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“And there’s no glitter anywhere else, but, full disclosure, the cards? Not good,” Fallon says with a shrug.

“Scarlett will love them anyway.” I’m pretty sure she’d take a scribble on a piece of paper over a card from a fancy boutique any day.

“Speaking of Scarlett, we wanted to talk to you,” Ronan says. He and Fallon sit on the couch facing me, and, though I knew this conversation was coming, I could’ve happily put it off for as long as possible. “What’s going on between the two of you?”

“We are … romantically entangled.” I repeat Scarlett’s words from the day before, and my siblings just stare at me. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but we have feelings for each other, and we’re exploring said feelings. Obviously, it’s a little complicated, and our priority is making sure the kids aren’t affected by anything, so we’re just taking it as it comes at the moment.”

Ronan and Fallon look at each other, then back at me. They’ve always been better at understanding each other than I ever have been at understanding them, but it’s pretty clear that they’re not sold.

“We’re not judging,” Fallon says quickly. “It’s just … she’s our dad’s ex-girlfriend, Kill.”

“I know.”

“And she’s the mother of our half-siblings.”

“I’m aware.”

“I think what Fallon’s trying to say is that families are like spreadsheets,” Ronan adds. “There’s a structure to the cells, and sometimes when you merge the cells, it has a knock-on effect on other areas, and—”

Fallon holds up a hand. “To be clear, I’m literally never trying to talk about spreadsheets. Look, I love you, Kill, but there’s no way for me to say this without sounding like a bitch, so I’m going to be blunt. You’re their brother, not their dad.”

Well, she wasn’t kidding about being blunt. I rub my face with my hands. “I know I’m not their dad. But I understand that me being with Scarlett makes the dynamic less brotherly.”

“Exactly,” Ronan says. “And I guess what we’re worried about is that you live thousands of miles away, so when you leave … It just doesn’t feel fair. They’ve been left so much already.”

“You’ll have us to pick you up and help the heartache of being so far from her, from them—and we’ll take care of you, obviously, but what about Scarlett? She’ll have two upset kids to look after, and she won’t get the chance to process her own feelings.”

I like how protective they already sound of Scarlett and the kids. I wasn’t planning on mentioning yet that I’ve been considering staying here. My boss emailed back to say she’s submitted the request and doesn’t anticipate any issues, but nothing is set in stone, and it might not work out.

“I agree with everything you’re saying. Which is why I’m thinking of staying. I’m looking for a transfer to the Vancouver office so I can get a visa and keep working from here.”

Their eyes widen almost comically. I guess they weren’t expecting that.

Ronan and Fallon look at each other, then back at me, then back at each other, then back at me. It’s Ronan who speaks, finally. “We … did not prepare for that. Can you give us a moment, please?”

“Sure,” I say, sitting back. It’s not often I’m the one to shock them.

They don’t say anything. They just kind of look at each other, having a conversation with their eyes, before turning back to me.

“Okay,” Fallon says, clasping her hands on her lap. “Right. I … We really like Scarlett. She seems like a wonderful woman, and we’re happy for you that things are going so well. It’s just that it’s been less than a month since you met her. Are you sure you want to uproot your entire life and move four thousand miles across the world for someone whose birthday you learned all of twenty minutes ago?”

Pretty damn sure, I think. But I’m almost scared to put it out there, in case I jinx it. “Like I said, I’m still looking into it. I know it’s soon, and I know it’s not like me, but this isn’t just about Scarlett. It is about her, don’t get me wrong. I really think that she and I … I think she’s the one,” I admit, and they only look more surprised. I’ve always been the least romantic of the three of us. “But more importantly … I got to be there for every second of you two growing up. Almost all of my favorite memories are watching you grow and learn and become who you are today. Dad took that chance away from us with Caitlin and James, and I’m not going to miss another second of it if I don’t have to.”

My siblings’ expressions soften.

“Well, I suppose we understand that,” Ronan says. “But how do you think Dad’s going to react when he finds out you’re in love with his ex-girlfriend? If you’re living here, there’s no way for you to hide it from him.”

I never said I was in love with her, but I don’t bother to correct him, because we all know that’s where I’m headed, if I’m not already there.

“We’re not going to hide it,” I say with a shrug. Granted, Scarlett and I haven’t actually talked about that in regard to my dad, but I think we’re on the same page. “We don’t expect him to be okay with it. But quite frankly, my opinion of Dad right now is that he can go fuck himself.”

“Now, that we agree on,” Ronan says, shaking his head, his brows drawn together in disgust. “I’m so angry at him. I don’t know how we’re supposed to have any kind of relationship with him after all this.”

“I’m not planning to,” I say. “I’ll be civil for Caitlin and James’s sake, if he ever gets his act together and actually steps up to be a dad. But as far as I’m concerned, he’s nothing to me. We’ve excused his behavior for far too long. I’m not doing it anymore.”

Ronan’s eyes are stormy as I talk about Dad, but Fallon doesn’t look convinced.

“Maybe this will finally be the push he needs to get it together and step up. I know we’re all pissed off at him, but something good could come out of it.” She’s always been the one who struggled the most, of the three of us, with how little he was around when we were growing up. I don’t think she’s ever quite given up hope that he’ll be the dad that she wants him to be. I’m not sure I ever had that hope. But I’m not about to crush hers.