I already love Reid’s family. I wish I’d got to know them more when they lived near us. They’re all smiles and laughter. It’s infectious.
“How are you still going?” I ask as Reid piles up another plate.
He shrugs. “It’s a birthday breakfast. You’ve not done it right unless you feel ill after.”
Eric laughs. “He’s right. Do you want another pastry?”
I hold my hand up. “No, thank you.”
Callum raises up the last remaining bottle of prosecco. “Can I at least tempt you with another glass of this?’
“Well, that’s different.”
Reid shakes his head, smirking as he picks up his coffee.
Callum fills up mine and Phoebe’s glasses. Kelly has deserted us and switched to coffee, claiming someone needs to be sober for Lexie. That someone is Callum, but I think she likes hogging her granddaughter. I think Phoebe likes that, too. She gets to have a break from running around after a tiny person for a while.
“We’re going to walk this off afterwards, anyway,” Kelly says.
My eyes widen. “I’m expected to move after this?”
“You’ll be fine,” Reid replies.
“I don’t think I will. Where are we walking to?”
“There’s a stream running from the back garden to a pub.”
“We’re going to the pub next?” He nods in reply. “I really shouldn’t drink this fourth glass then.”
“Who are you kidding, Mila?”
I bring the glass to my lips and take a sip. “You might have to carry me home after dinner.”
He shrugs like it’d be no big deal. I bet he’d do it, too. I might make him, even if I’m not that drunk, which will be a miracle if these people don’t stop plying me with alcohol.
“I love birthdays here.”
Reid glances my way. “Me, too.”
When we finish, Eric and Callum tidy up. Reid is apparently excused because the birthday person doesn’t clean. I offered but Kelly and Phoebe wouldn’t let me get up. I’m staying in their house. The least I could do is clean some plates.
“Lexie,” Kelly says. “You want to try a grape?”
“Make sure it’s sliced, Mum!”
“It’s sliced, Phoebe. Did you die?”
Reid laughs and turns to me. “I’m glad you came this weekend.”
“So am I.”
“You don’t seem so nervous anymore.”
Huh. “Oh. No, I’m not at all.”
“Did you forget to be nervous?”
“I guess I did. It’s like home here. You’re insane for staying back.”
“I like my job. The view from my house isn’t bad either.”
“Mrs Mathews directly opposite you. Reid, she’s in her sixties.”
“But she only looks forty.”
“She’s still sixty on the inside.”
His eyebrows shoot up, and he starts laughing.
“No!” I shake my head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I don’t mean that she has an old… oh, my god, don’t laugh. That’s not how I meant it.”
He laughs harder, throwing his head back.
“Okay, you’re a child. I’m going to help your dad and Callum.”
Kelly and Phoebe look over, smiling as I walk away.
I hear them asking Reid what he’s done, and then I’m too far away to catch the rest.
* * *
Well, they weren’t fibbing. We’re on a bloody long walk ten minutes after eating our bodyweight in brunch and Reid opening his gifts. My stomach is stretched, but hopefully the exercise will knock off a few calories. Probably about three.
I might need a whole week of training with Jason to really put a dent in it.
Lexie is strapped to Kelly’s chest in a carrier. Eric walks beside her, intermittently tickling Lexie’s cheeks. Callum and Phoebe walk closely behind, hand in hand, pointing out random things like birds and ducks.
It’s so pretty here, even if it is a little chilly.
“It’s gorgeous, Reid. Even though I’m in a food coma, I can still appreciate how pretty it is.”
“I’ll bring you back in late winter. It’s even better when it’s coated in a blanket of snow.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I sigh.
God, I hope he invites me back.
I bump his arm with mine. “Are you having a good birthday?”
“The best.”
“Birthdays when you’re a kid are way better. All those presents and the parties.”
“They were good. I’d always insist on going to soft play when I was little. Looking back, I can see that Mum’s smile was concealing dread.”
“My best party was a pool party. My parents hired a private pool, and then we had cakes, ice cream, and sugar in just about every form. It rocked. It’s actually where I had my very first kiss.”
He chuckles. “Go on.”
“I was seven.”
“Early start.”
I nudge him again and breathe in the smell of damp grass. “He was called Louis, and everyone in my class wanted to marry him. Our friends said he had to kiss me because it was my birthday. It was the quickest kiss, and I ran away—jumped straight back in the pool after.”
“Lucky Louis.”
“You’ve had my mouth for way longer than he ever did.”
“I’m keeping it now. Louis will have to scare some other girl into jumping in a pool.”
“How long are you keeping it for? I’ll have to let him know.”
“Indefinitely. Tell him not to wait.”
We pass a huge willow tree with a blanket of leaves hiding its trunk.
“We used to swing from that tree when we were kids. This is the one I fell from and sprained my wrist. Phoebe accused me of doing it to take the attention from her.” He chuckles. “She was so mad that Dad took me to the hospital, which meant we missed half of her birthday.”
“Where did you live before?”
“Not far from their house now. We still walked this track to get to the pub.”
“You were happy here.”
“I’m happy back home, too. Mum missed the people here, though. They’d both spent their whole married life around here. Moving away was never the same for them.”
“Well, I’m glad you guys moved.”
“So am I.”
“You’re thinking that because we’re now having awesome sex, too, right?”
He grins. “I think about that a lot, actually.”
Join the club.
“Come on, you two!” Phoebe shouts over her shoulder.
We’ve slowed down a lot. Good thing really. I don’t want his parents to hear how much he’s pleasing me in the bedroom.
“I can’t walk fast. I have about ten servings of brunch inside me.”
Reid laughs and grabs my hand. “You can make it.”
He pulls me along, but he doesn’t let go when we catch up with the others. I guess he’s keeping my hand, and that’s just fine by me.