Free The Great Escape by Fiona Gibson Page A

says.
    ‘Well …’ She hesitates. ‘It’s not easy but, you know, I’m an adult. We’ll get there. It’ll just take some time.’
    ‘I’m sure you’re right,’ he says, kissing her. I am , she reflects. I just need to keep believing that. Anyway, what kind of person of Ryan’s age doesn’t come with a little baggage? In fact, she likes the fact that he knows what days gym kits are needed and never forgets to pay the deposit for a school trip. So much information to store, and he manages it so admirably. She doesn’t even think of Ryan’s children as baggage; after all, they belong here, while she feels like an awkward guest at a fancy boutique hotel, under the watchful eye of two stern concierges. ‘Anyway,’ she adds, ‘I’ve got some good news. I’ve been thinking me and Daisy should spend some time together, so I asked her if she’d like to come shopping and she said yes.’
    ‘But you hate shopping,’ he exclaims. ‘You can’t stand it. You don’t see the point …’
    ‘I know, but I thought she’d enjoy it.’ Because I don’t know her, you see. I don’t really know anything about your daughter.
    ‘Well, I think it’s a great idea.’
    ‘And hopefully,’ Hannah adds, ‘it’ll get her in the wedding mood.’
    Ryan pauses, then asks, ‘Are you in the wedding mood, Han?’
    Hannah frowns in the darkness. ‘What d’you mean?’
    He hesitates, and the hand which has been stroking her back and shoulders comes to a halt. ‘I … just think you seem a bit tense, that’s all.’
    ‘Um, just wedding nerves, I guess.’
    ‘Not getting cold feet, are you?’ he asks.
    ‘No, of course not. It’s just … I don’t know. Right now, it doesn’t seem quite real. I’d never imagined getting married, being a wife .’
    ‘But you’re glad I put the idea in your head?’
    ‘Yes, of course I am. Actually, no one’s ever asked me before.’
    ‘But they all wanted to, I bet,’ he says affectionately.
    ‘Hey, less of the all …’
    They lie in silence for a few moments, and Hannah hears Josh padding to the bathroom.
    ‘Maybe you should plan a hen night,’ Ryan adds.
    ‘It’s funny, but Sadie was saying the same thing.’
    ‘Well, I’m having one.’
    ‘What, a hen night? I didn’t think you were the type, darling, for the L-plates and the bunny ears.’
    ‘No, a stag party. Not a stag stag party,’ Ryan adds quickly. ‘Not your gigantic piss-up and being stripped naked and tied to a lamppost …’
    ‘Come on, I know you’d love that …’
    ‘No,’ he insists, ‘I just mean something to mark the occasion. You should do something too.’
    ‘Ryan,’ she says firmly, ‘if I was having a hen night, I’d want Sadie and Lou to be there.’
    ‘But that’s not impossible, is it?’
    ‘Well, there’s the little matter of Sadie having the twins and Lou being in York, plus they’re coming to the wedding so I can’t really expect them to schlep down to London twice in six weeks …’
    ‘How about rounding up some of your other friends?’
    Hannah shakes her head. ‘I’d only keep wishing those two were there. Anyway,’ she adds, realising they’re forgetting to whisper, ‘I’m really pleased about Saturday. I thought me and Daisy could choose her bridesmaid’s outfit, if you don’t mind not being there …’
    ‘No,’ he chuckles. ‘You go ahead. I’m happy to leave that to you two.’
    You two , thinks Hannah as sleep starts to close in on her, as if they might possibly become a little gang. And somewhere down the line, perhaps there’ll be another person in the gang. A baby – a little brother or sister for Daisy and Josh.
    Hannah wants to mention it – to say, ‘I think I’m ready, Ryan. I can now almost imagine myself being a mother.’ But as she turns to him, Josh makes a rather noisy exit from the bathroom, shutting the door unnecessarily firmly behind him.
    It’s as if he’s reminding them that he’s there, awake and prowling around on the