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\u2018Mum, can you marry Harry\u2019s dad please so me and Harry can be brothers?\u2019 asked my eldest son Taylor at the top of his voice while on the school run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was one of those moments in motherhood where I wanted the ground to open and swallow me, as I frantically looked around to make sure no one had heard my son trying to wed me off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was July 2017 and I\u2019d been single for about a month. I certainly wasn\u2019t looking for a new relationship \u2013 much less one with my son\u2019s best friend\u2019s dad!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018It doesn\u2019t quite work like that,\u2019 I explained to Taylor, as I handed him his school bag. \u2018And anyway, I have no idea who Harry\u2019s dad is, so sorry, that isn\u2019t going to happen.\u2019<\/p>\n
If only I knew\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
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I put Taylor\u2019s words down to kids being kids \u2013 plus, when I thought I\u2019d spotted Harry\u2019s dad on the playground, I was sorely disappointed \u2013 so when he didn\u2019t mention it again, I completely forgot about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was, until I went out with some friends to a local wine bar. There were quite a few of the school mums out having a drink there too, and I jokingly mentioned what Taylor had said to one of them. \u2018Oh, I know Harry\u2019s dad, he\u2019s here,\u2019 she smiled. \u2018Let me introduce you.\u2019<\/p>\n
Before I could stop her, off she went to get James. And to my pleasant surprise, it wasn\u2019t the man I thought he was. In fact, he was actually pretty hot.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
We chatted for a while and, laughingly, I told him what Taylor had said, but he didn\u2019t really say a lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So the next day, when he sent me a flirty text, I was completely taken aback. How about we put the kids\u2019 theory to the test?<\/p>\n
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I didn\u2019t want a relationship, but I was intrigued. James seemed nice\u2026 Plus, it wouldn\u2019t hurt to go out on a date, and potentially be spoiled. So I texted him back shortly after. \u2018Why not?\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our first date ended up being on Harry\u2019s birthday. James suggested that, as well as Taylor, my younger son and I joined them, and he\u2019d bring his daughter too. We were going bowling, then having lunch followed by a trip to the cinema \u2013 the six of us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It felt pretty weird meeting James along with two of his children, but within minutes we were all laughing and mucking around enjoying ourselves like we\u2019d known each other for ages. I expect to the outside world, we just looked like a normal family!\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt relaxed and comfortable, something I really wasn\u2019t expecting, and I let myself think maybe there could be something here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The final part of Harry\u2019s birthday celebrations was a sleepover at his mum\u2019s. I\u2019d already arranged for Taylor to go and we\u2019d sorted everything out \u2013 but what I hadn\u2019t realised was James had asked Harry\u2019s mum to have my youngest too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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It was undoubtedly the oddest first date I\u2019d been on, but, after spending the day together, I found myself excited to spend some time on our own, so I ended up going with it.<\/p>\n
So after the cinema we dropped the kids off, and James and I went to our local pub for dinner and drinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the conversation flowed and I found James attractive, I was still a bit guarded. I\u2019d been so hurt in my last relationship, I didn\u2019t want to rush into another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But after a few weeks it was crystal clear that James wasn\u2019t like anyone else I\u2019d dated before. He was the kindest, most thoughtful and honest man I\u2019d ever met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it was clear that we had something special. You know the prince in the fairytale? Well, James was mine.<\/p>\n
Things moved pretty quickly after that. Within six weeks, James and his kids moved in with me and my boys, and life as a blended family started. The kids were over the moon that we were together.<\/p>\n
I think seeing James and I so happy was all they ever wanted.<\/p>\n
Platform is the home of Metro.co.uk’s first-person and opinion pieces, devoted to giving a platform to underheard and underrepresented voices in the media. <\/strong><\/p>\n Find some of our best reads of the week below:<\/p>\n Linda Aitchison was terrified when her doctor suspected cancer following some worrying symptoms. The writer was filled with relief when it transpired to be her long-forgotten 15-year-old coil. <\/p>\n Metro.co.uk’s Alicia Adejobi slammed Kanye West and shared how she felt humiliation and sadness for his ‘wife’ Bianca Censori after seeing her outfits in Italy. <\/p>\n An anonymous writer explains how, after never having the best relationship with his father, he gave his dad a second chance by allowing him to be an active grandparent. Something his father has taken for granted. <\/p>\n And Shane Harding retells the story of how she met her soulmate Mert on holiday in Turkey. Mert travelled 300 miles and spent \u00a3400 on a taxi just to make their first date. <\/p>\n The following March, James proposed on a boat in the middle of Dubai Marina \u2013 it was so romantic, just perfect.<\/p>\n Then in August 2019 we married on a beach in Cyprus, our dream wedding with our closest friends and family around us.<\/p>\n Looking back to that day in July, I never thought for a second that Taylor\u2019s wish would actually come true \u2013 or that my son would have been the one to lead me to my future husband!<\/p>\n So, How Did It Go? is a weekly\u00a0Metro.co.uk\u00a0series that will make you cringe with second-hand embarrassment or ooze with jealousy as people share their worst and best date stories.<\/p>\n Want to spill the beans about your own awkward encounter or love story? Contact jess.austin@metro.co.uk<\/p>\n<\/i>So, How Did It Go?<\/h2>\n