day out with Jane?’

‘What?’ She shifted forward on the sofa and stared down at him on the floor; he was lying at right angles to her with his hands linked behind his head and Libby sprawled asleep on his stomach.

‘You heard. I’ll look after the girls. We’ll be fine.’

‘Are you sure?’ she asked doubtfully.

‘Yeah, we’ll be great. Don’t you trust me?’

‘Well, of course I trust you. I’m just not sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for.’

‘Undiluted hell, I expect, but I’m sure we’ll all survive.’

She thought about it, and shook her head. ‘No. But I might meet her for a coffee,’ she suggested, toning it all down a little and going for something more manageable. ‘Besides, she’s got the baby, and the others will need dropping off at school and picking up again, and she’s always really busy. But I’ll ask her. When were you thinking of?’

‘Whenever you like. Tomorrow?’

Tomorrow was Monday. One week since he’d arrived. It was two days since they’d ended up in bed. And it had been incredible, but she was letting herself get too addicted to it, and there were other things to think about. Like him in London and her here with the children.

Still, it could work. Lots of couples did it.

But she didn’t want to! She wanted it all!