“Smother away.”
“You’re going to regret that.” Tavish chuckles.
“At least I now have someone in this family who appreciates me,” she says, giving me a wink. “Now, come on, let’s leave the boys, we can smother them some more at dinner.” She ushers the guys away.
Once the door shuts, the room feels quiet, warm, and safe.
Charlie turns to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think I am. I mean, I will be.”
He smiles softly, stepping in close. “They adore you already.”
“I can’t believe how good they are. How kind. How … normal.”
Charlie kisses my temple. “You deserve all of this.”
I cup his jaw and pull him into a real kiss, slow, grateful, grounding. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Always.”
There’s a knock at the door, and I call out to Charlie that I’ll get it while he’s in the shower. It’s Davina.
“Sorry to bother you. Do you have a moment?” she asks. I open the door for her to come in. “I wanted to talk to you about …”
“My dad?” She nods. “I’m going to assume it’s not a happy story.”
“I’m going to assume you can kind of guess how it went,” she says sadly. I nod. “I hated him. Still hate him.” Wasn’t expecting that opening. “But I also can’t hate him because he gave me Rowan and Callum.” I get that. “It still blows my mind that you and Rowan look like twins, it’s uncanny,” she says, shaking her head. “You probably don’t remember me, you were just a baby, but I was assigned to your home as your mother’s helper. Helpclean the house, cook the meals, look after you.” She swallows hard, and her hands tangle together. “It didn’t take long for your father to become infatuated with me.” Fuck. My heart is beating uncontrollably in my chest. “When I got pregnant with Rowan, I was seventeen. I didn’t know I was pregnant until I was almost five months. It was a shock. When I realized, I told my parents what happened, and they didn’t believe me. Your father told them I was the devil reincarnate, had come onto him, tempting him away from his wife, everyone believed him. They tried to take Rowan from me, but I fought them on it until my parents reluctantly gave in. But then, when it happened again with Callum, and the same excuses were made, my parents listened, and in the dead of night we fled with nothing except what we could carry.” Shit. “It took a lot to forgive my parents for what they did to me, but as you know, they got swept up into a cult. Anyway, the point is, after coming back home with the boys, I met Fraser, who was a family friend who I had known my entire life. We were best friends. He was my first love. He was devastated when I came home with two kids, he thought he’d lost his chance, but one night, he found me on the side of the road in the rain having a breakdown. I confessed to him what had happened to me. He listened, and then he asked me to marry him. He told me he never wanted me to feel like I wasn’t worth anything when to him I was worth everything.” Fuck. Is she trying to make me cry? “I knew it that moment that man would heal everything that ever happened to me. I didn’t hesitate. So, I guess in a messed-up way, if what happened to me never happened, we would never have left the cult, and Fraser would never have found me again, and I wouldn’t have found the love of my life.” She gives me a watery smile before shaking her head. “Anyway, not sure what my point is but …”
“I get it. Thank you,” I tell her.
“I just want you to know, when I look at you, I don’t see him.”
I still.
She gives me another watery smile and leaves the room.
“Who was at the door?” Charlie asks, walking back into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his hip.
“I fucking love you,” I say, bursting out crying as I rush into his arms.
“I love you too,” he says, sounding very confused, but hugs me tightly.
83
DERRICK
I’m having the best time. Dinner last night was amazing, and seeing everyone in their matching PJs was funny to see, even Charlie had his own pair. Then we spent the night singing, drinking way too much whiskey, and the guys telling me ghost stories about the castle, which freaked me out. I made Charlie sleep with a nightlight on because I was sure a ghost was going to find me.
It’s New Year’s Eve, and the snow is falling thick and fast. A blustery winter storm came through last night, blanketing the hills so all you can see is nothing but snowy white. It’s magical. And I … I’m fully, stupidly happy. The boys are having a lively competition in the great room over the pool table. After having one too many glasses of champagne, I need to relieve myself and, of course, get lost in the place, finding the bloody bathroom. Eventually, I’ve found it, but as I come out, I hear someone say Chance.
I still.
When I turn the corner, I see Arran standing by one of the narrow windows, phone pressed to his ear, with a wide smileon his face. His cheeks are rosy, and I don’t think it’s from the whiskey.
“I miss you too.”
My stomach drops. I slow my pace, trying not to make any noise.
