Belonging by Rhoda Baxter

Author:Rhoda Baxter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town romance, york, Yorkshire England, romance after bereavement, enemies to lovers slow burn clean sweet romance
Publisher: Rhoda Baxter
Published: 2022-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Tim peered into the main room of the pub. Harriet was sitting at the table in the window, with Niamh opposite her. Her hair was pulled up into a messy knot, highlighting the delicate lines of her face. She looked effortlessly lovely.

He was late because he had just spent twenty minutes sitting on the edge of his bed, trying to remind himself that Harriet was out of bounds. She was the woman who had broken his sister’s marriage. He could not be attracted to her. Yet, when he’d come in and spotted her, his heart had lifted. He would have to be really careful to keep those sorts of feelings in check so that he didn’t end up in more trouble than he already was.

It didn’t take him long to see that something was wrong. He could feel it in the way Harriet was staring at the table. She had gone quiet and was nodding to what Niamh was saying, but he could tell by the way she was picking at a crack in the table top that she wasn’t really focusing.

He tried to join in the conversation, but the easy atmosphere that had formed in the flat was gone now. He had rather thought she might be flirting with him earlier, but he had clearly been flattering himself. She wasn’t interested in him. He should be grateful, really.

“Shall I go order the food?” he said. He pushed himself up to stand. Disappointment was putting a bit of a downer on the whole evening, but he’d promised Harriet dinner and he was going to deliver on that, even if she wasn’t interested in him.

“Uncle Tim. Can’t I have a real drink?” Niamh said.

“No.”

“Mum lets me have a tiny bit of wine with dinner from time to time.”

He wasn’t falling for that one. Now that he knew what an accomplished liar she was, he’d have to be extra careful. “No way. I’m bending far too many rules for you as it is.” Like, every single rule Mel had set. Although she hadn’t explicitly set a “don’t take her to see her Dad’s mistress” rule, he was pretty sure there was one.

Niamh pulled a face. She slid out of her seat. “You’re no fun. I’m going to the loo, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He watched her head off and sat back in his seat. “I really need to get better at reading teenagers.”

“Good luck with that.” Harriet sank back into her seat, as though moving away from him. “No one understands teenage girls. Not even teenage girls.”

“You seem to get on well with Niamh though.” He smiled, hoping to thaw the atmosphere.

Harriet shrugged. “She and I have something in common right now. Besides, I’m not an authority figure in her life. I’m just someone peripheral. It’s not worth investing emotional energy fighting me.”

She was still being odd and formal with him, as though he were a total stranger, not someone who had sat around in her flat, playing board games and making sure she didn’t have a nervous breakdown.

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