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“These are happy tears. I’m happy for Katy and Jess. And David, of course.” She dabbed at her eyes with her palm and Matt shook his head in disbelief.
“I don’t understand how you can cry tears of happiness for someone you don’t know. No offense, Jason. I’m sure your sister and your niece are special people.”
Brooke sniffed. “I love hearing heartwarming stories that remind you how good people are, that’s all. The news is all doom and gloom. You can end up thinking that all humans are awful—present company excepted—and then you hear a story like that, and you realise it’s just not true. There are so many decent people out there. I need more good news stories.”
“Hey, you live with me.” Matt tugged her against him and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m a walking good news story.”
She nudged him away. “You know what I mean. Usually, all you hear is news about who is killing who, and how the world is going to end.”
“The world is going to end?” Elsie looked up with alarm. “When? How?”
Matt sighed. “Mummy was making a joke.”
“I don’t understand grown-up jokes.” Elsie returned to the star she was making.
“That’s the best story I’ve heard in a while,” Brooke said. “And what a total hero you are, Jason. Don’t you think, Izzy?”
“What? Oh—yes, of course. Total hero.”
She’d told herself he was involved with someone. She’d managed to turn him into a bad guy. Someone who would be easy for her to avoid. And here he was, turning into a good guy with one confession. He’d taken in his sister and her baby. Not only that but he’d changed his job so he could help with childcare. How was she supposed to deal with that? It wasn’t fair. She didn’t know people like that. She knew people like Darren, who had a tantrum if his food wasn’t exactly the right temperature.
“I’m definitely no hero,” Jason said. “We had our rough moments, I can assure you. Like all the times I stepped on building bricks in the middle of the night, and the time Jess drew on my bedroom wall because she thought white was boring and what I needed was a mural.”
Brooke laughed. “What was the mural?”
“I’m still not entirely sure. I think it was supposed to be zoo animals, but it was mostly a vision of stripes and spots. I felt as if I’d swallowed a hallucinogen. My sister felt terrible because she’d thought Jess was quietly drawing so she took a phone call.”
“Talking of drawing—” Brooke bent down and removed a pen from Poppy’s hands. “All art to be done on the table, honey, you know that. So if your sister moved out a year ago, how are you still single?”
“And—here we go.” Matt sent Jason an apologetic look. “You do not have to answer that. Brooke, we may be spending Christmas together but that doesn’t mean Jason has to tell you all his secrets.”
“Not all of them, no. Just some. I want the highlights.” Brooke knew how to tease and charm. “For example, when was the last time you were interested in someone? Has it been a while?”
There was a tense silence.
Izzy stared hard at the star Elsie was making. She was sure they must be able to hear her heart beating.
“Last time I was interested in someone? I guess it was back in the summer. I met someone and it was—special.” Jason’s voice was soft, and Izzy felt her face burn.
Was he talking about her? No.
“Ooh—” Brooke was almost rubbing her hands together, and Matt rolled his eyes.
“You are going to wish you hadn’t told her that, Jason.”
“I could probably use her advice if she’s such an expert. Because it was great, and then—”
“And then?”
“And then nothing.”
“She ghosted you?”
“Not exactly, but it pretty much amounted to that.”
He was talking about her. Briefly, her heart leapt and then it flopped down again, like a baby bird that hadn’t yet learned to fly.
What difference did it make?
