‘Why not? Jo had asked, ‘If he doesn't like children, then there's no point.'

‘No, no it's not that… Just trust me, don't mention them on your first date. There's nothing wrong with that is there?'

 

Well, no. But how do you not mention the two most important people in your life without inventing a few other things along the way?

 

Rob had been so interested, had asked so many questions. He'd wanted to know where she lived, what she did at the weekends, where she liked to go out and Jo had found herself, well… not exactly lying, but inventing a slightly different, slightly more glamorous, childless life for herself.

 

But they had liked each other much more than she had expected, so there had been further dates and meetings and the inventing had become a little more complicated. Because she'd suddenly felt nervous of telling him, of possibly spoiling the whole thing, so she had wanted to wait for the right moment, but then found herself dithering, stalling, unable to decide which moment that was exactly. So now he still didn't know.

 

She hadn't been able to let him come to her home, of course, because then he would have realized immediately, so he'd had to pick her up from work for this weekend away in his sleek, single-man-about-town black convertible.

 

Borrowing liberally from Susan's wardrobe, Jo had even dressed up for the trip like the person she was pretending to be. The single mother of a three and a five year old wouldn't own caramel suede trousers, Chanel sunglasses and spiky-heeled boots, but these were just what a woman on a glamorous weekend away needed .

So here she was, entwined in the sanctuary of a country hotel room with a man who had lovingly explored her every last little detail, yet didn't know the most essential thing about her.

 

She had created a vacuum-sealed romance and she was frightened now because she really cared about him, suspected he cared too and she had no idea how and when to begin taking the wrapper off to show him her real life.

 

‘You look very serious Jo. What are you thinking about?' he asked, glancing over, and she felt herself flush up again, feeling caught out.