‘Right.' They were looking at her with genuine compassion, like parents wanting to do their very best for their child.
‘And so many women get panicky and desperate,' said Sean, ‘and end up having a baby with the next guy who comes along, without even stopping to wonder if he's suitable.' He gave her a serious look. ‘I'm not saying you'd do that, but it happens. And the thing is, we know each other. You know I'm healthy.' After a moment's hesitation he went on, ‘OK, listen, what I'm trying to say is it could be the answer for all of us. You'd have the baby you want … and so would we.'
‘We? You mean you and Will?'
‘We've thought about it,' said Sean. ‘A lot. We'd love to be involved. It's worked for other people in our situation … '
‘Gosh.' Patsy twisted her fingers together, struggling to take in the offer.
‘It's an option.' Will shrugged. ‘You don't have to make any decisions now. It's just there on the table and we'd be fine with whatever you decide. Both of us,' he stressed.
‘OK, well … thanks.' Still numb, Patsy stood up. ‘I'll have a think about it.'
‘You do that.' As they were leaving, Sean said, ‘No hurry. And hey,' he gave her arm a squeeze, ‘you never know, it could be the answer to everything.'
Will smiled and added encouragingly, ‘It could be great.'
‘Well,' Eddie marvelled when they'd left and she'd opened the kitchen door. ‘It's all going on around here.'
Patsy exhaled, glad he wasn't pretending not to have heard everything. Of course he had; the kitchen door hadn't been completely closed and he'd been less than ten feet away from them.
‘Wow.' She shook her head. ‘I wasn't expecting that.'
‘Is it a good surprise?' Eddie poured her a fresh glass of wine.
‘No idea. I can't even begin to think about it.' They returned to the living room and she sat back down, properly this time, in the armchair. Eddie settled himself on the sofa. It was actually surprising how quickly the novelty of him being famous had worn off. She'd got used to Eddie just being himself.
‘That was your ex and his other half?'
Patsy nodded; she'd already told him briefly about Sean and Will.
‘They sound nice.'
‘They are. And they're perfect together.'
‘How did they meet?'
‘All thanks to me.' Patsy smiled, though her feelings had been a little more mixed at the time. ‘It was just over a year after Sean and I had split up. I'd been pretty heartbroken, but working in the salon helped. Then Rosa entered us into one of the big national hairdressing competitions in Birmingham, and the day before we were due to go up there, my gearbox exploded. So Sean offered to drive us up in his car. When we got there, he helped us carry the stuff in and set up our station.' She took a sip of wine. ‘And the hairdresser at the station next to ours was Will.'
‘Fate,' said Eddie.
‘I know. But neither of them looked remotely gay. And their gaydar was rubbish. I could see them sneaking looks at each other but they genuinely didn't have a clue. The boxer and the rugby player. Bless them,' said Patsy. ‘It wasn't until the end of the day that Will said something to me in passing about my husband and I told him Sean was my ex-husband. Then he said, "Oh, I'm sorry," and I said, "Actually, he's gay." And the moment I saw the look on his face, I knew for sure. I told him if he was interested he should ask for Sean's number, and he finally plucked up the courage just as we were leaving. And that was the start of it all.'
‘Amazing. So then he ended up working with you.'
‘They'd been seeing each other whenever they could, but Will was living up in Manchester at the time, so it wasn't ideal. Then Rosa told me she was leaving the salon, moving back to London. It was my idea that Will could take her place.' Patsy shrugged. ‘And it's worked out brilliantly. He's a great hairdresser. The clients love him to bits. And so do I.'
‘Hmm.' As Eddie raised a playful eyebrow, there was a double-tap at the door, signalling Lily's arrival.
Jumping up to let her in, Patsy said, ‘In a non-sexy way, of course.'
It was 11.30 when a yawning Patsy said her good nights and headed up to bed.
‘Night.' Lily waved and put down her coffee cup. ‘I should go too.'
Eddie said, ‘Why? You don't have to. Stay a bit longer.'
‘You're so needy.' Lily grinned at him.
They both heard the creaking of the floorboards on the landing, then Patsy's bedroom door close behind her.
‘I'm not needy. I just like talking to you.'
Which sounded flattering.
‘Let's face it,' said Lily, ‘you like talking and there aren't many of us listeners to choose from.'
‘But if there were hundreds, I'd still choose you.' Eddie tilted his head to one side, grey eyes glittering.
‘Don't give me your film-star smile.'
‘That isn't my film-star smile. This is my film-star smile.' He flashed his teeth at her, arch-villain style.
‘Now you look like Dick Dastardly.'
Eddie laughed. ‘Not too many people say things like that to me. Maybe that's why I like you.'
‘That and the mini Magnums I bring along with me.' Lily prodded the empty wrappers on the coffee table in front of them.
‘They definitely help.' Amused, he said, ‘Why don't you have a boyfriend?'
‘You asked me that question before. I told you, it just hasn't happened.'
‘You didn't say why, though. I asked Patsy earlier. She told me the real reason.'
‘That I'm a horrible person and no one likes me?'
‘She said she was a complete mess when her marriage broke up and you supported her through the next two years.'
Lily shrugged. ‘Why wouldn't I? Patsy helped me after my mum died. Boyfriends come and go, but friends are forever.'
‘Then, once Patsy was coping again, you started seeing someone and it was all going really well. And then Coral's husband died.'
She nodded. ‘That's right. It was horrendous. One minute Nick was there, alive and healthy, and everything was fine. The next minute he was gone. Massive heart attack. Poor Coral, she was just bereft. So, so lost. She couldn't concentrate on anything, couldn't begin to work out how to keep the business running without Nick. He was her whole life.'
‘So then you had to look after her,' said Eddie.
Lily shook her head. ‘I didn't have to. I wanted to.'
‘It must have been pretty awful for you as well. They were your surrogate parents.'
‘It was awful. But worse for Coral. She needed us to help her get through it.'
‘So you got rid of your boyfriend in order to do that.'
Lily smiled briefly. ‘That makes me sound incredibly noble. It was more a matter of Phil showing his true colours. He was great for the first couple of weeks after the funeral, then he started complaining because I didn't want to leave Coral on her own and go out clubbing with him.'
‘Nice,' said Eddie.
‘I know. He told me I shouldn't fuss over her, that she needed to get used to being on her own.' Drily Lily said, ‘Such a charmer. It was incredibly easy to finish with him after that.'
‘His turn to get used to being on his own,' said Eddie. ‘Did he take it well?'
‘Not so you'd notice, but he got the message in the end. No great loss.'
‘And you worked your socks off looking after Coral and keeping the business afloat. Quite a feat. You can be proud of yourself for managing that.'
‘Anyone would do the same. Well, if they're half-decent human beings.'
‘And not selfish gits,' said Eddie.
Lily watched as he reached over and touched the back of her hand, lightly brushing his fingertips across her knuckles. The physical contact sent a jolt of adrenalin through her. She held her breath, wondering what he meant by it. He was still stroking her hand and gazing into her eyes. The corners of his mouth curved up and he murmured, ‘You're definitely half decent. At the very least.'
Her brain was all over the place. Her mouth was dry. The underlying attraction between them appeared to be swimming to the surface. All the nerve endings on the back of her hand were now so sensitive his touch was all she could think about. When Eddie said, ‘What's that?' she thought he'd found some kind of lump or a sticking-out vein.
The next moment she heard footsteps outside the front door, followed by the sound of a key being fitted into the lock.