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She wanted to doto do more she would insult them Lien would never do that

She squeezed Joe’s fingers ‘Regan is a smart kid And kids are more resilient than we think they are He knows he has you He knows he has his grandparents who love him He also knows that his family is a little different from some of the other kids around him’

She saw hinised the unshed tears in his eyes Every instinct told her that Joe didn’t normally let anyone see him cry She could bet he’d shed a million tears over the loss of his wife, but Joe was the kind of guy to do that in private His face for the outside world would be stoic He was revealing parts of himself that he wouldn’t normally

Maybe it was being in a different country with unfas for him Or maybe he felt the connection between them that she tried her best not to think about

She spoke quietly ‘Joe, I know this is hard And I know there will always be dates, or occasions, in the future that will hit hard too’ She was thinking of special birthdays or Christreat job And Regan? He’s a great kid S heart You can’t ask for more’

Joe sucked in a deep breath and the expression on his face softened The deep lines on his forehead sers and turned her palers

It was soothing It was cos up her arm

Those green eyes et so lucky?’ he asked

‘With Regan?’

He shook his head ‘No’ His gaze was steady ‘With a colleague like you’ He lowered his gaze now ‘I don’t like to wobble I hate to feel that I can’t be everything that my kid needs On the few occasions I wobbled back home, my mum and dad helped paper over the cracks We didn’t talk about it I’d just get up the next day to findpot of soup on the stove, or had done the et home froer of turning into a jungle’

She gave a little laugh The heat was spreading up her arm

‘Well,’ she said softly, ‘I certainly don’t have—what do you call it, green fingers?’

He nodded and she continued ‘Neither a But I can tell you where all the best restaurants and stores are I can find a thousand ways to a any money, and I can loan you another thousand bedtime stories’

Joe sighed, and his finger kept tracing circles in her palm ‘I feel so weird about all this’

‘Why?’

He looked up, straight into her eyes ‘Us’

Her back autohtened Her mouth almost asked the question, Is there an us? But Joe started talking again

‘I feel as if I was meant to meet you Meant to come here’

She laughed ‘Yourher best to ht of this conversation because she was nervous Nervous about what he ht be about to say, or ask

‘She ht have But this time, this place’ He looked around and held out his hand ‘A crazy diner in the middle of Vietnamit just feels’ he took a breath before the next word as their gazes ht’

It was as if so to blossoh her abdo But she couldn’t deny the crazy connection she was feeling

She took a deep breath ‘You mentioned Scotland—’

She didn’t get a chance to continue because Joe’s eyes lit up and he started talking straight away ‘Yes Think about it Why not give it a try? The scenery is just as good as Vietnam’ He smiled ‘Maybe not the temperature But there’s so much to do So much to see Even I can’t believe the siow and Hanoi’ He reached over and grabbed her hand ‘I’d love to show you around Glasgow, just like you’ve done for ht even want to stay’ His eyes sparkled as he said those words and her heart sank like a stone ‘You can stay with us—we have plenty of room’

She sed, her er than ever as he’d told her about his worries about Regan He’d confided in her enough to tell her that She could see he was briht words Their cultural and social backgrounds didn’t just feel different at this moment, they felt like a vast abyss She would never realistically leave Hanoi again—not for anything other than a holiday Her heart rested here With the people who needed her most

She licked her lips ‘Thanks for the offer,’ she said as casually as she could ‘Lots to think about’ She stopped there She didn’t feel up to this conversation going any further

The waitress appeared with a bright smile and put the plates on the table with a loud clunk Both of thean had obviously spotted the food because he appeared at their side ‘Is that er?’