Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Maddy

I threw my backpack down on to the kitchen table and guessed from the stillness in the house that Dad was still sleeping. I'd left Em's house before anyone else had woken, because I couldn't see the point of lying there with the various noises my friends were making, especially not when I had a breakfast date with my dad.

I opened the blinds at the window, letting in the pale light of the January morning, and sighed. Hopefully, in a month's time, the weather would be getting warmer with Dad getting busy at the bar as people started to venture out more. Not that he wasn't ever busy. During the winter, he was rammed most days. Dad always said that there were some people he only ever saw during those months when they were using his bar to keep warm and saving on their heating bills.

The garden outside was looking drab, not that we ever did much with it. We had a cherry tree, Grandma Powell's favourite, but I had no clue how we managed to keep it alive every year. Our skills at gardening totalled us being able to cut grass. I usually cut the front and Dad the back, mainly because if he cut the front, all the women in the neighbourhood came out to ogle him, especially when it was hot, and he took his shirt off.

"Hey sweetheart, good night?" Dad's tired voice drew my attention from the garden, and I swung around to face him.

He rubbed both his eyes with the heels of his hands and yawned, looking all dishevelled and sleepy.

"Good, thanks, and you?"

A smile brightened up his face. "Yeah, pretty good actually." He walked over and pulled me into a hug, and I melted into him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He smelled of bed and traces of his favourite aftershave. Like home. "You didn't tell me that boys were going to be there."

I looked up at him, resting my chin on his chest. "How did you know?"

"That doesn't matter, but what does is that you didn't tell me." I attempted to pull away from him, but Dad kept a tight hold. "Stay right there, young lady, and explain to me about the doctor's kid."

Stiffening, my throat went dry. "W-what?"

"Sam told me that the new kid was joining you last night. What's he like?"

What was he like? Wow, how to answer that without sounding like a love-sick idiot. "He's nice." I shrugged. "He wants to be a vet."

"Great career choice, kid, but was he respectful to you?"

"Dad!"

"You're my baby, so I'm entitled to ask." He put a finger under my chin, keeping my attention on him. "Was he respectful to you and your friends?"

"Yes, he was. He's nice. Liam wouldn't hang out with him if he wasn't."

Dad nodded. "Very true." He dropped a kiss to my nose. "I wish you'd told me boys were going to be there but I'm glad you had a good time."

I blinked at him. He normally questioned me like a murder suspect where boys were concerned.

"Did you kiss a pretty lady last night, Daddy?" I grinned, tipping my head to study him.

"No."

I burst out laughing and slapped his chest. "You liar, Dad. You did, didn't you."

"Alright, alright." His lips were tipped up at the edges, and there was a definite glint in his tired eyes. He started laughing. "Her name was Maya, and she was pretty and lives in Leeds."

"Like you said, a couple of hours' travel is nothing. You did get her number?"

He winced. "She took mine and said she'd message me, but I haven't had anything yet." He reached down to the pockets of the sleep pants he wore and pulled out his phone. When I escaped from his arms, he tapped at his phone, looked at the screen and shook his head.

"Nope."

"Maybe she wants you to know what it's like to be left hanging." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hmm?"

"I've never left a woman hanging," he protested, and I almost choked.

"Lizzie, Maria, Bonnie." I counted the names off on my fingers. "And they're just the ones I know about."

"Lizzie wanted to marry me after one date, Maria wanted to marry me after two and Bonnie kept making a weird noise with her throat."

"And Maya? Do you think she'll want to marry you?"

"I guess I'll never know," he said before kissing the top of my head. "Now, I'm going to get showered so we can go for breakfast."

Watching him leave the kitchen, I hoped she called him because he deserved to be happy. If he got that with a lady called Maya maybe I wouldn't be so worried about leaving him alone.

"Hey, Monique." Dad flashed our waitress a smile and got a huge smile back, along with a flirty wink. "The usual, please, love."

"You, too, Maddy?"

I nodded. "Just the orange juice for me today, please."

"Be right back."

She gave Dad a lingering smile, but he was too busy looking down at his phone.

"Still no message?" I asked, leaning across the table and trying to look at his screen.

"No." He looked up at me and threw his phone down onto the bench seat next to him. "I wasn't expecting one." He shrugged. "It was just one of those one-night things."

