Chapter fifty-four #2
He glances toward the stairs. “Right.”
The reminder hangs there between us for a second. Then Rory nods and follows me into the living room. We settle onto the sofa together, the soft glow from the lamp the only light in the room.
I curl sideways almost automatically, tucking my legs over his lap like I’ve done it a hundred times before.
Which is ridiculous because this has been…
what? Three days? But it already feels easy and comfortable.
Like we’ve skipped straight past the awkward early part of something new.
Rory rests one arm loosely around my legs, his thumb absentmindedly tracing slow patterns against my ankle.
He exhales softly. “So,” he says.
“So.”
“I think we need to have the conversation.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Because that question has been quietly hovering over us since Saturday morning. What are we? We’ve slept together. Multiple times. We’ve said I love you. Which, when you think about it, is a fairly chaotic timeline. But somehow it doesn’t feel rushed. It just feels… obvious.
Rory shifts slightly, turning so he can see me properly. “Freya Collins,” he says softly.
My stomach flips a little. “That sounds serious.”
“It is.”
“Oh God.”
He smiles. “Relax.”
“I am relaxed.”
“You’re absolutely not.”
“Fine. Continue.”
He takes my hand then, threading his fingers through mine in that casual way that still somehow makes my heart stumble. “I’m pretty sure,” he says slowly, “that I’m completely in love with you.”
Butterflies erupt in my stomach. “Pretty sure?” I tease.
“Alright,” he corrects. “Completely certain.”
“That’s better.”
“And,” he continues, “seeing as we’ve already skipped several normal dating steps…”
“Such as?”
“Not declaring our love during the first twenty-four hours.”
I grin. “Technicalities.”
He squeezes my hand. “I was thinking,” he says quietly, “we could make this official.”
The word settles warmly in my chest. Official.
“You’re asking me to be your girlfriend?” I say.
He raises an eyebrow. “Is that an acceptable term?”
“It’s very Year Ten.”
“Okay.”
“Also yes.” I smile.
His smile spreads slowly. “Yes?”
“Yes.” My heart does a ridiculous little leap as the word leaves my mouth.
Rory laughs softly, leaning forward to kiss me again. This one is gentler. Slower. The kind that makes my chest feel warm and full.
“Good,” he murmurs.
I rest my forehead against his. “Although,” I add, “I think we should probably talk about the other part.”
He nods immediately. “The kids.”
“Yeah.”
We both fall quiet for a second. Because that part matters. A lot.
“Theo comes first,” I say quietly.
“Same with Isla.”
“And this is all… new.”
“Very new.”
I sigh softly. “I don’t want to confuse them.”
“Me neither.” He squeezes my hand again. “What if we keep it between us for now?”
I look up at him. “You mean… secret?”
“Not forever,” he says quickly. “Just until we figure things out.”
“Things like…”
“Our living situation.”
My stomach flips. “Rory.”
“Not immediately,” he adds quickly, laughing softly. “I’m not proposing we move in together next week.”
“Good.”
“But eventually we’ll have to think about how this works long term.”
I nod slowly. “And the kids should hear about it from us,” he continues. “Not from playground gossip or from seeing us absentmindedly kissing on the school run.”
“Definitely.”
We sit quietly for a moment. Then a small smile creeps onto my face.
“What?” he asks.
I shrug. “I’m just thinking.”
“About?”
“How sneaking around might actually be quite fun.”
His grin appears instantly. “Oh, I’m very on board with that.”
“Secret kisses in the supermarket.”
“Late night visits.”
“You climbing through my window.”
He raises an eyebrow. “I feel like that’s a health and safety risk.”
“Rory Bennett afraid of a window climb? Not what you said on Friday night!”
“Never said afraid.”
“Coward.”
He laughs quietly. Then his expression softens slightly as he looks at me.
“You know,” I say after a moment.
“What?”
“I kind of wish we’d done this years ago.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. Rory nods slowly. “Yeah.”
“We could have had so much time.”
“We could have.”
For a second a small ache settles in my chest. But then Rory tilts my chin gently so I’m looking at him again.
“Freya.”
“Yeah?”
“I wouldn’t change it.”
I blink. “You wouldn’t?”
He shakes his head. “Because if we’d done this earlier…” He pauses. “You might not have Theo.”
My heart softens immediately.
“And I wouldn’t have Isla.”
I smile slightly.
“And they’re pretty great.”
“They’re the best.”
He brushes his thumb lightly along my cheek. “So no,” he says softly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My chest feels warm and full all at once.
“Besides,” he adds with a small smile, “we’re here now.”
“Yeah.”
“We figured it out eventually.”
I lean forward and kiss him again. And when I pull back, I can’t stop the smile spreading across my face.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi.”
“My boyfriend.”
His grin widens. “Yeah,” he murmurs. “I like the sound of that.