Ethan grinned down at the roast potatoes in the pan in front of him, wondering what she’d make of the answer.
‘Sam. I’m calling him Sam.’
‘Sam? But that’s your name.’ The rustle of skirts and the faint creak of wicker as Kate moved in her seat. The sounds were almost unbearably erotic.
‘How are you going to know whether your dad is calling to you or the puppy?’ A short pause and then Kate laughed. ‘Is that the point of calling him Sam—so you can pretend that you thought Dad was calling the puppy and not you?’
Sam sounded as if he was jumping up and down, laughing. ‘Yessss!’
‘Oh. So the puppy’s going to get to eat all your ice cream?’
Ethan closed his eyes, silently begging Kate not to mention ice cream while he was in the room. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before he could look at another tub of strawberry ice cream without thinking of last night.
‘And is he going to wear your T-shirt?’
Silence. Sam was obviously thinking about the ramifications of his choice of names.
‘Or... I can call him Ambigulon.’
Ethan shook his head. The idea of shouting, ‘Ambigulon!’ at the top of his voice to call the puppy back to heel didn’t exactly appeal to him.
‘That’s a good name. But wouldn’t it be a bit inconvenient if the puppy could reverse gravity?’
Ethan was sure he hadn’t mentioned reversing gravity to Kate. The idea that she’d done her research on topics that would interest Sam was a novel one. She was clearly making an effort with him.
‘I think... Arthur!’
Where had Sam got that from? It wasn’t a family name and, as far as Ethan knew, it wasn’t the name of anyone that Sam knew. But, actually, he could get used to Arthur.
‘What does your dad think?’
Ethan decided to intervene. Popping his head out through the kitchen door, he saw Kate seated on the edge of one of the wicker chairs. Sam was leaning against her legs, smoothing the hem of her blue-and-white-striped summer dress with one hand. It was a curious reversal of roles. When Sam was around Ethan didn’t get to touch her, but his son had none of those inhibitions.
‘I think that Arthur’s a very good name.’ He mouthed a ‘thank you’ in Kate’s direction and she flashed him a grin.
‘So do I.’ She smiled gravely down at Sam.
‘Okay. Arthur.’ Sam nodded, as if the matter was now closed. ‘When are we going to get him?’
‘After lunch.’ Ethan found himself chorusing the words with Kate, and she looked up at him, blushing. Ethan chuckled, turning back to the kitchen.
* * *
Lunch was an exercise in Sam trying to eat as fast as he could and Ethan trying to slow him down. When the boy wriggled down from his seat, obviously ready to go, Ethan shot her a look of apology.
‘Shall we have coffee when we get back?’ She smiled at him, casually pushing her hand across the table towards Ethan, wondering whether he might respond.
‘If you don’t mind. I think he might burst if we make him wait any longer.’
Sam ran out of the conservatory and into the house and suddenly she felt Ethan’s fingers around hers. As he raised them to his lips, his eyes seemed to flash a brighter blue.
‘I don’t want you to make any mistake over my intentions, Kate.’
She felt her cheeks redden. All her resolutions that needing Ethan in the heat of the night didn’t mean she couldn’t be independent the following morning seemed a little stupid right now. She needed him, but she didn’t really know whether he even wanted her for more than a brief fling.
‘We didn’t have any intentions, did we?’
‘I do now. If I ask whether we can take things slowly, one step at a time, then please don’t think I’m not serious about wanting to make things work between us.’