Fitz shakes his head. “I’m all out of fairy dust. You’ll have to make do with cupcakes.”
“I think I’ll cope.”
I smile at him fondly. One thing’s for sure; there’s never a dull moment when Fitz is around. I don’t like to think of a future where we don’t live together, but it will come. One of us will end up in a long-term relationship sooner or later—I predict it will be him—and then one of us will move out. We’ll always be friends, though. I’m sure of that. Or, as Fitz would say, besties.
Our friendship will change when one of us finds our life partner. Fitz’s last girlfriend, Emma, scowled every time I entered the room. One day, she told me she didn’t like how touchy-feely we were. She said it wasn’t normal for two guys to be so close. I didn’t tell Fitz. He seemed smitten by her, but their relationship fizzled out a couple of months later.
“What are you thinking about?” Fitz asks.
“How great your cooking is.”
“You’re not exactly a bad cook yourself.”
“Good enough to impress Beatrice?”
Fitz seems to consider that.
“We both know I’m not,” I say so he doesn’t have to. “Go chill out. I’ll wash up.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I thought you were the boss of me?”
“We can take turns.” He holds his hand out.
I clasp and shake it. “Deal.”
Chapter4
Fitz
Friday has ended up being poker night at my older brother’s house. Other than A Spot of Tea at lunchtime, I’m pretty sure it’s the busiest place Addy goes voluntarily. By busy, I mean there can be up to a dozen of us in Joe’s dining room at any one time. When there are that many of us, we sit elbow-to-elbow around the circular table, trying not to let anyone else see our cards. I suck at poker, so it’s a good thing we don’t play for money, or I’d have lost the keys to my business by now. We do use poker chips, but only to declare a winner at the end of the night.
Joe is my eldest brother. He’s married to a great guy, Max, and they both have pretty high-power jobs. They also don’t want kids, which means they have more disposable income than I could ever dream of, a four-bedroom house they pretty much rattle around in, a flashy car, and two motorbikes.
He invites our other brothers, Stephen and Blair, over for poker, along with their partners. Stephen and Sophie have been married for five years and have a gorgeous three-year-old daughter called Tilly. Our parents babysit for them every Friday night. Addy has helped me look after Tilly once or twice. He gets flustered when he’s speaking to adults—unfamiliar or otherwise—but he can entertain a toddler for hours. Tilly loves him. He has this knack for making her giggle, which is a fantastic sound. He’ll make a great dad someday. Whomever he settles down with will be lucky.
Blair has been dating Ana for two and a half years, but neither of them seems inclined to get engaged or married, despite our parents constantly asking them about it.
Joe also invites old school friends, often different ones each week, some of which Addy and I vaguely know, some of which we don’t. This week, it’s just family and Addy, but I’ve known him so long he’s classed as family. Seven familiar faces are much less overwhelming for Addy than eleven, some of whom are often unfamiliar.
“Beer?” Max asks as we all get settled around the dining room table.
They put green felt cloth over it on poker nights to make it feel more like a casino.
“Not for me,” Sophie says.
Everyone’s attention turns to her.
She blushes and holds Stephen’s hand. “We’re pregnant!”
“Oh, wow, congrats!” Joe says.
“How far along?” Ana asks.
“About ten weeks,” Stephen says. “So keep it among yourselves for now.”
“Do Mum and Dad know?” Joe asks.
