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“You do call me baby girl, though.”
“True.”
“So it doesn’t turn you on when I say ‘would you like me to go down on you, Daddy?’” She says it in a soft, breathy voice, and a shiver runs all the way down my spine.
“Every naughty thing you say turns me on,” I admit, and I sigh and lie back as she proceeds to tell me all the wicked things she’s going to do to me next time she sees me.
But afterward, when we end the call and I lie there, my body sated, and my mind tired, her words continue to flutter around my head like butterflies. I know she was being playful when she called me daddy, but I guess, with the imminent arrival of Saxon’s babies, I feel all mixed up.
I thought I was cursed. Doomed to a life alone because of my failed relationships because I felt unlovable. But Belle’s done something to me. It’s as if she’s shone a flashlight into my eyes and illuminated the attic of my brain, showing me that although I thought it was filled with scary dark corners, nothing is hiding there except a few dusty cobwebs. There are no monsters. Maybe a few ghosts flitting about, but they don’t mean me ill.
Anxious for Saxon and worried about Catie, I doze fitfully, but it’s Belle I dream about. I’m at the beach, the one where I saw her in her bikini, and I’m looking for her. Eventually I see her standing looking at the sea, but she’s not fourteen—she’s the age she is now. She turns as I approach, and I see she has a big bump, and she’s resting her hand on it.
“Is it mine?” I ask her, heart racing.
“I waited,” she says, “but you never came.”
I jerk awake with a start. My phone’s buzzing beneath my pillow. The crack in the curtains reveals the sun is just coming up. I take the phone out and see that it’s Saxon.
I sit up, heart racing, and answer it. “Hello?”
“It’s me,” he says. He sounds elated. “The babies are here!”
“How are they? How’s Catie?”
“Everyone’s fine. Two beautiful healthy boys. And my wife is wonderful! Just amazing. I can’t believe she did it! It was so fantastic. She took my breath away. She’s so… you know. I can’t find the words. And the boys are amazing—I have two sons! Jesus. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
I chuckle. “You sound happy.”
“I feel on top of the world! Knackered, but happy. I can’t believe it. You’ll come over, right? Come and see them?”
“Dude, I’ll be there as soon as I get some clothes on.” I hesitate. “Not every guy would have reacted the way you did if a woman turned up on their doorstep four months pregnant. You’ve been there through thick and thin for that girl. I’m so proud of you, man.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, and then I hear him snuffle and say, “Ah, fuck, are you trying to make me cry? I’m full of baby hormones, remember?”
I smile. “I thought that was the mum.”
“Nope, definitely the dad too. Or it could just be lack of sleep. But thanks. That means a lot.”
“I’ll see you soon,” I tell him gruffly.
“Yeah. It’ll be good to see you,” he says, and ends the call.
I get up and shower, then call Kip while I make myself a coffee to go. “You heading over there?” I ask when he answers.
“Yeah. You want me to pick you up on the way?” he asks.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Will do.” He pauses. “Weird, isn’t it?”
“Just a bit.” I turn and lean on the kitchen counter. “Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“It must be weird, your twin having kids.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment. Then he replies, “Yeah, a bit.”
