Shit. He’d hoped she’d forgotten that. “Kind of. But now she’s my proper girlfriend. So when she stays, she’ll stay in my bedroom. Are you kids okay with that?”
Harry stood up and dropped a cushion on the floor. He was with Harry on that one, he didn’t see the point of cushions. “Will she make cakes with us still?”
“Yep.”
“That’s cool. Can I get my Lego out?”
And that was Harry.
“As long as it’s you who tidies it up.”
Harry shuffled off, clearly more important things to think about.
“Will Rayah plait my hair?” Sadie pulled at his beard that definitely needed a trim.
“What’s wrong with the way I do it?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. But I like Rayah doing it too. I pretend she’s my mummy.”
And that was his heart breaking.
“I’m sure Rayah will plait your hair.”
Sadie dropped off his knee. “I’m going to make her a card. Can I use glitter?”
“Absolutely not.” He could testify to the fact that glitter was an invention by teachers who wanted to get their revenge on parents.
“But…”
“No buts. You can use crayons and the shiny paper. No glitter.”
She huffed and rolled her eyes, stropping off and leaving him with Charlie who was hugging a cushion.
“Go on. What do you want to ask?” Jonny smiled. This would be the hardest conversation, almost anyway.
“Do you love her?”
He sometimes doubted Jake had any influence at all.
“Yes. I do. Very much.”
Charlie nodded. “Does she love you?”
Jonny smiled. “Yes.”
There was another nod, this one less sure. “I figured you’d been going out for a while. Why’ve you not told us before?”
“Because if it wasn’t going to be serious I didn’t want to introduce you to someone in your lives who is going to potentially be a big part.”
“Rayah’s here a lot already. Was that just because of you or does she really like us too?”
Jonny moved over to the sofa and pulled his eldest into a hug against his chest. In another year, or even a few months, his boy wouldn’t want his hugs anymore. He needed to make the most of them while he could. “She loves you guys too. I think she loved you before me.”
Charlie nodded again, clearly still thinking. “Do you love her more than us?”
“No. It’s a different sort of love. We don’t have a limit on how much love we have. It isn’t like because I have you three I can’t love anyone else, or that I have to give some of my love for you to Rayah. And the same for her.” He gave his boy a kiss on his messy hair that definitely needed a wash. “If it’s going to upset you, I’ll put things on hold with her.” It would be hard, but whatever he needed to do for his kids would be done.
Charlie shook his head fiercely. “No. I think this is really great. I love Rayah. She’s been like a mum. I don’t want to forget our mum and I feel really bad for saying she’s like how I think our mum would be.”
