“What were you expecting, the Tate Modern? I eat here, I sleep here, I store my clothes here,” I said. “I’m not deliberately minimalist; I just never really saw the need to decorate.”
Isla tilted her head, stroking a piece of hair off my forehead. “Don’t you want it to feel a little more homey before the baby comes?”
I hadn’t actually thought about that. “I’m not sure a baby cares all that much about wallpaper and knick knacks,” I said.
She grinned, threading her arms around my neck. “Maybe not.”
“I do, however, care about the fact you haven’t kissed me yet,” I told her, catching her jaw with my hand.
“This is something we should rectify immediately,” she agreed.
But before I could even lower my head, my door buzzer sounded again.
“If that’s your other baby mamma,” Isla teased, “I’m not going to be very happy.”
I squeezed her hip, making her squirm and giggle. “I’m a one-woman kind of guy,” I reassured her, heading to grab the door. I pulled it open, not sure who I should be expecting now. “Dad?” I said, finding him standing in the hall with a stack of files under his arm.
“Figured I’d just swing by to give you the paperwork,” he said, walking right through the door. We never stood on ceremony with things like that. “No time to mess around with scanning and all that nonsense.”
“Thanks for bringing it by,” I said, oddly proud of myself for not stammering. I couldn’t help feeling like I was back in secondary school, making out with my girlfriend and getting caught by my parents.
“I found the name of my old contact. Do you remember—” Dad trailed off awkwardly as he spotted Isla. His eyebrows lifted, and he ran his hand over his head. We shared the same dark hair, though his was run through with gray now. “I’m sorry, I, uh, didn’t realize you had company.”
Right, they’d never met. “Dad, this is my girlfriend. Isla.”
She gave a little wave.
“Isla, this is my dad, Graeme.”
She smiled. “Lovely to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Dad said. He glanced between us, an odd expression flickering across his face. “Look, if the two of you have plans, I can come back later. Or I’ll just drop the file off at the office. I don’t want to get in the way of you enjoying yourselves.”
“Oh, no,” Isla was quick to say. “Please, stay. I just swung by as a surprise. We don’t have any plans, so if you two have work things to discuss, I’m in no rush.”
“Are you sure?” I said.
She nodded. “It’s no problem. I really could use that bathroom break anyway.”
Oh, right. I’d forgotten she had to pee. “Last door on the left,” I said, pointing the way to the bathroom.
“Thanks,” she said. “It was good to meet you, Graeme.” She set off down the hall.
Dad was quiet for a beat, staring after Isla. Then he said, “I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
“It’s pretty new,” I admitted, which was true if you didn’t count the time we’d spent being fake engaged.
“She’s…well, she seems like a lovely girl,” Dad said. I could hear thebut. I crossed my arms, waiting for him to continue. “She’s awfully young, though. Isn’t she?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Dad plowed on.
“Is this some sort of midlife crisis? Should I be worried?”
He played it off with a chuckle, but I could hear what Dad wasn’t saying. Mum’s midlife crisis had blown up our lives when she met that younger man in Europe. Was I going through something similar now?
I cleared my throat. “Everything is fine, Dad. Yes, Isla’s young, but she’s very mature. She runs her own business up in Braeburn, and she’s very respected in town. Things between us are good.”Really good. “So you don’t need to worry. I’m not going to suddenly start making reckless decisions and screw up the business or anything like that.”
Dad rubbed his jaw. “That’s not what I meant.”
