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“For what?” I ask, confused by his remark.
“For calling me Addy’s dad.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Well… I heard a rumor the two of you had moved in together. I guess I assumed…”
“You assumed correctly,” he says, smiling down at Laurel. “The adoption papers haven’t come through yet, but hopefully, it won’t be much longer now.”
Laurel looks up at him, her eyes filled with adoration. “And to clarify the rumor, Brady moved into my place a while back,” she says.
“Yeah.” He turns slightly, tilting his head toward her. “But that’s not permanent.”
“It’s not?” I say and they look at me.
“No,” Brady replies. “We’re both selling our houses, so we can buy a place of our own.” He shakes his head, letting out a sigh. “To be honest, it’s been kinda stressful.”
“Have you been getting hassle from the locals?” I ask.
“Because we got together so soon after Mitch’s death, you mean?” he says and I nod my head, although I notice Laurel flinch, just slightly.
“Yeah. I know what people can be like around here. When Sabrina and I got divorced, they were quick to judge.”
“We’ve had a little of that,” he says. “But it’s been nothing more than a few sideways glances, and the odd comment I’ve overheard or been told about.”
“What kind of comment?” I ask.
“Just people saying we should have waited. Not that it’s got a damn thing to do with anyone else, other than us and Addy.”
“Exactly.”
He pulls Laurel close to him and she nestles against his chest, looking very much at home there. “Most of the stress has come from selling two houses at the same time,” he says. “While also looking for another one, and going through the adoption process with Addy, getting her ready to start school, and trying to plan our wedding.”
“Seriously? You’re doing all that at the same time?”
“Yeah,” he says, smiling. “Although at least we’ve found the house we wanna buy now. That’s something.”
“When are you moving?” I ask.
“The beginning of next month… providing nothing goes wrong.”
“And when’s the wedding?”
“Not soon enough,” he says, and we all chuckle.
“It’s the first Saturday of December,” Laurel explains with a smile. “Once we’ve moved, I’ll send out the invitations, and hopefully be able to sit down with Peony and plan things properly.”
“It doesn’t have to be planned,” Brady says as the school bell rings. “Just so long as you’re Mrs. Hanson by the end of the day, I’ll be a happy man.”
He tilts his head and kisses Laurel’s cheek, the smile on her face making me wonder if she had any clue that her late husband and my ex-wife had a long-term affair with each other. It was before she married Mitch. In fact, I think she was still away at college when it happened, so it’s not something she needs to know, and I’m not gonna be the one to tell her. Mitch is dead and Laurel has moved on. She’s happy, and Katie’s right, it’s high time I found some of that happiness for myself.
We all turn as the school doors open and some of the older children rush out. They don’t have to be met by their parents, and they make straight for the gates, while the younger ones file out with their teachers, some parents stepping forward and others hanging back, so their kids can come to them.
I spot Nash straight away. He’s a little taller than most of his peers, and although he doesn’t notice me, I’m not worried. He’s not expecting to see me here. Besides, he’s busy talking to the little girl who’s walking beside him. She’s very cute, with dark curly hair, held back from her face with a bright red Alice band, and she’s staring up at Nash as he speaks.
“We’d better go speak with Addy’s teacher,” Brady says, breaking into my thoughts and I turn, spotting the Kindergarten teacher, standing over to one side of the schoolyard. She looks just as beautiful as she did this morning, although I can’t fail to notice the splash of red paint on her black pants, or that her hair is slightly less tidy. It makes me want to unclip it completely and run my fingers through it, while I gaze into her eyes and kiss her…
“She’s got someone with her,” Laurel says, and I jump, remembering where I am.
“I know, but I need to get back to work, and in any case, no-one needs Anita Knox in their life,” Brady says, making me chuckle. He’s not wrong. I still remember her when she was called Anita Yates, and was in the same year as me at school, and she hasn’t changed at all. She’s five foot two when she’s not wearing any heels, which she usually is, and since she turned seventeen, her idea of dress sense has been to show off her voluptuous figure to its best effect. I’ve always preferred to keep her at arm’s length, but from what I hear, she’s just as much trouble now as she was then. At school, it was all about scoring points and looking down her nose at people. Now, she still does plenty of that, but with a greater sense of entitlement. It need come as no surprise that she and Sabrina got along like a house on fire. In fact, it was Anita Knox who Sabrina went to stay with when we split up, and I have no doubt she exaggerated my role in that disaster. I’m almost certainly the villain of the piece, so it’s no wonder that Anita has barely bothered to give me the time of day since then.
