Chapter 16 #2
Xander and Jackson are on the verge of laughing at my analogies. I carry on, recounting my visit to the house. Getting knocked out, being grilled by the kids. They are in full-blown hysterics when I finish telling them.
“Jude, only you could get knocked out, kidnapped, attempted extortion, and still be interested in the woman.” Jackson is holding his stomach as if it hurts. Then, to top it off, my phone rings. FaceTime call.
Jonno.
Dammit.
Tears of laughter are rolling down his face. He’s inevitably got the house bugged.
“Fucking hell, Jonno, can’t you keep out of it?” I screw my face up in mock horror.
“No chance. That is the best tale I’ve heard for ages. I’m going to sign those boys up. Good find, Jude.”
They’re all laughing at me now. When their cackling and guffaws subside, Xander asks, “What next? Once you pay the ransom, are you asking her out?” He’s grinning at me.
“Yes, I did actually kiss her, but my dilemma is that she feels so innocent. Not for the likes of me. God knows what her ex was playing at. It’s as if she’s never had any full-on proper attention.
The kind you should get if you have three children with someone.
Like you and Kell with Evie, like Jonno with Aoife.
I know Jackson doesn’t have kids with Carter yet, but the attention they give each other. It’s… well, you know, you all live it.
“But see, Emma… I’m not sure she’s ever had that.
And I know I’m full on. In every department.
I can see I scare the shit out of her." Dropping my head back, I look up at the lightening sky. I’m so frustrated.
Have I initiated something I can’t finish?
If I pursue her, will she flee in fright?
I really don’t want her to. I want to explore it, her… us.
“Doesn’t mean to say that she won’t like it. Just that she’s never had it. You might have to go a bit slower than normal. But there’s lots of fun in that.” Xander, who is not a sedate guy, grins at me.
“When have you ever had to go slow?” I scoff at him.
He pulls a face at me, pouting his lips trying to look all innocent.
“I loved your sister, and Kell. Had to wait thirty-seven years for that to come full circle. Believe me, that was fucking slow, and painful. But Christ was it worth it.” His face blooms into life, his eyes pulsing out energy like a megawatt bulb, and his positive energy hits me squarely in the chest.
Can I? Can I do it? Do I want to? I’m not a patient man normally. But her face appears in front of me. It’s a beautiful sight. I wish she was here now, I want to see her all the time. I can surely try.
“She has three kids.” Jonno is serious when my eyes meet his. He may be thousands of miles away, but he might as well be in the same room with the intensity he’s blasting my way.
I nod. I know it’s a worry, a different level of complication. If I hurt her, I hurt them. I watched Evie try and navigate the dating scene as a single mother. It was not pretty at times, and she was hardly prolific.
Jonno is checking out my face, apparently he knows a lot about her, but hasn’t said. I never told him she had three kids. Jake’s probably been sharing my thoughts.
“I know. And that’s also on my mind. Not in a bad way, but just to make sure if I do pursue anything with her, I have to take them into consideration.” They’re all looking at me, but the thing in common is their smiles. “What are you all still smiling about?” I look from one to the other.
“You. The fact that you’ve thought about it,” Xander states.
“You’ve got experience. James and Bucky, and now this brood.” Jackson opens his arms out towards the house.
That’s true, I do know the score when bringing up kids. Especially kids who aren’t yours biologically. The joy and the pitfalls. It’s a hard road to navigate. But one that is so worth it.
“I might be getting ahead of myself. She might say no. Decide I’m too much hassle. She has a lot of hassle with her ex, and her business at the minute. I’m a headache she won’t need.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her ex-husband and the idiotic former business partner of hers.
The ex-husband is in the dog house with old Lord Langford.
Got pissed at a business dinner, talking crap and being indiscreet.
The old man’s a stickler for manners, and he blotted his copy book, because it was someone they were trying to get a deal with. ” Jonno undoubtedly has been watching.
“Do you want to go home early?” Xander asks. He looks a bit worried about that. Evie wants me to stay, she’s told me everyday this week. And he doesn’t want anything to happen that would upset her.
“No, I’m here for a couple of weeks, then into Europe at a conference in Germany and a meeting in Italy.
So I’m not back in the UK til the beginning of March.
No point in booking anything in with her now.
It may change again, and I want to be on hand to make the most of seeing her, rather than changing plans all the time.
” My logical mind has kicked into gear. “I’ll try calling her.
See if I can get her talking a bit. But it’s a hard one, as I left her a message saying I was coming out to you guys here. ”
“It’ll pan out, brother. Take it easy, see how things go. Just don’t give those kids your bank details,” Jonno says on a laugh.
Jackson and Jonno are both laughing at me.
Their cyber security business is thriving.
The Drews probably could get jobs with them.
The younger ones, at least. The older Drew certainly doesn’t want me around, and clearly thinks I’m in cahoots with his dad.
His angry words and accusations when he was supposed to be apologising ring in my ears.
I’ve got a lot of work to do. Is she worth it? I think she is. But I’ll give myself time to think everything through.