Chapter 12
Officially Happy. Mildly Terrified.
Geoff
Theo calls it a quarterly business meeting.
What it actually is, is an excuse to feed us for free and force Jasper and me to admire spreadsheets.
We’re at the café after closing, chairs stacked, lights dimmed to that warm, conspiratorial glow that makes everything feel more important than it is. The espresso machine is cooling with occasional threatening hisses, like it’s offended we’ve stopped using it.
Theo stands behind the counter, sleeves rolled up, laptop open, posture straight. He looks irritatingly competent.
Jasper and I sit at one of the small round tables, plates already in front of us. Viennese pastries. Savoury things. Something with cheese that definitely didn’t need to exist but I’m glad it does.
“Before we eat,” Theo says, holding up a finger.
Jasper and I exchange a look.
“No,” Jasper says. “No graphs before strudel.”
Theo sighs. “You’re investors.”
“We’re siblings,” Jasper replies. “The hierarchy is clear.”
Theo ignores him and turns the laptop around. “If you’ll just look at the figures—”
I pick up a fork. “I trust you.”
“That’s not the point.”
“It is to me.”
Theo pinches the bridge of his nose. “You both put a significant amount of money into this business.”
“And we have zero regrets,” Jasper says, already halfway through a pastry. “Because you are like this.”
He gestures vaguely at Theo’s whole being.
Theo glares. “I am professional.”
“You alphabetised the cleaning supplies,” I say.
Theo straightens. “Organisation is not a flaw.”
“It is when you expect applause for it,” Jasper mutters, mouth full.
Theo clears his throat and launches in anyway. “Revenue is up twelve percent quarter on quarter. Footfall has increased. The new breakfast menu—”
“Delicious,” I say.
“—has exceeded projections,” Theo continues. “Supplier costs are stable, margins are healthy, and we’ve built a decent buffer.”
He looks at us expectantly.
Jasper raises his coffee cup. “To Theo. Keeper of buffers.”
I raise mine. “May your spreadsheets always balance.”
Theo’s mouth twitches despite himself. “You could at least pretend to care.”
“I do care,” I say. “I just don’t need a PowerPoint to know you’ve got this.”
“And also,” Jasper adds, “we’re mostly here for the food.”
Theo gestures at the plates. “You can’t deny that the investment has paid off.”
I glance around the café. The polished wood. The chalkboard menu. The sense of it being his. “It has,” I say. “You’ve built something good.”
Theo softens slightly at that. “Thank you.”
Jasper leans back in his chair. “Plus, if it all went tits up, we’d just take it out of your inheritance.”
Theo snorts despite himself. “You’re both insufferable.”
“Genetic,” Jasper says cheerfully.
We eat in the easy, comfortable silence of people who’ve known each other too long to need to fill every gap. Theo finally closes the laptop and joins us, pulling up a chair.
“So,” Jasper says, licking sugar from his thumb. “What else is new?”
Theo glances at me. Too casually.
I catch it immediately. “What?”
Theo lifts a shoulder. “Nothing.”
“That’s not a nothing look,” I say.
Jasper’s eyes flick between us, interested now. “Oh, this is promising.”
I lean back in my chair. “Has Ivy said anything?” Christa made her promise to not tell Theo about the baby so I could tell my brothers. I can’t believe she would break her promise. Apparently, she swore on cake. Ivy wouldn’t jinx cake.
Theo exhales slowly. “No. However,” he adds, “she did insist that the three of us meet. Soon. As in this week. As in she would not stop pestering me until I agreed.”
I feel my stomach tighten. Just a fraction.
“And,” Theo continues, “that tone generally means she knows something and is about to combust from not telling me.”
Jasper grins. “She is a gossip.”
Theo turns back to me. “So. If you don’t have one—”
“I absolutely do not,” I say, immediately. Too immediately. I am so nervous, it is ridiculous and I am not sure why. Maybe I just don’t want them to judge me.
Theo raises a brow. Jasper’s grin widens.
“Then,” Theo says mildly, “it must be Jasper.”
Jasper chokes on a mouthful of pastry. “What? No!”
“You’re very defensive for an innocent man,” I point out.
“Because you’re accusing me of something,” he says. “I don’t even know what.”
Theo folds his arms. “You’ve been… quiet.”
Jasper snorts. “I’m always quiet.”
“You once narrated your own sandwich,” Theo replies.
Jasper opens his mouth, closes it, then waves a hand. “Irrelevant.”
Theo studies him. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because Ivy—”
“Ivy is not my keeper,” Jasper cuts in. “And if she knows something, it’s not from me.”
I glance between them, trying to keep my expression neutral while my brain does laps.
Theo sighs. “Alright. Fine. Then one of you is lying.”
Jasper points at me. “Him.”
I stare at the table for a second too long, buying myself time. My heart’s doing that irritating thing where it’s both heavy and oddly calm, like it already knows there’s no way out of this.
“Well,” I say finally, lifting my gaze, “when you put it like that.”
Theo’s face shifts immediately. Gone is the amused suspicion. In its place is focus. Concern. Big brother mode, even though technically he’s the middle one.
“Geoff,” he says. “What’s going on?”
I rub my hands together once, then stop because it feels like a tell. Everything suddenly feels like a tell.
“There’s… a baby. I’m having a baby,” I say.
The words hang there. Small. Dense.
Jasper blinks. “Sorry, rewind. A baby.”
“Yes.”
“You,” he clarifies.
“Yes.”
