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I cocked a suggestive eyebrow. “Oh, I know it won’t be bad.”
Will shook his head with a chuckle. “You’re right. I don’t know why I said that.” His mirth faded, and he dipped his head to breathe in Seb’s baby scent. “But you have a point. As much as I love this little guy, he’s not going to make it easy. But don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
“So…” I grimaced. “It might still be a while?”
“Afraid so. But I promise you this…” Will leaned in until his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “I’m worth the wait.”
His hot breath over my skin made me shiver. “Do you think the ego trip works on me, Kidd?”
He pulled back and smirked. “I know it does.”
I tried to smile, but I was a little off balance with the way my nerves continued to flicker in my middle. I wasn’t scared of sex, and I certainly wasn’t scared of sex with Will. Was I?
“Thank you,” I murmured.
Will gave me a puzzled look. “For what?”
“For not letting things get awkward between us.”
Will winked. “Never going to happen. So, Stephanie will be here to man the bar for me any minute. Do you want to take this rugrat over to the table, and I’ll join you soon?”
I glanced over at our parents, who had not only spotted us but were staring across the room with no attempt to conceal their impatience—or their curiosity.
I sighed. “Fine, but donotleave me alone for longer than I need to be, okay? I have a feeling there’ll be a few questions tonight.”
“And I’m happy to answer all of them.”
“For someone who’s never been a boyfriend before, you’re pretty good at it, you know?”
Will’s smile took on that arrogant tilt that made me want to rip his pants off and knock the edge off his ego all at the same time.
“I take it back,” I quipped. “There’s still work to do.”
His eyes sparkled with amusement as he gave Seb a kiss on his forehead, and I clapped my hands in Seb’s direction to coax him away from his dad. Unexpectedly, because he’d never done it before, Seb threw himself at me the same way he’d lurched towards Will, and I caught him with surprise. An overwhelming surge of adoration made swallowing difficult. My eyes darted to Will’s, and there was no missing the way they shone with satisfaction.
27
Will
“I couldn’t eat anotherbite.” Ray stretched back in his chair and patted his flat stomach appreciatively. “Noa outdid himself tonight.”
Mum gave Ray an affectionate look, and not for the first time, I offered up thanks that she’d found a way to get over my dad and take a chance on someone else. I liked Ray. He was my mother’s total opposite—sensible where she was sensitive, grounded where she was flighty, realistic where she was a dreamer. He’d come on the scene when I was well into my twenties, so he’d never tried to take a father-figure role in my life, but I never wanted that anyway. All I cared about was my mother having someone in her life who loved her enough to stay.
I wiped my mouth with the napkin on my lap and dropped it onto my empty plate. Noa made incredible food, and I’d insisted everyone order what they wanted on the house. Across the table, Mr Ellison finished off his third helping of double chocolate mud cake with an indulgent moan. Abbie shook her head with mockembarrassment, and when I tweaked her knee under the table, she shot me a look that said,what are you doing?All I could do was grin, but instead of moving away, I shifted my hand northwards and rested it on the inside of her thigh. Abbie rolled her eyes a little, but she crossed her legs to trap me there.
The whole dinner had been a good time. I’d joined not long after Steph arrived to relieve me at the bar, taking the seat next to Abbie’s and pulling it in extra close. Everyone noticed my move, as well as the way Abbie widened her eyes at me, and you could almost see the pain it caused our mothers not to ask what it all meant. I had every intention of letting everyone at the table know that Abbie was finally my girl but dragging it out for an hour or so was fuck loads of fun.
“This cake is delicious,” Arthur commented, setting down his fork. “Perhaps I could get the recipe?”
I shook my head and put on a regretful face, taking care not to move too much. It was inching towards Seb’s bedtime, and he was curled up in my arm, sucking on the ear of his favourite stuffed bunny as his eyes drifted closed. The warmth of his little body against my chest and the subtle smell of him on my shirt were the kinds of comforts I wondered how I’d gone so long without. “Nice try, Mr Ellison. Noa’s food is a trade secret. I’d be out of business if people could make this stuff at home.”
Arthur gazed wistfully at his empty plate. “I suppose you’re right.”
“But I can get him to box up a couple extra slices for you to take home if you like?”
He brightened like he’d never heard a better offer, and Nancytsked. “You don’t need all that sugar, Arthur.”
“But I’ll take it,” he said with a grin.
