What was wrong with her?
"I thought you had a wife, maybe a family..."
"Even if I had, I still should have been told.'
Their food came then and she stared at his rather
than hers.
"That was really horrible of me,' he admitted as he
looked at his large plate of paella, especially as it looked seriously nice.
"Hopefully you'll have a massive allergic reaction.'
Kylie, less than sweetly, smiled.
"Yes, and no doubt you'll take ages to find the adrenaline pen so I'll be dead and that will take care of that..."
There was a tiny silence.
"When you said you didn't want to tell me you were a widower because of that look,' Kylie said as she cut her steak. 'What did you mean?'
"Things change when you tell people that you're a widower...' He scooped out a mussel and then pulled a misty-eyed face that made her smile reluctantly. 'I can't explain it. Honestly, since my late wife died I've had more offers for sex than a rock star. Which sounds good but women seem to think I want to make love, or that I'm comparing them to my poor late wife, or even that I must want a wife... They don't get I just want to get down and dirty.'
"So we weren't making love?' Kylie pouted and he
smiled. " Ken, it was supposed to be a one-night
stand.'
"And now we have to deal with the consequences.' He got back to his food. "Did you find out what we're having?
The 'we're' was very deliberate.
"I only just found that out now,' she said. "A girl.'
She watched as his fork paused midway to his mouth and then he put it down.
The past ten days, since he had seen the maternity cover position being advertised since he'd started to suspect she might be pregnant, had been spent in a whir of fury and concern. Now, amid anger and change, he got a moment in the quiet centre of the storm.
A girl.
A daughter.
He just sat there as the news sank in and somehow, he had no idea how, it changed things, because, at that moment, he went from none to having not just one but two ladies to take care of and he looked at the bump of the little one and then into the eyes of her mum.
"Oh.'
"I know,' Kylie said, 'I thought I was having a...' She
was about to say another boy but she quickly changed.
A boy!
"Yes, she understood Ken a little better than he knew because she didn't want to be the recipient of that look. Baby two after such a turbulent baby one was a privote pain, one she could barely share with Alora, let alone a man whose bed she'd been in for a single night.
No, he didn't need to know all about her.
There was a lot to talk about but they finished their meal in silence lost in their private thoughts.
"Have you thought of names? Ken asked as they put their cutlery down.
"I was leaning towards Nathan till tonight.'
"I never thought I'd be running through baby names,' Ken said.
"Didn't you and...?' She hesitated. It was none
a business whether or not he and his wife had planned on having children.
Ken was grateful that she didn't finish the question. No, he and his late wife hadn't got around to thinking of children. And he didn't want to share his wife with this virtual stranger.
"Do you want a quick coffee? Then I'm going to have to go,' he said, 'if I want to make my flight.'
"Tonight, You're going back to...?'
"No, I'm going to Spain for a few days. As I said, I'm in the middle of relocating there and I've been looking at homes. Given that the baby is mine, there's a lot to do there. I'll have to withdraw my application and I'd like to do that in person, and I want to tell my parents face-to-face what's happening.'
"Will they be disappointed that you're not moving there now?'
"I don't think so. I wasn't exactly going to be living next door to them or anything. I expect they'll be surprised about the baby and then pleased.'
'Where are you flying out from?'
'Gatwick.'
'Good luck with your luggage,' Kylie said and gave
a low laugh. "I'll drive you.'
"I can take a taxi.'
"You're the one banging on about how we need to talk.'
He conceded with a nod.
"And no coffee for me, unfortunately.' Kylie sighed. "It gives me hiccoughs. I'm stuck with tea. I miss champage, I miss coffee, I miss seafood...'
"I will buy you the biggest bottle of champagne and have paella delivered to your hospital bed once the baby is here.'
It was a very nice thing to say, Kylie thought. It was a nice thought to have because even if they were the odd couple and doing this on the run, at least they weren't at each other's throats now.
"How did you find out about the baby?' Kylie asked a little later as they walked to her car.
"Well, I keep an eye on jobs and things and I saw
one come up in your department. I remembered something you said about being the only female consultant...'
She flashed the lights of her car and they walked
over to it.
"I told myself that I was being ridiculous. You could have been married or anything...'
"Would you have cared if I was married that weekend?' she asked.
"No,' he admitted.
'I don't like you,' Kylie said, but he just laughed.
'You don't have to like me. Anyway, I'd never
have cheated on my wife, but that weekend, had you been cheating..." Ken shrugged. 'Anyway, it's all hypothetical.'
"But very telling.'
"Do you want me to lie to you, Kylie, just say the right thing?
"No.'
Anyway, back to how I tracked you down the dates for the leave all added up and...' They stopped talking as they got in but once they were pulling out of the car park the conversation resumed. 'I was going to call you, but then I decided to surprise you.'
"That wasn't very nice.'