Theo’s voice is steady. “Are you okay?”
The question lands harder than I expect. Not what happened or how did this happen, just that.
“I am,” I say. “I was… shocked. Obviously. But I’m okay. I want this. I’m in. Fully.”
Jasper studies me, head tilted. I know that look. He’s checking for bravado. For panic disguised as competence.
“And the mum?” Theo says gently.
“Christa,” I reply. Saying her name out loud here makes it feel more real somehow. Less theoretical.
Theo nods slowly. “Ivy’s Christa.”
“That’s the one.”
Jasper exhales. “Bloody hell.”
There’s a pause. I brace myself for questions. For judgement. For someone to say something stupid.
Instead, Theo reaches for his coffee and takes a thoughtful sip. “Okay,” he says. “That explains Ivy.”
Jasper snorts. “How did she not explode keeping that secret?”
Theo looks back at me. “What’s the plan?”
I swallow. “We’re figuring it out. Together. Appointments. Logistics. Money. I’ll be there for everything. Whatever she needs.”
As I’m saying it, I realise how quickly it comes. How natural. There’s no hesitation, no caveat. That surprises me a bit, even now.
Jasper’s mouth twitches. “You’ve already got the dad voice.”
“I do not have a dad voice.”
“You do,” Theo says. “You just used it.”
I feel heat creep up my neck. “I’m just… being practical.”
Theo smiles. Not teasing. Something warmer. “You’re being you.”
Jasper leans back in his chair. “Alright. I’m officially happy. Mildly terrified on your behalf, but happy.”
“Same,” Theo says. “This is big. But… I’m glad for you.”
The knot in my chest loosens, just a fraction. I hadn’t realised how tightly I’d been holding it until now.
“And,” Jasper adds, “what about the relationship situation?”
Here it is.
“There isn’t one,” I say, a bit too fast. I rein it in. “I mean. We’re friends. Very clear. Very grown-up. No expectations, no pressure.”
Theo arches an eyebrow. “You’re having a baby together.”
“Yes.”
“That tends to come with… feelings.”
“I know,” I say. “But we’re not doing that. We’ve agreed. We’re focusing on the baby. Being solid. Not complicating things.”
Jasper smirks. “You say that like you’re trying to convince yourself.”
I scowl. “I’m being realistic.”
Theo watches me for a moment, thoughtful. “Are you?”
I open my mouth, then close it again. My instinct is to give a neat answer. A sensible one. The kind that doesn’t invite follow-ups.
Instead, I sigh. “It’s… easier, for now. And I don’t want to mess it up by overthinking.”
Theo nods slowly. “Fair.”
Jasper grins. “I still give it six months.”
“Jasper.” Theo sighs.
“I’m just saying. Babies have a way of ruining plans.”
Theo stands and starts clearing plates. “Whatever happens,” he says, “you’re not doing it alone.”
That hits deep.
Jasper raises his cup. “To Geoff. Unexpectedly responsible.”
I clink mine against his, then Theo’s, and take a sip that tastes more like relief than coffee.
Jasper lowers his cup and fixes me with a look that means he’s about to say something annoying but well intentioned. “Right,” he says. “When are you telling Mum?”
My stomach tightens instantly. There it is. The boss level.
“I hadn’t… scheduled it yet,” I say carefully.
Theo snorts. “You mean you’re avoiding it.”
“I mean I’m preparing,” I reply. “Mentally.”
Jasper leans forward, eyes bright with far too much enthusiasm. “I want to be there.”
I blink. “What?”
“When you tell her,” he clarifies. “Especially the bit where you explain that the mother of your child is not your girlfriend.”
Theo nods. “Yes. That’s a group activity.”
I groan and rub a hand over my face. “You are not helping.”
“Oh, we absolutely are,” Jasper says. “Someone needs to witness it.”
Theo smiles sympathetically. “Mum will be… invested.”
That’s one word for it.
“I need a whisky,” I groan. The thought of telling my mother, the woman who rules over the Guernsey WI like a queen bee. Perfect posture. Immaculate hair. The faint air of someone who expects the world to behave if she raises an eyebrow just enough. Yeah, I need a drink.
“Make it two,” Jasper adds as Theo heads behind the counter and pulls out his private bottle of whisky, the one he keeps there for our meetings.
Theo chuckles as he places the glasses on the table. “She does like things done properly.”
“She’s going to ask questions,” I agree in horror. “A lot of them.”
Jasper grins. “Especially about the friends bit.”
“That’s the part that’s going to kill me,” I admit. “Trying to explain that this isn’t a scandal, it’s just… unconventional.”
Theo winces. “Mum is not known for embracing unconventional.”
“She is,” Jasper counters. “As long as it’s on her terms.”
I sigh. “The Queen of Guernsey.”
Theo raises his glass. “Long may she reign.”
Jasper smirks. “And long may you survive.”
I shake my head and knock back the drink in one go, but there’s a reluctant smile there too. “Fine. You can both be there. Misery loves company.”
Jasper claps his hands once. “Excellent. I’ll bring emotional support. And popcorn.”
“You will bring nothing,” I say.
Theo stands and starts stacking plates. “We’ll make a plan.”
I watch them, my brothers, already sliding into protective mode, already treating this like something shared.
It’s daunting. Terrifying.
But, as I sit there in Theo’s café, surrounded by empty cups and crumbs and people who’ve got my back whether I like it or not, one thing feels solid.
Whatever comes next, I’m not facing the Queen alone.