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.’
Steve glanced briefly at her. ‘She has. She got him a few things to make him feel settled, including the Magicube dinosaur set, by the way. I thought I should let you know, as you mentioned you might be getting him one for his birthday.’
‘Oh.’ Sarah knitted her brow. ‘Yes, I was.’ She’d also mentioned it to Laura, so why would she have …?
‘Dinosaurs?’ Ollie said excitedly, his big blue eyes like saucers.
‘Yup.’ Steve chuckled and gave him a squeeze. ‘We’ll have a whale of a time, won’t we?’
Obviously she’d already bought it when Sarah had mentioned it, but hadn’t wanted to say anything for fear of upsetting her – hence the reason Steve was telling her now. Swallowing back her huge disappointment and trying hard not to mind, she leaned in to kiss Ollie’s cheek before Steve disappeared with him. ‘Be good for Daddy and Laura,’ she said, blinking back the tears she didn’t want her little man to see.
‘I will,’ Ollie promised, flinging his arms around her neck. God, she was going to miss him.
‘Bye, Joe.’ Ollie gave him a wave.
‘See you soon, mate.’ Joe waved back, at which Steve looked po-faced, making Sarah feel even more guilty, if that were possible.
Turning away, Steve hit his key fob, and Sarah followed him to his car to drop Ollie’s bag into the boot while Steve strapped him into his seat.
Giving Ollie an enthusiastic smile, she waited for Steve to close the door before she spoke. ‘We’re not where we’re at because of me, Steve. It was a mutual decision for us to part,’ she pointed out, still feeling guilty, but also angry that he was so furious with her. He’d said he hadn’t got together with Laura until after they’d broken up, but given what she now knew about where Laura worked, there was no way she could believe the attraction hadn’t been there, even if they hadn’t done anything about it. If they had been having an affair, Steve wasn’t likely to admit it, and she wasn’t about to ask him now. He really had no right to stand in judgement on her, though.
He sighed apologetically. ‘I know. It’s just … Look, I’ll give you a call later. We’ll have a chat then,’ he said, obviously reluctant to discuss it here on the drive with their son already in the car.
Knowing he was right – Ollie had already overheard more than he should have – Sarah nodded. ‘I’ll get him the Wheelybug,’ she said, attempting some kind of truce. ‘In place of the Magicube. You know, the ride-on animals that go round and round as well as forwards and backwards? He’s wanted one for ages, so …’
Steve nodded in turn, and managed a less loaded smile. ‘Talk soon.’
Offering him a small smile back, Sarah blew Ollie a kiss through the window, and then trailed back to the front door. As she watched them go, her heart squeezed painfully. She had to get used to this, saying goodbye to the little boy who’d never stayed away from home until now. Seeing his empty bed at night was going to be unbearable.