“Would you get married?”
“I don’t know, maybe one day,” I said, still looking at Harper and hoping my words weren’t scaring him. But he was smiling warmly, the way he always did. And in that moment I felt an overwhelming rush of love sweep over me. “But, er, I do love him. And I want him to be my boyfriend and stay here with you and me.”
“And Harper,” Jack said indignantly, gesturing at my sunshine with a wet hand and flinging water across his legs. “You forgot Harper.”
I walked over to the pair of them and bent down so I could take Jack’s hand. “Actually, my knight is Harper, Jack. I love him and I’d like him to stay here with us. But I still love you very, very much. That doesn’t change, okay?” I looked up at Harper, who seemed like he was trying very hard not to cry. I put my hand out to take his. “I want it to be you and me and Harper, all together in our house. Would that be okay?”
“Yeah, I ’pose,” Jack said with a smile. “But can I have pancakes now peas Daddy? I’m so hungry there’s a bear in my tummy.”
I squeezed his hand and grinned. “Yeah, mate, you can have pancakes now.”
He squealed happily, hopping off his stool and running across the kitchen towards the table. I stood up and looked at Harper, my hand still in his. Emotion swirled inside me and all my words seemed insignificant. “I love you,” I said softly, lifting his hand to kiss his knuckles. “My beautiful sunshine.”
“I love you too,” Harper said, resting his hand on my chest as he gazed into my eyes, a teasing edge to his smile. “Are you my grumpy dragon then?”
“I’m a prince, obviously.”
“Hmm, I’m going with dragon.” He leant in and kissed me, mouth sweet with strawberries. “My gorgeous, grumpy dragon, who I love more than anything.”
“Daddy! Harper! No kissing! It’s time for pancakes!” Jack yelled from his seat at the table, glaring at us with folded arms. “That’s very rude.”
“That’s us told then,” Harper said with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I’m not sure if I should be worried or pleased about the fact he’s more interested in pancakes.”
“Let’s go with pleased, and if he wants to ask questions, he can,” Harper said, letting go of my hand to wash his own quickly. “We know he’s not afraid to do that.”
“True.”
We walked over to the table, collecting various breakfast things on the way past the island. I couldn’t wait to see what questions Jack came up with, but I’d do my best to answer all of them. I never wanted to be one of those parents who said,Because I said soorStop asking questions. If I didn’t know the answer, I could look it up. And if I didn’t know how to answer it, then I could probably Google that too.
Jack was almost vibrating with excitement as he helped Harper cut up his pancakes, launching into a long story about how, if he had a farm, he wouldn’t have any cows because he didn’t like them but he would like goats because they wouldn’t be mean to him. I had no idea where the mistrust of cows had come from, but I smiled and nodded, basking in this moment.
When I looked over at Harper, he was watching Jack with fond amusement, and I knew there’d never be enough time orways to tell him how much I loved him. He’d brought me back to myself and given me things I didn’t know I’d needed.
Harper was my sunshine, simple as that.
For the first time, my life felt totally complete.
And I hoped that feeling would last for a long, long time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Matty
It wasthe last home match of the Premiership rugby union season and the whole stadium was abuzz with excitement. A win for the Knights would solidify our position in the top four and get us into the semi-finals, putting us one match away from a final at Twickenham. It was everything we’d worked for all season, and I was determined for us to go out and give it our all.
“All right,” I said as the team huddled up in the changing room, our arms around each other’s shoulders. “This is it. Last home game of the season and our chance to go out there and prove that we fucking deserve to be here! We’ve earned that semi-final, so get out there and fucking prove it. Leave nothing in the tank. This is our moment, boys, so fucking enjoy it.”
“We’ve got this,” Devon said. “Don’t give them an inch. This is our stadium, those are our fans, and we’re not leaving without a win. If they push forward, you fucking push back. Kill them if you have to.”
There was a round of cheering and applause. I wasn’t sure I’d expected something quite so bloodthirsty from Devon, but therewas a wild glint in his eyes and it reminded me how much he’d won with Marseille before he’d come here.
“Knights on three then, boys,” I said, looking at the excited faces around me. They weren’t just my teammates, they were my friends, my brothers, my family. And we’d always have each other’s backs, on and off the pitch. Together, there was nothing we couldn’t do.
The huddle broke up and we made our way towards the tunnel, ready to walk out onto the pitch. For today, we had mascots joining us—kids aged between five and twelve all dressed in Knights kit ready to walk out beside us. As captain, I was at the front of the line beside a boy who looked like he wasn’t sure whether to smile or throw up.
“Hey,” I said, holding out my hand. “I’m Matty. What’s your name?”
