“Have you thought any more about the clubs?”
“Yeah. It’s a good idea to expand and I think it might be useful to have different places for different tastes rather than focusing all our efforts on one portion of the market.”
He smiles and quirks a brow.
“What?”
“You. You sound all grown-up when you talk so seriously about diversification and marketing plans.”
“Fuck you, Mase.” The words are harsh, but my smirk says it’s not serious because he is right. This is grown-up and I don’t really do that.
“Back at you, Dec.” He smiles again, but this one is a little more thoughtful.
“What?” I ask again.
“It suits you, being a grown-up. And Anita, she suits you, too.”
“Okay…” I draw the word out. “Stop that mushy shit now or before we know it, we’ll be all cuddly in a menbrace.”
“A menbrace?”
“Yeah, it’s like a hug for men.”
He laughs and it is definitely at me. “I got it, but fuck me, you’re making words up now for the mushy shit. It really must be true love.”
“Whatever.” I wave his fun poking off. “I remember when Liv first landed in your life, so you have zero room to piss take.”
He smiles warmly, clearly remembering Liv’s arrival and then he frowns. “She was a complete and utter pain in the arse. Did my head in on a daily basis and fuck me if she didn’t give me the greatest mind fucks ever.”
I watch him and say nothing.
“And it was amazing and perfect, just like my wife.”
I make a little gesture as if to be sick, but we both know I don’t mean it. I love Liv and even the mind fuck stuff and grief she caused Mase was never, ever intentional or through manipulation, it was just that she had never really met anyone like him or been loved and treated like fine art.
“Are my ears burning?”
Liv appears and after ruffling my hair makes her way to Mase and takes up her place in his lap.
“This furniture might not be up to the three of us sitting in one space,” she says, rubbing a loving and protective hand over her very swollen belly.
Mase pulls her closer, ignoring her words.
I smile at them, not just because I love them both and are happy for them, but because when I watch them together, I know this is what I want, and it is almost what I have with Anita.
“How long do we have until mini-me arrives now?”
“About five and a half weeks,” Liv tells me.
“You still working?” I kind of know she is, and I also know this is a bone of contention for Mase.
“Yeah.”
“Not for much longer,” Mase mutters, earning himself a sideways glance from his wife, although I notice she calms him by putting his hand onto her bump that he immediately begins to rub and physically calms.
“Would you come and look at a couple of places with me?” I shock myself with that question, unsure if I am moving too fast. “You know Mase and I have talked about expanding and I have found a couple of possible places, but I’d like your opinion and ideas on design.”
“Of course.” She grins and I can already see the cogs whirring in her mind.
