I could hear him chuckle behind me, standing there with a set of keys in his hand. A shirt. Jacket. Looking so effortlessly handsome, as I wandered aimlessly around the room. My fingers tracing the kitchen tabletop.
“Mary, he needs sorting out. And I hope you’ll let me,” I said. Like I wasn’t completely insane. I thought I was, and it made me smile. “He’s lovely…and warm. Makes me smile. You know what he’s like.”
“She does. And she’s…”
“Dead. No longer here,” I said, rounding the corner so I was behind the kitchen counter. Both hands on the surface.
“Oliver, I need to put down some ground rules.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed. I needed those too. I needed to know where the limits lay, where the boundaries were and how far I could go before I…
“The boys are my life. They will always come first. And that includes not getting them into trouble and one hundred per cent not bringing anything across this threshold that would jeopardise their future…or their sanity.”
Okay. I got that.
“I am not touching any of that again, not if I can help it. And I know I sound like a fool…like the addict I probably am, but it’s been years, Peter. I am starting…to figure out… I’m not standing here saying I can fix this on my own.”
Honesty. I loved how it felt when it came out of my mouth. It was new. Freeing.
Fuck. It was safe. Fucking safe. I shuddered.
The ceiling creaked. He laughed before I did.
“It’s an old house, Oliver.”
“I know that.” I smiled.
“But I am being serious. The boys.”
“The boys. I will be here for them if they need me, but I’m not their dad.”
“Nope.” He popped the P.
“I’m just another person who will try to…love you.”
“And I hope you’ll love the boys too. Because Cal thinks you’re some kind of superhero.”
“Cal’s funny.”
“He’s also seriously overconfident and struggles with friendships. They overwhelm him, and then he overcompensates by being far too intense. Not many people can handle that.”
“I noticed,” I said softly. “And I can handle him. I’ve enjoyed his many visits to see me.”
He smiled.
Funny how he could just smile and it made me happy.
“Tell me something else I need to know,” I asked softly.
He took a couple of steps forward, until he was right opposite me. His hands mirrored mine on the surface.
“You were…right,” he said quietly, looking down at the surface. Picking at a stray crumb. “I did lie.”
“I know.” I hoped my voice was as soft as I wanted it to be. Because I wanted him to tell me. I wanted… I needed to know. Know that this was exactly what I wanted it to be.
“It’s not actually a secret as such…I mean. Mary released her autobiography years ago. It was kind of all…in there.”
“What was?”
