AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrug. “I’m fine.” Which is true; once the shock of everything wore off, I’ve come to realise that Emma was a hundred per cent right to call off the wedding.
Kira eyes me critically, her brow furrowed in concern. “You’re supposed to be on your honeymoon right now. How can you be ‘fine’?”
I let out a soft breath of laughter. “Obviously I’d love to be in Portugal right now—I mean, who wouldn’t? But I’m not torn up over the wedding if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“So, it really was a mutual decision?” she asks, shaking her head in wonderment. “I thought…I don’t know. I guess I was wrong.”
I hesitate before responding. This is mysister;it doesn’t feel right to give her the same line we’ve been feeding everyone else. “Actually, it was her decision,” I clarify. “And to be honest, it was a massive shock, and I didn’t exactly take it well at first.” I feel my face flaming at the memory of breaking into Emma’s emails and sending that tirade to Waho’s friend. “But now that I’ve had time to think about it, I know it was the right decision. Both of us had been checked out of that relationship for a long time—I just couldn’t see it until I was actually forced to confront it.”
Kira nods slowly. “Huh. Yeah, I guess that makes more sense. So, you’re okay now?”
“Yeah, I’m great.”
Kira takes a long sip of her tea. “Hmm…yeah, you do actually seem to have everything pretty much together.”
We’re interrupted then by a clattering at the front door as my sister-in-law, Millie arrives home. She enters the kitchen and makes a beeline for Kira, linking her arms around Kira’s neck from behind and bending down to drop a kiss to my sister’s cheek. “Hey, babe. Hey, Dev,” Millie says, offering me a soft smile. She moves away from the table and heads for the hallway. “I’ll be in the workroom for a bit.”
“Sorry, she’s not really up for visitors today,” Kira says softly, a troubled expression crossing her face as she stares after Millie’s retreating form. She glances down into her mug of tea, blowing at the steam. “We got another negative test this morning.”
I let out a heavy sigh as heartache grips me. “God, Kirs, I’m so sorry.” My sister and her wife have been trying to have a baby for over a year now; this was their eighth attempt at artificial insemination. Why haven’t they just moved on to IVF? Well, you can ask the NHS that. “Do you need me to add some more to the account?” I ask gently.
She gives a slight shake of her head and offers me a tight smile. “It’s okay. There’s enough left.”
I study her expression closely, concerned by the apprehension she’s trying incredibly hard to hide. “I’ll add more anyway,” I tell her. “I don’t want you guys scrounging.”
I can tell by the relief on her face that I’ve made the right call.
Kira puts a hand to her face, emotion suddenly getting the best of her. “Devon, I swear, one day—”
“If you saypay me back, I’ll throttle you,” I warn. “What the hell am I going to do with the money?”
I’m beyond glad when she lets out a little breath of laughter. “I don’t know…buy another watch, maybe?”
I grin. “Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty left to cover my addiction.”
She lets out a soft chuckle and lifts her mug to take a sip. “On the bright side, we only need four more failed attempts before we qualify for IVF on the NHS,” she says with a bitter smile.
“You should qualifynow,”I say darkly. Why should couples like my sister and her wife be required to spend tens of thousands of pounds before being eligible for government funding? There must be so many potential mothers out there who are unable to start a family because the financial burden is simply impossible.
Kira reaches across the table and pats my hand, flashing a bright smile. “Well, luckily, we have the bank of Devon. And I don’t care what you say—one day wewillpay you back. It might not be financially, but we’ll find a way to even the score somehow.”
“Alright, if you say so,” I say with an indulgent smile. “And just so you know, if you want to go straight to IVF now, I’m happy to cover it.”
She nods. “Thanks, but we’ll give it one more go.”
I give a wry shake of my head. That’s what she says every time. I’m not going to push her on it, though. For one thing, it’s good for her to have hope; and for another, considering how difficult it’s been for Millie to get pregnant through artificial insemination it’s quite possible that several rounds of IVF will be needed if they do reach that stage. I have no problem funding it, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs, but I know Kira and Millie would be more comfortable if they could keep my financial input to a minimum.
“So, I was going to wait—you know, give you some time to get through your mourning period or whatever—but seeing as how you’re doing so well, how would you like me to set you up with this really cute girl from work?” Kira asks, eyes shining with excitement. “She’s a pilates instructor so she’s very bendy.”
“Okay, I think that’s my cue to leave,” I say with an eye roll as I push my chair out and get to my feet.
“So that’s a no?”
“Yeah, that’s a no.”
