Chapter 26
LIV
I felt two pudgy arms circle my neck like a koala and a warm head snuggle against my chest. I peeled my eyes open and saw Finn had climbed into bed between Jay and me.
I pulled him in tightly to me and breathed in my darling boy.
He was wearing his favourite dinosaur pyjamas and his long hair was sticking up chaotically from how he had slept on it.
I picked up my phone and looked through it. I saw I had a message from Maya saying that they’d love to come over tonight. I’d almost forgotten that I’d asked her.
‘What do you want to do today?’ Jay asked.
‘Well, I kind of invited Maya and Hugo over for dinner later…’
‘Are you kidding? Why didn’t you tell me?’
I winced. ‘I wasn’t sure if they would come but Maya has just texted me back to say that they can make it.’
Jay reached across the bed and pulled me into his arms and Finn lay sandwiched between us. ‘Where will we fit them? Our table only seats four. What about the boys?’
‘We can eat outside.’
‘But it’s almost October!’
‘I know but the weather is supposed to be good today. It’ll be a last hurrah before the winter comes.’
He groaned. ‘I don’t think I’ll have much in common with him. He seems very… alpha.’
‘Look, I know he’s probably not our type of person but she’s so sweet. She’s lovely and they’re going through a hard time right now. I think she’ll really enjoy it. She seemed so happy when I invited them.’
‘All right then.’ He sighed. ‘Let’s hope it’s not a total disaster.’
‘Of course it won’t be. They’re going to bring Elliot too so it’ll be good for the boys to play together and get to know each other a little more.’
‘Is Elliot coming to our house?’ Finn piped up.
‘Yes, sweetie, isn’t that exciting?’ I asked.
He shook his head. ‘I don’t like him.’
‘Now, Finn,’ I cautioned. ‘That’s not nice. He’s a lovely boy; you just need to get to know one another a little bit more.’
‘He doesn’t share his toys and he’s really mean.’
‘I don’t think his father is any better,’ Jay quipped.
‘Jay!’ I chastised, then I turned to Finn. ‘Finn, Elliot will be fine, he was just a little territorial in his house that day but I promise you, he won’t be like that in your house, wait and see,’ I said confidently.
Jay and Finn exchanged a look that told me they weren’t buying it.
‘Look, it’s going to be fun,’ I said, trying to convince the two of them. ‘Maya’s really easy company, I promise.’
‘You two seem to be getting along well,’ Jay remarked.
‘I know I’ve only known her for a few weeks but she feels like the kind of friend I’ve wanted my whole life.
She’s really cool. I never would have thought that I could be such good friends with someone like her but it just shows how we make decisions about people in life without knowing them.
I know she’s so glamorous and rich and from the outside looking in, you would think she’d be really high maintenance but she’s the total opposite.
I completely misjudged her. She’s amazing,’ I gushed.
In the normal world, I knew that someone like me and her wouldn’t be friends, but we had been brought together in the most unusual of circumstances and for some reason, we hit it off.
‘I really want you to get to know her, Jay.’
‘Well, I’m looking forward to getting to know the woman that you haven’t shut up about since you met,’ he teased. ‘Will we get a takeout? It will take the pressure off us cooking…’
‘I kind of said you’d do steaks with all the sides…’ I admitted before pulling the duvet over my head to hide from his reaction.
‘Liv!’ He shook his head despairingly, pulling the duvet down off my face, nuzzling my neck and kissing me while Finn giggled. ‘I’m going to kill you!’