“Well, funny you should say that, I upgraded my skincare routine recently and I—”
I spin the phone around to face me again. “Shut up, Jake. Let’s go meet our niece.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Loncey
Ihave no clue what time it is when Maeve and I finally walk back through the door to her apartment, but I know it’s the middle of the night. I suppose I have my jetlag to thank for me not feeling as exhausted as Maeve looks as she sways on the spot while trying to take her boots off.
“Let me help,” I say, dropping down to the floor and unzipping them. I slide them off her feet then put them neatly to the side. Staying low, I unlace and remove my Converse then put them next to Maeve’s boots. I smile at the sight of our shoes together. I like it more than is possibly rational.
“I’m bloody knackered but I’m also so fecking hungry.”
“I can make us something to eat and I’ll bring it to you in bed,” I say, still on my knees.
Maeve smiles down at me. “Stop being so fucking perfect. I’ll never want you to leave.”
I freeze. It’s the first time one of us has referred to me leaving since I arrived. I realize now that the lack of reference has meant we’ve been living in this bubble where our distance doesn’t exist, where Maeve and I are together, always. But that’s not the case.
It’s not like what Maeve said burst the bubble but nonetheless I feel like I’ve been forcefully made to emerge from that sweet, safe cocoon.
Rather than admit this to her or dwell on it a second further, I jump into action. Namely, I grab Maeve just below her knees and take her with me as I stand up. She bends over my shoulder and I carry her through her apartment as her giggling screams fill the vast space.
“Jesus, Loncey! You’re going to break your back!”
“You’ve seen me in the gym. I’m a machine!” I joke.
“Ah feck, no, not the stairs.”
“Yes, the stairs,” I say and I take them two at a time. Sure, my thighs are burning and my lower back feels every single one of my thirty-seven years but I’m not even close to putting her down. I’m sure it reveals something about the toxic masculinity that still lives inside me despite my many best efforts to eradicate it, but I like carrying Maeve like this. I like making her laugh like a child getting tickled. I like feeling the weight of her in my arms, wrapped around my body. I love knowing that I’m making her smile. I love having her in my arms. I love… her.
Fuck.
I love Maeve.
I love Maeve and in less than a week I have to get on a plane and leave her until… I don’t know when. I love Maeve and I have to live on the opposite side of the world to her. I love Maeve and the thought of being apart again from her feels like hell.
These are the thoughts that fill my head as I turn the corner into Maeve’s room and then finally throw her down on the bed. If I hadn’t just realized how deeply in love with her I am, I’dknow it now as I watch her fall back. Her honey-colored hair surrounds her like a lion’s mane, her bottle-green eyes sparkle, and her smile – that smile that I feel nobody but me gets to see – literally swells the chambers of my heart.
“You’re so beautiful, Maeve,” I tell her and that promptly silences her giggles.
The smile slips, but only a little. She puts her hands above her head.
“Come here and kiss me,” she says and it’s so sweet and seductive that a meteor shower moving in the opposite direction couldn’t stop me from climbing up on the bed and tucking my legs between hers. I lower myself slowly.
“Is this okay?” I ask.
“This is okay,” she says and she wraps her arms around me.
“You became an aunt today,” I say and then kiss the tip of her nose.
“I did.” Her smile is broad and unstoppable again. “I’m so pleased she’s here. And she’s okay.”
“She’s an adorable little baby.” I nuzzle my nose against her cheek.
“I wish they’d tell us her name. I know they already have one.”
“Let them have their time. It’s been a wild day for them.”
