We all agree. She's a little madam, but we all love her.
I peer into the room behind them. Emmets sat on the couch, scowling down at his phone while Ethan was out cold next to him, glasses crooked halfway down his face.
“Where are they?” I ask.
“Millie passed out,” Elliot answers. “Aria took her up and then passed out herself.”
Sounds about right. I remember the pregnancy tiredness.
Elliot’s smiling, and for a moment, I forget what happened today.
We all look over at our parents, who are currently whispering about something, forgetting we are in the room with them.
I also notice Ezra has gone a bit shifty, too.
“Alright, what's going on with you two?”
“We’re talkin' about food,” my dad says, far too quickly.
I just look at him.
“No, you're not.”
Mam lets out a breath through her nose, like she's been caught out, then fixes me with a look.
“Well,” she starts, brushing her hands together. “Ezra might have… mentioned somethin’ earlier.”
“Accidentally,” he cuts in. “Very accidentally.”
She ignores him. “I know it wasn't his place, god knows that boy can't keep a secret if his life depended on it—”
“Alright, steady on—”
“—It just slipped out of him like a bar of soap.”
I’m so confused right now.
Dad laughs beside her. “Love… you're rambling.”
“I am not,” she snaps lightly, giving him a half-hearted nudge before looking back at me.
“What I’m tryin’ to say is there is no judgement from us.”
Dad nods along. “Not at all, son.”
There's a pause, and Ezra suddenly looks very interested in the ceiling.
I know exactly what he said.
“You're bloody lucky River found out today; otherwise, I’d be down a brother right now.”
I joke, mainly. I am grateful that he kept it a secret all these months, though.
“Elijah,” Mam says softly, placing her hands gently on my arms. I meet her blue eyes. “I get why ye kept it a secret. But Willow is a lovely girl, and I can see how happy she's made ye. River, well, he will struggle at first, and all ye can do is give him time. The rest? Well… screw the lot of them. You didn't raise that girl, ye fell in love with her, didn't ye?”
I swallow and nod, a grin tugging at the corner of my mouth. “Yeah… I really did. You're not weirded out by it?”
Mam tuts and gives my cheek a small pinch. “Elijah Reed Lawson, ye don't choose who ye fall in love with. Ye two make each other happy, and you both absolutely deserve it. I had an inkling from the little looks.”
