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‘So, I have a new niece,’ Millie said quietly and Fox’s heart felt like it might burst with the amount of acceptance in that one sentence. It said that all of Fox’s children were Millie’s family, whether they were Meg’s or not. Fox and Millie were family, and a good one too. His chest felt tight as he nodded, thinking of Willow’s little heart-shaped face, just like Robyn’s own.
‘And you’re in love with Robyn,’ Millie stated and he nodded again. ‘I could have told you that weeks ago!’ she said with a laugh. ‘Since we met her on the common. You couldn’t take your eyes off her. And every time we’ve spoken since, I can see how much you like her, and how good she is for you.’
‘What do you mean?’ Fox was genuinely interested.
‘You’ve had the Fox glint in your eye again. You laugh more easily, you’re trying new things. You’re happy, Fox, really happy, when she’s around.’
How obvious had it been? The boys thought he looked at her funny. Millie said she’d known.
‘So what did you need to think about?’ She made it all sound so simple.
‘I don’t know, Millie.’ He sighed, pushing his hands through his hair. ‘I feel so overwhelmed. I couldn’t think straight about how I now had a daughter, and how I would have to tell the boys, and what they might think, and how much I loved Robyn and how we could be a family.’
Millie’s eyes widened and he continued.
‘And then Robyn’s leaving for Botswana in a few days and taking my daughter with her, and so I might not have any part in her life in any meaningful way. But I want to be there for her, every day, for her and for Robyn.’
Fox swigged his beer and then admitted, ‘I just don’t know what to do for the best. I don’t know what she wants.’
Millie sipped her wine again, slowly, considering.
‘Did you ask her to stay?’ she eventually asked.
He frowned.
‘No.’
‘I think you should tell her how you feel for a start,’ Millie said. ‘Tell her you love her. And work everything out from there.’
‘But our lifestyles are so different . . .’ he said, sceptically.
‘Only up until now,’ Millie said.
‘But how can I ask her to give up her travelling?’
‘Maybe you don’t have to?’
Fox looked at her in confusion.
‘Look, I don’t have the answers, Fox. But I think you should give it your best shot.’
Fox met her eyes. Millie smiled gently and her eyes were soft and tender.
‘Because you, Fox, of all the people I know, deserve love.’
His heart thumped with emotion.
‘And you deserve a fresh start, and a happy ever after.’
She squeezed his hand on the sofa and he swallowed hard, overcome with emotion.
‘And Meg – wherever she is – would be cheering you on.’
Fox grinned, even as his eyes burned hot.
Millie leaned across with her glass of wine and clinked his bottle of beer.
‘So, go get her, man.’
