Charlotte Delaney has sworn off men. After one relationship disaster after another- including turning a guy gay!- Charlotte is so over the male species.
Isaac Fletcher had his heart cruelly broken. Yes, it was years ago. No, he never got over it. I...
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Of all Lottie's family, the one I knew the least was her mother. I mean, I haven't had much to do with Emma and Lucas, either, but with Camille, I try to steer clear of her as much as possible. It's mainly because of what Dan has told me about her but in Camille's defence, Dan isn't exactly the best son-in-law; he messed Sophie around a bit when they were almost-but-not-quite dating, leaving her really upset which must have helped Camille form her opinion on Dan.
That said, I haven't messed Lottie around- I wouldn't dare! She's the best thing that's happened to me- apart from Martha and Sera- and trying to imagine life without her is impossible, which is why I'm sure Camille preferred me to Dan. This was all but confirmed when Camille text me out of the blue, asking me to meet her at her design studio in West London.
It was my day off and while Lottie went off to sort a few things out at La Petite, I happily agreed to take Sera with me on my travels today. I think Sera knew where we were going because as soon as I said Mémé, she stopped trying to wriggle out of her onesie and let me dress her, knowing better than to be late for her grandmother. She even stayed still while I belted her into her car seat, her eyes focusing on the kangaroo teddy that I had stuffed under my armpit. When she was safely buckled in, I placed the teddy at her side and noted how she was fixated on it. I made a mental note to never forget the kangaroo, otherwise, I'd have a banshee to contend with.
"Ready to go and see Mémé?" I ask my baby daughter in the most childish voice in my arsenal. Sera's piercing blue eyes shift away from her teddy and fix on me, giving me a look that screams Charlotte Delaney. Honestly, sometimes it's scary just how much of Lottie is in Sera. Maybe I should take over childcare duties to save me in the future; I have no doubt at all, living in a house full of girls, that they will one day all gang up on me. I'd like to have at least one person on my side. "God, you're bloody cute, Seraphina Eve. Alright, let's go."
Since it was midday, the traffic through London wasn't that bad. Camille had provided me with the address of her studio and given me directions on how to access the private car park that her clients could use; she was adamant that I drive there to ensure that Sera didn't pick up any bugs from being around people on the underground and then started to insist that Lottie and I get flu jabs so we're not sick around Sera this winter. As a baby, Camille said, she would pick up all sorts of germs that could kill her. I argued that Sera would be fine and that being around things like that was par for the course and would help build up her immune system. She told me I was wrong, dismissing all my medical knowledge. I'm just a paediatric doctor. What do I know?!
As I drove, I wondered what reasons Camille might have in inviting me to her studio. Lottie had frowned when I mentioned it to her, asking all sorts of questions that I couldn't answer and then said that I had either majorly fucked up and had been summoned or that I'd done something amazing and I'd been granted unprecedented access to the inner sanctum of Camille Clément's world.
I'm not sure which I'd prefer. Of course, mentally going through everything, I don't think I've done anything to make Camille angry with me but I'm not sure what I'd done that was so amazing, either. Honestly, I was baffled.
