“Reformed character.”
Max didn’t say anything, not to me. He turned to Victoria, her hand on her bump, the one they were both so proud of. “I think I’m going to need a whisky.”
“Have one then.” She frowned.
My eyes went from her to him and I frowned. “He’s asking you for permission?”
Victoria laughed. “He feels bad that I can’t drink, so he’s trying to not drink either.” She shrugged, her dark hair glossy and trailing down her back. “I keep telling him that it doesn’t bother me.”
“It bothers me. You’re the one doing all the hard work. All I had to do was…” he glared at me.
I tilted my head at the ceiling.
Victoria grabbed one of the many throws she had lingering around the room. “Enjoy yourself?”
“That’s one way to put it.” Max stretched, edging towards the door.
Shay was starting to fall asleep, gentle snorting noises being farted by his mouth. If Max and Vic weren’t there, I’d film him and post it on social media later, because even though I was trying to turn over a new leaf, I was still a shit when it came to my cousin.
“Are you staying over?” Victoria put a hand on my arm. “Your room’s ready.”
I needed to move away from her touch.
It scorched me, like it did every so often, catching me unawares like a flash of lightning without the humidity.
It wasn’t that I wanted Victoria. I hadn’t ever coveted the love of my brother’s life, but I had wanted what he had with her, what I’d known he could have with her. She was beautiful and smart and ambitious, independent without being aloof, and when I saw my brother melt just by looking at her, I wanted to know how that felt.
“My room?”
She smiled. If she’d asked me for a kidney right then I’d have offered to get a scalpel.
“The baby’s only going to use one room, Seph, and Max figured you’d be back at some point.” She touched her stomach again. “Will Shay be okay?”
“Yep.”
His mouth was slightly open, just wide enough that I could’ve stuck something in there, which I was tempted to do. I knew had Victoria not been there, Max would’ve definitely done it. A chilli, maybe.
I glanced at Victoria and knew I didn’t want to stay the night. Shay didn’t need a babysitter now he had somewhere that wasn’t the gutter to sleep. He’d be up at seven, fresh as a dewy daisy and ready to go for a run.
“I’ll head home.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “I need to get stuff sorted for tomorrow.” I didn’t, and if Max thought about it, he’d either know I was lying, or he’d assume I’d forgotten to do something.
He pushed his hand through his hair again and frowned, eyeing me in a way I hadn’t seen for a while. I was close to all my brothers; we all got along, and I couldn’t remember when we’d last properly fallen out, but I’d always had a different relationship with Maxwell. We’d never been friends, not in the way Callum and I were, or even me and Jackson. The age difference was almost a generation and when Max had been at university, I’d only just started high school. He’d been some kind of hero, Thor mixed with Clarke Kent. When I’d been about thirteen all I’d wanted to be was him.
“You want a lift?” Max didn’t argue with me about staying.
He was probably worried that if I stayed I wouldn’t leave again.
“I’ll walk it. It’s not raining for once.”
Shay snorted and turned over, now sound asleep.
“Been a while since you’ve been in that state.” Max rubbed his beard. “You passed on your mantle?”
I knew my smile was grim. “Seems that way. When’s the new partner starting?” I had no idea why that had occurred to me. She’d been due to start two weeks ago, but there had been some delay which had left me short-staffed. My department was now one of the busiest in the company and new files were coming in at a rate that meant my sleep was a precious commodity. We’d taken on a couple of trainees and three fee earners, solicitors who were a few years experienced but not partner level. But they all needed more supervision, and given my caseload was heavier than a weight training elephant, we’d decided to bring in a salaried partner.
I hadn’t met her. Max and Jackson had done the interviews when I’d been in court in Manchester, which had pissed me off as I’d wanted to have some say in who I ended up working closely with.
“Monday.” Max gave a slight nod. “She’s had to sort some family stuff out this week.”
