Bel chuckled. ‘I have no idea.’
‘It’s great anyway. I’m happy for them.’
‘Yeah, me too.’
‘Do I detect a “but”?’ he asked, taking her hand in his.
‘Not at all,’ she said, putting her cup back down. ‘I guess … I was surprised when I first found out. That child will be the most fashionable baby on the entire North Shore of Sydney.’ She pulled her hand free to pick up her cup once more, shifting a little uncomfortably in her seat as she did so.
A silence fell between them before Dean spoke. ‘I get the feeling something’s changed. That it’s more than just being tired.’
Bel stood up and carried her cup to the sink. ‘I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do after this. Where I belong.’
‘You … don’t feel like you belong here?’
‘Part of me does.’
‘I heard Tom was planning on moving into Fernvale to take over for Craig,’ Dean commented.
‘Yeah. Emma mentioned it the other day.’ Craig’s younger brother, Tom, and his father, Mick, planned to share the load until Craig regained his mobility and was strong enough to resume work. There was still no certainty that he would make a complete recovery, but his slow and steady progress so far had been impressing his doctors even if Craig and Emma felt frustrated.
‘It’ll be getting a bit crowded here,’ Dean said.
‘I’ll move out once Emma and Craig are back,’ she said. ‘Back to Gran’s.’
‘You could move in with me,’ he suggested lightly, although she detected a slight nervous energy underneath his casual demeanour.
‘At your place?’
‘Why not?’
Bel’s first instinct was to consider the idea, but then she shook her head and gave a weak smile. ‘We’ve barely gotten to know each other. I think it’s a bit soon to be moving in together.’
‘We’ve known each other all our lives,’ he pointed out.
‘Not like … this.’
‘Bel, I know what I want.’
‘What do you want?’
‘I want you,’ he said simply. ‘And I want a family.’
That’s what she’d been afraid he’d say. ‘It’s too soon.’
‘I’m thirty. Most blokes my age already have their kids.’
‘No, I mean it’s too soon to know if I’m the right one for you to have a family with.’
‘I’ve always known you were the right one.’
‘How could you always have known that?’
He shrugged. ‘I told you I had a crush on you back in primary school, and that it was still there when I came back to town. All I know is we’re great together and I want it to be permanent.’
‘We’ve only been together a couple of months,’ she said, shaking her head at his adamant tone.
‘Sometimes, you just know.’
