"You four were part of the deal from day one. We went for coffee after having an almighty screaming match about the disclosure of evidence, your nanny phoned me. I think you and Max were being little shits and she wanted to hand in her notice. Marie heard the conversation and within sixty minutes knew everything about your mother, you four and the fact I had no idea how to parent, only earn as much money as I could. By the end of the evening, she had me sort out a plan and then she took me to her hotel."
"Those details I don't need."
He smiled, clearly reminiscing. "We fought the following day and at one point she almost had me beat. By the end of the third day, I knew I couldn't live without her. By the end of the fourth, she told me that she was going to come home with me and sort my life and you lot out. As soon as the case looked like it was being resolved I proposed, thankfully she said yes, we spent four days covering her workload and sorting the finer details out and then she came home."
"She was the best thing you ever did," I said, staring at my whiskey.
"She was. She loved kids and you were hers from day one. As soon as she was here I was fifth in line after you four. And then we had the twins and Ava and she went back to work some because..."
"She wanted more kids?"
"She did. She'd have had another three. But seven was enough for me. Hell, one was enough. Max was an absolute nightmare as a baby. I'm still not sure how we made you."
"Do we need to have a talk?"
He laughed. "Do you still think it's too soon?"
I shook my head. "Not for me, but maybe for her." I pulled my hair out of its tie and loosened it up.
"You'll know when the time is right. I asked Marie when we were in an elevator. I pressed the emergency stop button so she couldn't run away. Got a massive fine for it, but it worked," he said, toying with his wedding ring. "Be warned, they were grilling Vanessa about you earlier so one of your sisters will no doubt be informing you of Vanessa's intentions at some point tonight."
I groaned. "I should never have brought her. They'll scare her off."
"If they did, she wouldn't be right for you. You know that." He stood up, glass now empty. "I'd better go find my wife and see if she can still stand."
"Dad," I said, stretching my legs, "she can drink you under the table."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Chapter Nineteen
Vanessa
I was merry. I could stand up by myself. I could walk in a relatively straight line and I sounded coherent. All of this was more than I could say for Claire who had passed out on a sofa in a small snug just off the kitchen. I was also sober enough to have noticed Killian putting a blanket over her and loosening her hair so she would be more comfortable, but I wasn't sharing that information with anyone, especially Claire who would probably hire a hit man if she ever found out.
"So, Van," Payton said, seeming as sober as her mother even though both had consumed enough alcohol to put me in the emergency room. "Jackson. What are your intentions towards my brother?"
"We've discussed this Payton," I warned, sipping the glass of water I was disguising as vodka.
"No," Payton shook her head. "We asked questions and you deflected them. That's not a discussion."
Marie emptied another bottle of prosecco into her glass. "He's completely besotted by you," she said. "Are you going to move in with him?"
"I've only just moved out from living with someone else." I paused, realizing. "Actually, I moved out from Richard's over a year ago. He's just bought me out of the apartment we shared so I need to look for my own place again."
"Why?" Payton said, tipping her head to one side, which seemed to be her trademark. "You're at Jackson's all the time. It's an amazing house, but it needs redecorating so it doesn't look like a show home and it's huge. If you buy somewhere, you'll still end up at Jackson's so you're just going to waste money on surveys and fees. Unless you buy somewhere and rent it out straight away. That could be a good move. Or buy a fixer-upper and get Ava to flip it for you."
I sat down, glad I hadn't had too much to drink. "We haven't discussed living together. It's only been a few weeks and I don't think Jackson's thought about it... And you're his step-mum and sister. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this conversation." That was definitely the alcohol talking: if I'd have been sober I would have been a lot politer.
Marie sipped at her drink. "Nothing wrong with being open and honest. Yes, we're going to look out for him but we also know what a complete dick he can be, how he leaves all his washing until he has absolutely nothing left to wear, is anal retentive with the cleanliness of kitchens, is hateful in the mornings... what?"
I cursed my expression. "He's not that bad in the mornings," I said, and hoped they wouldn't probe any further.
Payton gave me the same shit-eating grin that Max had mastered. "He's much better in the mornings when you've stayed over so I assume that morning sex agrees with him?"
"Not going there." She was right. Mornings had become our time, either to wake the other up or in the shower or both. We didn't speak, except for the odd couple of words and a few moans.
Payton shrugged. "Fair enough. That's enough information. But for the sake of the rest of us, you should live together because you make him a much nicer person. And you're there all the time too."
