LITMIR.BIZ

      Matt strolled towards the designated meeting point for his day out with Quinn and Simon. He never imagined he’d be back playing the stand-in father figure so soon but he couldn’t go back on his word to Simon.

      Okay, he wasn’t being totally altruistic; he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Quinn, or that kiss they’d shared, no matter how hard he’d tried to avoid her. In the end he’d resigned himself to see this through, spurred on in part by the glimpses he’d caught of her flitting in and out of the department like a ghost until he hadn’t been entirely sure if she was anything but a figment of his overactive imagination.

      It was difficult to convince yourself you weren’t interested in someone when they were at your place of work every day and driving you to distraction when you knew how it was to hold them, taste them, be with them.

      In the cold light of day he should’ve been relieved when she’d sent him home for a cold shower. After all, he’d had more than enough family duty stuff to last him a lifetime. Instead, he and his dented male pride had brooded, mourned the loss of something which could’ve been special.

      It was seeing Quinn carry on taking care of Simon regardless of her own wants and feelings which had made him see sense in the end. Forget the playboy car and bachelor pad in the city; he was a thirty-five-year-old man, an adult, and Simon was the child who had to come first.

      Now he was committed to this he was going to make it a day to remember. One which wouldn’t be dictated by hospitals and authorities for Quinn and Simon. If Matt had learned anything about raising younger sisters, it was how to have fun and keep their young minds occupied away from the harsh realities of life.

      Quinn had declined his offer of a lift but he hadn’t minded since it reduced his responsibilities for the afternoon. It gave the impression he was more of a tour guide today rather than a date, or part of the family, and that suited him fine. As soon as they were back on the train home he was off the clock with a clear conscience and his promise kept.

      Little Venice, with its pretty barges and canals, was only a short distance from his apartment and the Tube station. The perfect place to pick up a couple of tourists already waiting on the bridge for him. They were watching the boats below, oblivious to his arrival, and Matt took a moment to drink in the sight.

      Quinn, dressed in a daisy-covered strappy yellow sundress and showing off her toned, tanned limbs, was the embodiment of the beautiful sunny morning. Simply stunning. Simon, too, was in his summer wear, every bit as colourful in his red shirt and green shorts. Quinn knelt to slather on sun cream to Simon’s exposed skin and plonked a legionnaire-style cap on his head. As per instructions, she wasn’t taking any chances of the sun aggravating his already tender skin.

      ‘Look, Quinn. It’s Matt!’ Simon spotted him over the top of his foster mother’s head and was suddenly running at him full pelt.

      ‘Oof!’ A five-year-old hug missile knocked out what was left of his breath after seeing Quinn.

      ‘Hi,’ she said, brushing her hair from her eyes as he walked towards her.

      Matt held out his hand to help her back to her feet, with Simon still attached one-handed to his waist. ‘It’s nice to see you too.’

      ‘Sorry, he’s very excited.’ With a warning to calm down before Matt changed his mind, Quinn untangled the little person from him. The threat wasn’t the least bit likely but it did the job.

      ‘Me too.’ Matt’s grin reflected that of his co-chaperone for the day and sealed a non-verbal agreement that they’d put their indiscretion behind them and start over.

      ‘Where are the animals?’ Simon piped up, understandably anxious when he’d been promised monkeys, giraffes and all kinds of exotic new friends, only to find water and barges as far as the eye could see.

      It was all part of Matt’s plan to build the excitement a while longer and capture Simon’s attention for the main event.

      ‘They’re at the zoo, which we’re going to, but a tourist trip around London isn’t complete without taking in a show.’ He could see Quinn frowning at him out of the corner of his eye but the surprise was just as much for her.

      Simon skipped between the two adults as they walked down towards the red-and-yellow barge covered with a huge stripy canvas top. They must’ve looked like any other young family from a distance and he was surprisingly comfortable with that thought…as long as it was short-lived. Today all Matt wanted was for Simon to feel comfortable and the beaming faces beside him said the lie was worth telling.

      ‘A puppet show?’ Quinn’s eyes were wider than those of the other children trooping past them on the gangplank into the quirky theatre barge.

      ‘I’ve heard the kids love it and it’ll get Simon used to being on board before we take a water taxi on up to the zoo.’ Apart from being the perfect excuse for him to see it for himself, the dimly lit area would also serve as a gentle icebreaker into the general public. He didn’t want Simon to become too overwhelmed by the hordes of people who’d undoubtedly be at the zoo on a day such as this.

      ‘You really do think of everything.’

      It was a compliment, not a criticism, but it was truer than Quinn would ever know. He hadn’t left anything to chance, having planned every tiny detail of this trip in those moments he’d lain awake since agreeing to it.

      Matt escorted them to their tiered seats looking down on the small stage, away from prying eyes. The one concern he’d had was that Simon might find the small space too claustrophobic. On his initial admission his notes had mentioned he’d been trapped in one of the classrooms and Quinn had mentioned his nightmares regarding his entrapment and not being able to find his way out. He needn’t have worried. Simon was as enthralled with the old-fashioned marionettes adorning the walls as any of the other children. Matt was the only one experiencing difficulties with the low ceiling and small walkways and that was purely down to his height.

      ‘I’ve never seen a real puppet show before.’ Quinn leaned in to whisper in the darkness, her thighs touching his on the small bench where they sat, her excitement inadvertently increasing his.

      ‘Well, they say it’s recommended for small kids from five to ninety-five and I think we fall right in the middle of that age bracket.’ He reached across to whisper back, the soft waves of her hair brushing his cheek, and it was all he could do not to nuzzle closer and breathe in her sweet scent.

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