“Yeah, mate. Soon.”
I ended the call, choking on another brain-melting combination of guilt and excitement. I’d lied about the bus, but as I glanced up, I saw it in the distance, and my stomach turned over. It was really happening—I was going to London to spend the day with Isha and his kids, and I couldn’t fucking wait.
The bus took me to the train station, and from there, it was two trains until I rolled into London. At Euston, I panicked. As London train stations went, it wasn’t particularly big, but I had no idea where I was going, and everything Rae had told me seemed to evaporate from my brain.
I spun around in a slow circle, searching for the underground. Strong hands caught me and turned me back to where I’d started.
“All right, mate?”
I blinked. Isha was standing right in front of me, a child hooked around each leg as he gripped my shoulders. “What are you doing here?”
His cautious grin widened enough to make my head spin. “D was worried you’d get lost. I did explain that you were an adult, and you’d probably been to London hundreds of times, but what do I know, eh?”
He released me to ruffle Delilah’s hair. I sagged with relief and crouched to her level. “Dad’s wrong. I haven’t been to London a hundred times, and I had no clue where I was going.”
“You could’ve called,” Isha said.
Delilah cut off my reply with a bear hug that belied her tiny arms, and I straightened with her still wrapped around me. “Whatever. I’m here now…we all are. What are we doing?”
“We’re going to the zoo,” Tam said. “They have a new king cobra there. Dad says I can enter the competition to name it.”
“Wow.” I inwardly winced at how much a day ticket to London Zoo was going to cost me and held up a hand to high five. “The one I looked after before I had the shop was called King, so I hope you can do better than that.”
Tam treated me to the kind of withering glare only a child could get away with without getting decked.
Isha laughed. “I don’t want to know what he has in mind, but if we want to get to the zoo before the crowds, we need to rescue the car and hit the road.”
Isha’s car was parked five minutes from the station, and the zoo turned out to be a mile up the road. It was so different from the complex journey I’d fretted over to get to Primrose Hill, that I couldn’t help the wave of relief that swept through me. Isha’s car was warm, and comfortable, and were it not for Delilah talking my ear off, I might’ve fallen asleep.
Again. Fuck. I didn’t relish a repeat of what had happened the last time I’d knocked out in Isha’s car.
“Okay?”
“Hmm?” I glanced up to meet Isha’s gaze. “Yeah. I’m good. You?”
“Always. Just checking in. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I went for the truth. “I’m good. Just a bit wired. I was up early to get the shop sorted before I left Shaqueela for the day.”
“How’s my little gecko?”
“So you do remember what species he is?”
“Of course. He’s a lion gecko, right?”
Tam groaned. “Dad, don’t be so annoying. You know it’s a leopard gecko.”
Isha chuckled and returned his attention to the busy London road, leaving me to ponder if he was ever going to take one of my animals home. The kids wanted the blue-eyed snake, but I couldn’t see Isha caving to that. He was more comfortable with the sparky gecko, and I’d lost count of the number of times I’d gifted it to him in my whimsical imagination.
Isha parked at the zoo and herded the children out of the car. I trailed them to the entrance, fumbling around for my wallet and my much abused debit card. Isha caught me, naturally.
“We’ve got a family ticket. Two adults, two kids.”
“Family?”
“Yeah,” Tam said. “You have to pretend you’re gay dads.”
Isha’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. His cheeks reddened, and he turned away as my shoulders shook with silent laughter.
