Perhaps they aren’t here yet, I thought furiously.Maybe I can find a corner and a nice glass of wine—
“Darling!”
As soon as we got in the door, Carmen appeared, walking towards us with open arms. Jasper let go long enough for her to enfold me in a hug, that familiar cloud of Chanel No.5 as much a comfort as she was. But then she turned to Jasper. Her eyes sharpened and she seemed to take him all in with just one look.
Carmen Forrest was formidable as fuck, and Taylor had regaled us with tales of how he was grilled when he first met her. She maintained a polite smile, but she seemed to be investigating, testing him the whole time.
“I’m Carmen. I’m your daughter’s grandmother,” she said, offering her hand.
“I’m Jasper,” he replied, shaking it firmly but not painfully so. “I’m your daughter’s mate.”
“Mate?” Carmen’s focus switched to me, and I let out a sigh.
“I haven’t agreed to anything,” I said. “They seem convinced—”
“They’re also here,” she said before I got too far into the conversation. “Evie’s in the pool again and she seems to be thriving. Her energy is calmer, and Ben said he got her to do all of her Maths homework for the week without a complaint.”
“OK, that’s it,” I said. “I’m keeping him. If he can do that, he’s a miracle worker.”
“So that’s the secret,” Jasper said, stroking his chin, then winking at me. “How’s Evie at PE? That was always my best subject at school.”
“Come and find out,” I said, feeling suddenly shy now. I was introducing my daughter to another one of her fathers and that felt… momentous somehow. Carmen nodded, relieving Jasper of the bottle of wine, then making way for us to walk through the house.
I heard the noise as I walked through, the splash of water, the pump of Sophie’s tunes playing from her speakers, the low chatter of adults outside. I put my hand on the sliding door and then pushed it open, stepping out.
Of course, everyone stopped, and I mean everyone. Apparently, I wouldn’t have to introduce anyone else to Carmen or Evie because they were all here. Ben was over with Max and Taylor by the BBQ. Reed sat in a chair beside Logan, looking hard at the label on his beer. And then there was Damon. He appeared up and out of the water with a grin, my daughter clinging like a limpet to his shoulders.
“Again, Dad, again!”
“Evie!” I hustled over, not sure what Damon was doing, but was sure it wasn’t safe.
“Mum!”
She scrambled over the lip of the pool and came stumbling over, splashing water all over the concrete before stopping short of us. She looked up at Jasper owlishly.
“Are you my other dad?”
He bent down and then held out his hand.
“I am. I’m Jasper.”
She shook it with exaggerated emphasis, putting her whole arm into it.
“Dad said you were helping Mum today.”
“I was.” His eyes slid to me. “Your mum is pretty busy, and I figured I could be a spare set of hands.”
“That’s good. Mum needs more help. She’s always too tired to play action figures. She gets me good history books from the shop though. Do you like history?”
“I was always more of a footy kind of guy at school…” Jasper’s voice trailed away as Evie frowned slightly, then cocked her head to one side. “But maybe you could teach me about it? What’s your favourite period of history?”
She brightened up immediately. “Ancient history! I like Egyptian history and Ancient Greece.”
She grabbed him by the hand then, leading him towards the pool, Damon grinning up at him from the water as they got closer. Evie tried to get him to come for a swim with them, but when he protested he didn’t have any shorts to change into, Damon indicated they’d packed some for him. Taylor wandered over, tongs in hand, letting Jasper know where he could get dressed.
“So things seem to be progressing,” Carmen said diplomatically.
“They’re doing something,” I said with a sigh. “I need a drink.”