Finn nodded. “Yep. I do worry about Elsie. She knows about thirty words and exactly when to use them to have the most impact.”
“She been swearing again?” I knew Ruby blamed Finn for Elsie’s vocabulary, but Finn was adamant that she’d picked up the f-bomb from Ruby, which I kind of agreed with.
“Yep. At her brother. But he was trying to steal her toy, so I let it go.” Finn glanced at Iris and then me. “Barbecue tomorrow? Weather’s meant to be good.”
“Your house?”
Finn rolled his eyes. “Yeah, why break the habit of a lifetime.”
We headed home after polishing off three mains between us and a bowl of thick cut chips that came off the opposite of a healthy eating menu. Iris threaded her hand into mine as we walked back along the coastal path, stopping every so often so she could take photos of the scenery.
“How many versions of this picture have you got?” She always insisted on stopping in the same spot.
“About a dozen. I’m using them as a time-lapse project, this scene through the seasons. It’s a passion project.” Her smilewas sweet, full of simple joy which I loved. She could’ve been complicated, she could’ve been spoilt or self-serving. Talented and the sort of gorgeous that made people stop and stare, I wasn’t sure how she’d become this person who smiled because of how a seagull flew or would stare for twenty minutes at a cloud.
“A passion project that’s going to end up on a wall somewhere.” I’d seen her eyeing up the very blank wall in the galleried landing.
“Maybe. I’ll have to see what space I have when I find somewhere to live.”
I frowned. “What do you mean? You have somewhere to live.” Although thinking about it, we hadn’t actually had this conversation.
“I know we talked about me living with you until the baby was a little older, but I need to think about what happens - ” Her expression morphed to something that resembled anger. “Is this where I was meant to be telepathic?”
I nodded, prepared to be at fault here. “Pretty much. I love you. You’re having our baby. I like being with you all the time and I’m hating on the fact that you’re going to be away for a week soon. Therefore, just move in with me.”
“Is it as easy as that?”
I shrugged. “Why not? I don’t see why it needs to be any harder. We can head down to London when you’re back from Monaco and bring your stuff back or hire a removal company.”
“You’re deadly serious, aren’t you?”
“I’m really not understanding why you’re so surprised.” I genuinely wasn’t. “I like my house – it took me ages to decide on it, which you know because I think you listened to me drone on about it for an hour most evenings, but if you want to look for something different, we can. If it’s the house, I mean – you might not want to live with me.”
I steeled myself for that to be the case.
Iris tucked her phone away in her coat and put her arms around my neck, stepping closer.
“This feels like the right time to tell you something, Gulliver Holland.” She smiled at me, just at me. “I love you and I’d live in a shed if it meant I was with you.”
I gathered her in my arms, pulling her closer. “You said it and I didn’t need to beg.”
Her nose touched mine, Eskimo style. “I’ll make you beg later.”
“We’ll see.”
Iris
My heart felt too big to fit into the house, but somehow it did. Gully distracted me with kisses as soon as we crossed the threshold, barely giving me a chance to walk more than three steps before I was entangled in his arms again, his hands touching and stroking and feeling, the teasing of the last few days finally coming to an end, or so I hoped.
He carried me up the stairs, making me laugh with the ease of his efforts, whispered words filling the quiet of the place that could become my home.
His bedroom was our destination, which did make me sigh with relief. I’d barely been in this room, apart from a couple of occasions. It was huge, the view over the Strait from two sides of the house, floor to ceiling glass windows that showed all of the day’s mood. He put me down on my feet, his arms still around me as he stood behind, both of us looking out over the sea.
“I’m giving you a moment to make sure you want this.”
He had no idea how much my body was aching, how much it had ached for him over the last few weeks, maybe longer.
There were things to unpick; how he’d been in love with me for two years and never said anything; how I hadn’t worked thatout; why it hadn’t come out at some point – how I’d been so utterly oblivious.
