“No. Well, yes, but.” I nod at the lounge. We both watch as Cami pats Seb’s stomach, and he pretends to fall to the ground, knocked flat by her enormous strength. She laughs uproariously. “This. I thought I was going to be alone. But I’m not.”
Cyrus is silent for a long time. So long, I think he hasn’t heard me. Then he presses his face into my neck. “Me, neither,” he murmurs, and I almost break apart.
All this time, I’ve been so caught up in my own shitty drama that I didn’t stop to think about the guys’ less-than-ideal family situations. Cyrus got disowned. Seb’s parents abandoned and lied to him. Jack’s family ignored him in favour of his athletic siblings. None of them have perfect families, but that hasn’t stopped them from making their own.
“You’re not,” I say quietly. “None of us are, anymore.”
He presses his lips gently to mine. Warmth courses through me like sunlight. The ache in my chest eases slightly. I lean forward, trying to deepen the kiss—
Something soft hits the side of my face, and we pull apart, looking down at the pink block at our feet. Cami laughs and claps her hands together on the mat.
“Holy shit,” Cyrus says. “Did she throw that?”
“She’s got a good overhand,” Jack mutters. “Don’t worry, honey. Even if you turn out to like sports, I’ll still love you.”
“I think that’s our cue to join them,” I say, and Cyrus nods, taking my hand and leading me to the crinkly play mat. Cami beams as we sit down, rolling sideways to land between our laps. I stroke her little dinosaur spikes, and she wriggles happily.
Seb checks his smart watch. “Takeaway’s here.” He stands up and heads out, dropping one last kiss on my head.
Jack leans over and unplugs my phone from the socket in the wall. “I charged your phone, Beth. You’ll probably want to catch up. It’s been dinging like mad.”
I groan. “Oh, God. I can’t look. How bad is it?”
He laughs, scanning the screen. “Well, Cyrus probably drained your battery all by himself, with the number of notifications from him. You’ve got a lot from Benny, too.” He scrolls down. “There’s also some guy called Carl? His email is marked as urgent, so you should probably check it out.”
“Carl?” It takes me a second to place that name, and then I lunge forward, grabbing the phone. I cuddle Cami to me as I scan the email, my blood rushing.
Hello Bethany, it’s Carl, Sarah’s husband. We met briefly a few days ago. I hope you don’t mind, I found your email address on an online job listing.
Sarah told me everything. I had no idea that she had another child, and I’m so sorry that you received such a poor welcome at our house. I can’t imagine how you must have felt.
The twins (Hattie and Henri, they’re both six years old and terrible) happened to eavesdrop on us while we were discussing you (they’re going through a spy phase), and now they’re dying to meet their older sister. They talk about you every day. If you want to, I’d love to arrange a meeting. I know it would mean a lot to them. I doubt Sarah would come, but I think it’s important that the twins know their family, and I’d love to meet a daughter-in-law.
Regards,
Carl
My mouth falls open.
Cyrus leans over my shoulder, bouncing Cami’s toy bunny onto her lap. “What is it?”
“My birth mum’s husband. He wants me to meet my sister and brother.” I lick my lips, my heart thumping. “He called me his ‘daughter-in-law’.”
That can’t be right, can it? I think I’m fully denounced as Sarah’s daughter, so any father-in-law duties have been waived.
But, hey. I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He wants me to meet my siblings.Theywant to meetme.I could honestly cry.
I show the phone to Cyrus, and his face breaks into a smile. “Finally. Someone who realises how lucky they are to be related to you. I like this Carl guy.”
Cami squeals in my lap, smacking the phone out of my hand and frowning at me.
“Oh, I’m sorry, was I ignoring you?” I ask, tickling her cheek. “Do you need some attention? Maybe some kisses?” I pick her up and start covering her in kisses, and she roars with laughter as Cyrus joins in.
“I love you,” I tell her, pressing one last kiss to her tiny nose. She throws her arms up in triumph.
A key rattles in the door. “Food’s here,” Seb calls, stepping back into the flat holding two delicious-smelling bags of fried chicken. We shuffle up, and he lays out the food and plastic cutlery on the floor, picnic-style.
We don’t say much as we eat. The sun sets behind us, flooding the guys’ living room with gold light. I’m curled up between Jack and Seb while Cyrus sprawls on the mat, feeding Cami her baby food. It may just be fried chicken on the floor, but it’s the best meal I’ve had in ages.