The Rebound Guy by Fiona Harper

some oxygen before she answered. ‘Maybe after lunch,’ she told them, then pointed over to a blanket not far away, where Sarah from Accounting, her husband and brood of four children were gathered. ‘There are some kids your age over there. Why don’t you see if you can go and play with them?’
    Cal pulled a face. ‘They’re girls .’
    She smothered a smile. ‘Well, those girls have got a football in their bag. Still not interested in playing with them?’
    The boys exchanged looks. Cal looked down and scuffed the grass with his trainer, before staring longingly at the assortment of brightly coloured pint-sized sports equipment being unloaded from a large holdall.
    â€˜I suppose we could go and teach them how to play properly,’ he said slowly.
    Once again, Kelly struggled to keep her lips in a straight line. From the look of the pink-and-lilac-clad tomboys clambering over their father to get to the toys, they could teach Ben and Cal a thing or two.
    She pushed herself to her feet. ‘Come on, we’ll go and say hi.’
    The boys loped behind her for a few steps, but started running the instant Sarah spotted them coming and beckoned them over. Within thirty seconds Cal was being bossed by Sarah’s eldest as to exactly where he should put some discarded cardigans to serve as goalposts. Kelly stood, hands on hips, watching them for a moment and then accepted Sarah’s offer to join her on her blanket for a chat.
    â€˜So what’s the deal with this picnic?’ she asked Sarah, keeping half an eye on the game of football that had just started. ‘We just slowly toast ourselves in the sunshine and stuff our faces?’
    Sarah grinned at her as she rolled up her T-shirt sleeves to expose her shoulders. ‘If that’s what you want, but this being a sporty kind of staff, there’s also a chance to burn off the picnic calories, should you wish to. Jason’s big on organising games and races and getting the different departments to compete against each other.’
    Kelly stared ahead and said nothing. Of course he was.
    â€˜Highlight of the afternoon is the annual rounders tournament. Of course, Jason calls it baseball, and we don’t correct him, but we all know it’s really good old British rounders. Production and Design won last year and they’re determined to hold on to their trophy.’
    Kelly closed her eyes. ‘Please don’t tell me there’s an actual trophy.’
    Sarah chuckled. ‘Of course there’s a trophy! It’s all the guys talk about. It gives them gloating rights for the next twelve months.’ Her mouth hitched up at one side. ‘The way they go on about it, you’d think the stupid thing had magical powers. You watch, they’ll be warming up and taking their practice swings before lunch.’
    Sarah was right about that. Not ten minutes passed before a band of serious-looking twenty-somethings, all with specially printed T-shirts with the Aspire logo and ‘P & D’ on the back, huddled together and started taking turns with a bat. Kelly only half watched them, content to just sit and do nothing for once. Sarah’s husband was supervising the kiddie football game, so she didn’t even have to keep more than half an ear out for her sons’ voices.
    For the first time in months, maybe even a couple of years, she felt as if she could kick back and do nothing. It was glorious.
    She’d been sitting there quite happily, soaking up the sunshine, when that familiar prickling sensation crept up her arms. She glanced over to where the rounders players were warming up and her stomach lurched so hard she was almost convinced the ground had moved.
    There was Jason, in faded jeans and a T-shirt, looking more gorgeous than a man had a right to as he laughed and chatted with some of the other guys. Out of his suit he looked...he looked...
    Edible.
    Sadly, that was the only word