Lee cocked an eyebrow. “Your friend?”

“That’s right.”

Not wasting a moment, Lee pulled his brother aside to talk privately. The thing was, they’d only stepped a few feet away and I could still make out what they were saying.

“I ain’t seen you with a friend since before you got out, Stu. In fact, you told me you had no interest. So what’s going on?”

“My interest came back.”

“Bullshit.”

“Fuck off, Lee. Sometimes I think you forget I’m older.”

“I haven’t forgotten shit. You’ve not been the same since you came home. We’ve talked about it. It’s too soon for you to be with anyone, and we both know it.”

My stomach twisted at the comment, a pang of sympathy hitting my chest. Why hadn’t Stu been with anyone? Had prison traumatised him somehow? And if that were the case, then why was he interested in me?

“Jesus Christ, you’re as bad as your missus these days. Relax and enjoy the party; I’m going to grab a beer.”

With that Stu left his brother and returned to my side, taking my hand and leading me through the restaurant to a small bar at the back.

“You heard all that, didn’t you?” asked Stu, not looking at me as he walked around the bar, grabbing a glass and pulling himself a pint.

“I did.”

“Lee worries about me is all. Most of my life I kind of flaked out on being the eldest, so he took on the role. Now I’ve seen worse than him and he thinks I’m going to fall apart at any minute. It’s getting on my tits.”

“Why would he think that?” I asked as Stu finished pulling his pint.

“What’ll you have? Wine? I make a mean Long Island Iced Tea.”

“The cocktail sounds good,” I replied, needing alcohol to get me through this weird day. “But you can quit avoiding the question.”

Stu went to work grabbing ingredients for my drink, his brows drawn into a thoughtful line. “The day I got out I had a bit of a meltdown. Now Lee thinks it’s gonna happen again any minute. He doesn’t seem to realize how irritating it is to have someone constantly hovering, waiting for you to snap or break apart. He also thinks I’m not ready for a relationship, which is why he’s being all frosty knickers around you.”

“I thought it was because he knows I’m your teacher. Did Trevor tell him?”

“Course he did. Trev couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it.” There was an edge to his words.

“Well, you do know there’s no relationship between us other than friendship, right?” I went on, and he shot me a cynical look.

“You’re too fond of my tongue for that to be true, luv,” he said and winked at me just as a curvy brunette came and joined us. She had a little boy with her, and he was wearing the most adorable blue dungarees.

“Grab me a glass of white, would you, Stu?” asked the brunette as she fixed the boy’s hair. “There, absolutely gorgeous,” she continued, pinching his cheek and making him giggle. He was probably only about two or three. She smiled when she saw me sitting next to her.

“Hi, I’m Alexis,” she said, introducing herself and holding out her hand.

“Andie,” I replied as I shook with her. “I’m a friend of Stu’s.”

I noticed her eyes widen a fraction as she replied somewhat disbelievingly, “Really?”

“Be nice, Lex,” Stu warned as he set a glass of wine down in front of her then continued mixing my cocktail.

“What? I didn’t say anything.”

“Your face said it all.”

“Well, can you blame me for being surprised? I’ve never known you to have female friends, and no offence, but Andie here seems way too classy for the likes of you,” she said, mildly teasing.

I didn’t know where she was getting classy from, since she was wearing a fitted black dress and I was wearing the sort of clothes most people did their gardening in. Perhaps it was my accent she thought fancy.

“Yeah, yeah.” Stu waved her off before his eyes fell on me. “Lex and I used to go out.”

“About a million years ago,” Alexis put in.

“She thinks she knows what I’m all about.”

“That’s because I do. And this girl is way too good for you. I can tell with just one look.”

I was momentarily uncomfortable to discover this woman was Stu’s ex, but then I felt someone tug on the hem of my T-shirt. The little boy was smiling up at me.

“Hello.” I grinned. “What’s your name?”

After I spoke he grew shy, burying his face in Alexis’s shoulder. It was pretty much adorable. “This is my son. His name is Oliver.”

“He’s gorgeous,” I said, while inside I began to wonder if he was Stu’s. It was a sobering thought and must’ve been written on my face because Stu said, “He ain’t mine, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Oh, I wasn’t—”

“Face like a billboard, I already told you.”

I blushed and Alexis chuckled. “And thank God for that. I think we’d end up killing each other if we had to raise a child together.”

Stu shook his head in good humour then set my cocktail down in front of me. I thanked him and took a sip.

“I’ll be back in a sec. Just want to say a quick hello to Trev,” he said, and I watched as he went to join a group of guys who were surrounding the birthday boy.

“So, are you really just friends?” Alexis asked once Stu was out of earshot. She sipped on her wine, her son still on her lap. He kept stealing shy glances at me, which again, was adorable.

“Yes, well actually, I teach at the college he attends. He has to take part in my class as part of his parole. I’m trying to help him but it’s difficult. Whenever I try to discuss anything serious he just changes the subject. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure why he asked me here today.”

Alexis took a moment to absorb everything I’d just told her. Then she shook her head. “Typical Stu. I hope you don’t mind me being blunt, but he probably wants in your knickers. He tends to think with his cock first, then his brain. Don’t get me wrong, the bloke’s got a heart of gold, but he can be a bit full on when he fancies someone. Seems to me you’ve got his attention, and take it from someone who knows, he doesn’t give up easily.”