“You’re not my prisoner – you go where you like.” I smiled again, amused, feeling weird. “I’ll walk you round there - ”
“Amelie said she’d bring the boat round to pick me up.” She frowned. “Can she sail a boat?”
Finn laughed. Roe chuckled.
“I take it that’s a yes?”
“She learned when she moved into Roman’s because it’s actually quicker to get here by boat that driving. Wear a life jacket though.” There were stories about Amelie controlling a boat, none of which I could verify because I’d made the sensible decision not to get in one with her.
“I think that’s kind of mandatory.” She shook her head then looked at my brothers. “It’s good to finally meet you. Gully’s told me lots about you over the years.”
I was surprised when it was Roe who spoke first.
“It’s good to finally have you here. We were convinced Gully had made you up. Are you sure he’s not paying you to be here?”
Her laugh was melodic and full. “Definitely here for free. It’s a beautiful place.”
The night went from there. Ruby arrived, in a better mood that anyone had predicted because the dean of the university was leaving, which was music to her ears, and he was being replaced by the head of her wider department, a woman she really admired. That changed the atmosphere straight away, with someone – probably Amelie – opening a couple of bottles of champagne after we’d eaten, and then a third when Roman arrived back unexpectedly early.
We stayed later with my brothers, Ruby and Freya taking the kids back home, the rest leaving around eightish for baths and bed. As the evening had moved on, iris had become more comfortable, her brightness starting to shine, her voice clear. She wasn’t as demanding for the attention as Ivy had been, she had a quieter charisma. She’d discreetly taken photos, capturing couples when they glanced at each other, the children playing, Romy’s baby laughing at his dad and Mia and Luca, Clover’s eldest child, reading a book together which had been one of the few times they hadn’t been moving.
She showed the photos to Finn and Roe, both of whom offered bribes to not show them to their wives so they could use them as gifts for birthdays. Iris made no such promise.
That made me like her even more.
We were both tipsy when we got back to mine, Iris putting the kettle on and raiding the fridge for snacks.
She sat down at the kitchen island, mug in hand, a tub of olives next to the other. “We need to talk, don’t we?”
I sat down next to her. “We do. Do you still want to do this?”
“Yes. I meant what I said. I would move here. We could coparent properly. Our child would be part of your family - ”
“You’d be part of our family. Even if we’re not together.” I needed to say that.
She nodded, looking teary. “Thank you. It’s weird. Even if I was talking about this with the man I’d married, the process would still be the same. We’d still be going through fertility treatment. He’d still have to jizz off in a cup.”
We both laughed, but there was no heat to it.
“I’ll speak to my solicitor and have terms drawn up so no one needs to worry about either of us being an idiot in the future and demanding full custody or anything like that.” She toyed with her hair, brushing it behind her ear.
“I’ll tell my brothers the plan tomorrow while you’re with Amelie and the rest of them. They’ll have questions.”
“How will they be?”
I stretched my arms above my head, feeling tired now. “They’ll be fine. Roe had a scare when he and Freya’d just gotten together. There was a chance he could’ve fathered a child after a one night stand. It turned out not to be his – long story – and the parents are properly together now so it all had a happy ending,but he was good with the coparenting thing. They’ll understand. They know I want to be dad.” I’d put the words out there.
As much as I knew Iris wanted to be a mother, I wanted to be a father. I loved being an uncle, loved seeing my brothers with them, but I wanted my own. A son or a daughter to show the world to, to look after them and support them.
“What if we meet someone else? It’s more likely to be you - ”
I shut her down quickly. “That’s not something on my agenda right now and any child I have will always come first. Along with you, because you’ll be their mother.”
And all the rest which I hadn’t told her yet.
“Yet” being another word for never.
She studied me for a few seconds. “Same. So we’re doing this?”
