Then Billie blinked. Once. Twice. “You want me there?”
Debra laughed under her breath. “Yes. I want you there.”
“Withthem?” Billie’s free hand curled into a fist on the table. “You want me to meet your kids.”
It wasn’t said as a question. It was just the truth, spoken out loud like something precious.
Debra nodded. “I do.”
“Babe, are you sure?”
“Yes,” Debra said without hesitation. “I’ve never been more sure ofanythingin my life.”
Billie grinned, rose to her feet, and leaned over the table to kiss Debra. When she drew back, that grin had only widened. “I don’t even have to think about it. Of course I’ll be there.”
“I can’t promise it’ll be plain sailing. Charlotte will likely interrogate you, and the most you’ll get from Caleb is a grunt of some kind.”
“Hey, I don’t care. If you want me in your life…if you want your kids to know who I am, then I’m all in. I’ll take the interrogation.”
Debra laughed. She didn’t know why she’d been so worried about bringing this up with Billie. “You say that now.”
“I’m serious. I’m all in.”
The waiter appeared with their drinks before their food arrived, and for a few minutes, they slipped into something lighter and easier. Debra teased her about what Charlotte might say, then Billie panicked about whether Caleb would ask her opinion on politics. In the end, the only thing they’d confirmed was that Billie would wear her best overcoat to make a great first impression.
Debra was mid-laugh when Billie’s fingers brushed her wrist again, and Debra realised, in a strange, sudden wave, that this was what she’d wanted all along. No chaos. Not even fireworks. Just this. This settled joy.
When the laughter eased, and they’d finished lunch, Debra went quiet again.
Billie watched her closely. “What now?”
“Okay. Debra exhaled. “Okay. Um…”
“Debra?”
Debra swallowed. “I have something else to tell you.”
Billie’s posture shifted. She wasn’t stupid. She knew she couldn’t have two pieces of good news in one sitting. “Alright. Go on.”
“You remember the night you came over and told me everything? I mentioned that I knew a few people who worked in architecture…”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I’ve had some information back from one of them.”
Billie nodded slowly. “Okay.”
Debra paused, trying to figure out how best to say it. But the truth was, there was no best or easy way. “Janet has spent time in prison since you left.”
The effect was immediate. Billie’s face drained, then sharpened, then wentutterlystill. It was almost as though her body couldn’t decide whether to recoil or brace. Like Janet’s name alone was a hand tightening around the back of her neck. “S-she…what?”
“You mentioned she’d met a woman in Liverpool. Well, she assaulted her, too.”
Billie frowned.
“I don’t know all the details,” Debra said quickly. “And it’s not something I asked them to dig into. But it was confirmed. She was charged and convicted.”
Billie’s lips parted as she sank back into her seat. Honestly, she looked like the wind had just been knocked out of her.
