I turn to her, and when she raises an eyebrow in my direction, I smile.
“Is that all I’m going to get?” she asks.
I shrug and busy myself with the last of the toys, ignoring her question. When I’m done, I pick up the coffee Amanda brought in.
“Delicious,” I say, closing my eyes and letting the taste explode across my tongue.
Leah lets out an unladylikeharrumph, something she’s picked up from her husband, and I chuckle.
“Have it your way,” Leah says good-naturedly before I open one eye and look at her grinning. “Shall we get out of here?”
She pushes the still-sleeping Callum towards the door.
“Absolutely,” I say, jumping up and following, placing my empty coffee cup on the desk.
It’s been too long since we’ve chatted.
I couldn’t believe my luck when, ten minutes after I arrived at Gabriel’s office, Leah turned up with Callum. One of myfavourite little humans. I was on the floor in seconds, shoes off so as not to catch little fingers as we crawled around.
Seeing Gabriel with his wife and son warms my heart. I never thought I’d see the day. He had a toy pile stored in his office and was happy to have them strewn all over the floor. I wonder if Kris will be the same?
A fluttery feeling began deep in my belly when the door opened behind me. My pounding heart revealed his identity before he uttered a word.
Should I be surprised?
I know Gabriel called me after Elijah spoke to him, but Elijah has held himself back from his family for so long. What is surprising to me is my body’s response to the man who I’ve tried to distance myself from for years. Why is it that when I’m finally moving on, old feelings are being dragged back to the surface?
This is my problem, and I need to get a grip. I’ll be leaving soon, going back to Kris and my future.
One thing is for sure. It’s good to see Elijah finally reaching out and reconnecting, mending the bridges and relationships his marriage broke. Whatever happened between him and Darra left its scars. His focus was always on his swimming and then his business, but when we first met, he was never closed off. He was sociable, family-oriented. The Frazer household was a hub where we all gathered. We still do, but instead of him being at the heart, he’s been skirting around the edges, looking in for far too many years. Hopefully, this is the start of change.
I didn’t miss Elijah’s smirk when he took in my wacky socks. It was a joke at uni. He would always buy me the brightest, garish pair of socks he could find. He told me, even if he couldn’t see them inside my boots, they would brighten up my goth look. I resisted until I couldn’t. Now, it’s a habit. I loved black in those days, and it was not only my clothes but my hair, my nails, my eye makeup. I look back at pictures and scare even myself.
I still wear a lot of black, but I’ve toned down my makeup and hair. Running a multi-million-pound empire does that to someone. I have removed most of my piercings. My nose, eyebrow, and lip rings, as well as my tongue stud. I still sport a belly button bar and have multiple hoops and studs in each ear.
“So, what’s going on with Elijah?” Leah says as soon as we hit the street.
I move alongside her as we navigate our way through the crowds.
“I was helping him with something,” I tell her.
“All night?”
She stops, causing the surrounding people to swear and step around her.
I grab her arm to get her moving again, apologising to those Londoners cursing us.
“It was a big something,” I say.
It’s only when the words leave my mouth that I realise what I said. I turn to Leah, whose face crumples with laughter. Shaking my head, I manoeuvre us into a nearby coffee shop. I will need more caffeine if I’m going to be quizzed.
“Sorry,” she chokes out as she tries to get her laughter under control.
“Hilarious,” I say drily.
“Oh, come on, it was a little bit funny. Iammarried to a Frazer,” she says, waggling her eyebrows.
My cheeks heat.
