Match.com

'Good morning'

I nearly screamed when my phone buzzed that morning. Marcel had texted me good morning, in the morning. Which means he is quite possibly not in California anymore.

Of course it was 8:30 in the morning on Saturday and before I could even try to reply I had an eight year old and a six year old occupying my bed.

"Murphy, are you awake yet?" Tabitha crawled under my blanket, pulling it up and snuggling next to me.

"I am awake? Are you?" I poked at her stomach and Harriet giggled, joining in.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" She laughed, pushing our hands away. "Will you make us pancakes?"

"Yeah pancakes!" Harriet shouted, jumping on the bed.

"Okay, okay!" I laughed, climbing out of the bed and pulling a pair of joggers on. I took my phone with me, I still hadn't texted Marcel back.

'Good morning to you too, are you back in the UK?'

The thought of Marcel being in the same country, no matter how many hours commute, made my heart flutter.

'I am, what are you up to this morning?'

I clutched my phone tighter as I picked Barnaby out of his crib and set him down, letting him crawl through the hallway to the kitchen. Harriet and Tabitha immediately dropped beside him, pretending to crawl along with him.

'I'm babysitting my ace gang while my sister works.'

"Tabby can you go see if Muzz is awake?" I asked picking Barnaby off the kitchen floor to put him in his chair.

"Yay!" Tabitha took off down the hall, already screaming Martha's name.

'Sounds fun, I'm glad we're in the same time zone now. Texting before was tricky.'

'It was, did you enjoy it though?'

'It was a lot of fun, how was your week?'

'Hectic. I'm working on a cook-book right now so it's been busy.'

'Do you need a test subject for your recipes?'

I smiled, biting my lip and staring at the text. It wasn't like he was outright inviting me to meet him in person. We weren't coordinating a date but he did say he wanted to try my food. And that meant meeting. Not just texting.

'Children aren't the best judges.'

Tabitha came back into the kitchen with Martha and both of them took seats with Harriet at the table. I was still exhausted from the night before, I had been up late video chatting with my mum.

I hated when Busy worked early shifts, I really wasn't a morning person. And pancakes first thing was even harder to pull off. Especially because Tabitha wanted cinnamon, Harriet wanted blueberry, and Martha wanted chocolate. Barnaby was always my favourite on pancake mornings.

'I'll say, I have news I think may be exciting.'

'You think?'

I laughed, reading the text he sent.

'I'm coming to London for the semester.'

"Oh my god!" I threw my hand over my mouth at my outburst.

"What happened Murphy?" Tabitha looked up at me.

"Sorry petal, I didn't mean to shout, a friend of mine is coming to London for a while."

"A boyfriend? Is it that boy that mummy said you've been chatting with?" Harriet asked, smiling.

Had Busy really been chatting with the girls about Marcel? My sister can't keep a secret to save her life but it's kind of depressing that she was turning to her primary school aged kids to gossip.

"It is the boy I've been chatting with, but 'e's not quite my boyfriend yet."

"Why?" Martha.

"Is it because he hasn't kissed you yet?" Tabitha.

"Is he handsome?" Harriet.

Barnaby really is my favourite.

"No we 'aven't kissed yet and yes 'e is very 'andsome."

"Tabitha has a boyfriend too!" Harriet giggled.

"No I don't Harry!" Tabitha frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"A boyfriend from camp?" Did kids date when they were eight year olds?

"No! He's imagenry!" Martha joined in.

"Is not! We saw him in concert last year with daddy!"

"Oh yer boyfriend is famous? What's 'is name then?" I laughed.

"Harreh Styles!" Martha shouted.

"Oh god," I rolled my eyes. I should have known my oldest niece would fall victim to a boyband, even at eight. Going into her room was like entering a One Direction museum.

"He's gorgeous and we're going to get married someday and be king and queen of England!" Tabitha announced.

I put the tray of pancakes on the table for them and took my seat beside Barnaby's highchair. He'd been too busy playing with toy keys to bother with his sister's plan to wed a celebrity. Who was eleven years her senior.

"Isn't 'e a bit old for you?"

"He'll wait till I'm 19 too."

" 'E just won't age?"

"No."

"Can I see a picture of your boyfriend?" Harriet asked, leaning towards me.

"Sure," it was easier to change the subject then to explain why being king and queen of England was impossible (and all the other flaws in Tabitha's plan).

The three girls crowded around my phone, no doubt getting sticky syrup fingerprints on it. I fed Barnaby as they whispered about him to each other.

"He looks like Harry Styles." Harriet concluded, handing over the sticky phone.

"No 'e doesn't, 'e is much more 'andsome." I laughed. And then remembered that I'd never texted him back.

'That is the best kind of news! You've made my day!'

'Good to hear, I was a bit nervous, you didn't respond.'

'My nieces took my phone hostage.'

'How many nieces do you have?'

'3. Tabitha is 8, Harriet is 6, and Martha is 5. Then Barnaby is the only boy and he is 8 mos.'

'Quite a gang you've got there.'

'My ace gang.'

I quickly typed again, before he could respond and continue with our light banter. If he was coming to London I wanted to see him in person.

'When do you arrive in London?'

'Tomorrow.'

'Would you want to come over for dinner? The kids are going to their dad's and my sister will be out.'

I felt like I was holding my breath, waiting for him to answer my text and tell me if he was coming. It was obvious that we both regarded this as more than a friendship. I had removed my profile from Match and so had he, meaning he wasn't looking for any other girls. Which made me absolutely giddy with affection for him.

'Sure, I would love that.'

Tomorrow night I was meeting Marcel in person. And honestly, I just wanted to kiss him.