I grinned. "Oh, Dad, you are such a liar. You're devastated, aren't you?"

"Don't be so stupid. And I am not a liar."

"And I beg to differ." The bell of the café door jingled behind me as I watched him take a surreptitious look at his phone. "Bloody hell, Dad, just call her."

"I can't. I don't have her number. She said she'd message me ."

Smiling up at Monique as she placed two glasses of juice on the table, I prodded Dad's arm. "That is a huge school boy error, William."

He also gave Monique a smile, then once she disappeared back to the kitchen, he turned his attention to me. "I know, you don't have to remind me, Madeline." Bringing his glass to his mouth, he paused and raised his eyebrows. "I think you might have a visitor."

Frowning, I swivelled around in my seat. When I saw Zak walking towards me, I felt the blood drain from my face. My hair was just piled on top of my head, I was wearing my White Fox hoodie and sweatpants, which were one wear away from the washing machine, and my make up consisted of eyeliner and mascara.

"Z-Zak," I stammered. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned. "Would you believe, breakfast." He turned to one side. "Amelia didn't fancy my burnt toast."

It was then that I noticed a pretty, young, dark-haired girl standing next to him. She gave me a shy smile as she slipped her hand into Zak's.

"This is my little sister."

"Hi, Amelia." Dad cleared his throat, and I swung my gaze between him and Zak. "This is my dad, Will."

Zak took a step forward and held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr Newman."

My eyes widened as I watched Dad push out of his seat and accept Zak's handshake. "Will is fine. I take it you're the new boy, Zak."

"Yes. Yes, I'm the new boy." He looked a little unsure as my Dad sat back down. "My parents are both working this morning, so breakfast is my responsibility, and like I said, Amelia doesn't like burnt toast."

I looked over at his sister, who was gazing up at him, and I could totally understand why she was looking at him so adoringly. He clearly hadn't suffered from lack of sleep after a night drinking vodka. His eyes were bright, his hair was sexily dishevelled, and he smelled gorgeous. My heart slammed against my chest as he turned his smile on me.

"What do you recommend?" he asked.

I swallowed and then licked my lips as I tried to regain some composure. Nothing came out, though, when I tried to speak.

"The full English," Dad said, rescuing me. "With toast." He winked at Amelia. "And it's not burned."

She giggled and buried her face in her brother's arm. Another woman charmed by my dad, it seemed.

"In fact," he continued. "I would ask Monique to make you one of her special milk shakes to go with it."

Amelia gave a little gasp and looked up at Zak. "Can I?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet.

He rubbed a hand over her head and nodded. "I think we can manage that."

If I thought I'd liked him the night before, it was nothing to how I was feeling watching him interact with his little sister. Not only was my heartbeat erratic, but my stomach felt like it had a million butterflies. Then, when he glanced at me, I thought my lungs might have seized up because I couldn't breathe.

Zak's tongue flicked along his bottom lip. "We should leave you to your breakfast."

Unable to speak, I nodded and felt a small sense of relief when he turned to Amelia to lead her away. It was short-lived, though, because Dad decided to send me into complete turmoil.

"Why don't you join us. We've only just ordered."

My head spun around to see him frowning yet smiling at the same time. He seemed torn as he looked between me and Zak. He wanted to be polite, but he was my Dad, and he knew that I liked the boy he'd just invited to our table.

Monique appeared with Dad's coffee. "Everything okay here?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Dad replied. He nodded in the direction of Zak. "We've got two joining us."

"Oh, okay. Take a seat, guys, and I'll get you a menu." She smiled at Amelia and ran a hand down her hair. "I think you look like a milkshake sort of girl. Am I right?"

Amelia nodded and then looked up at her brother who was looking at Monique. "I'll have a tea, please and a full English. Could Amelia have toast and peanut butter, please?"

"Absolutely," Monique replied.

Zak hovered at the end of the table, looking at the seat next to me, but when Dad coughed, he pushed Amelia towards me.

"You sit next to Maddy," he said softly, his eyes firmly on me. "I promise she's nice."

As I moved along the bench seat to let her in, I caught Dad staring at me, and when I smiled at him, his shoulders sagged as if regret appeared to weigh him down.