‘Yes.’
‘Do you want another drink? Red wine?’
She shook her head. ‘I think you said you had something with my name on it. I’d like to see that.’
Chapter Twenty-Five
‘So – you and Ethan!’
‘You and Kit!’
Romy and Danny faced each other across the table the following morning, while Ethan, Hannah and Kit bustled about the kitchen making breakfast. Despite the slight awkwardness of the situation, they couldn’t stop grinning at each other like a pair of loved-up idiots. Kit placed a plate of bacon and sausages in the middle of the table and sat down beside Danny, while Ethan sat next to Romy.
‘Help yourselves,’ Hannah said, plonking a pile of toast and a pot of tea in the centre of the table. Then she went to the door of the kitchen and yelled to Tank that breakfast was ready.
He shuffled into the kitchen, yawning and bleary-eyed. ‘Good party last night,’ he said as he and Hannah took their places at either end of the table.
‘Where’s Anna?’ Kit asked. ‘Isn’t she staying here?’
‘She, um … decided to move to a hotel,’ Ethan said.
‘It was like musical beds here last night,’ Hannah said.
Romy smiled, thankful that when the music stopped, she had ended up with Ethan.
‘You two are going to be in so much trouble with Mom,’ Hannah said, grinning evilly at her brothers.
‘Hey, it was your party too,’ Kit said. ‘Anyway, the place isn’t that bad, is it?’
‘And we still have plenty of time to clear up before they get back,’ Ethan added.
‘I’m not talking about the mess. That’s the least of your problems.’
‘Why will we be in trouble, then?’ Kit asked.
‘You,’ she said, pointing her fork at Ethan, ‘for messing around with someone who has a baby.’
‘I’m not messing around with her,’ Ethan said, taking Romy’s hand under the table and entwining his fingers with hers.
‘Yeah, right. Let’s see how long that lasts,’ Hannah said with a cynical laugh. ‘Sorry, Romy,’ she added. ‘No offence.’
‘That’s okay,’ Romy said shakily. Under the table, Ethan pulled her hand onto his thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
‘And as for you,’ she said, turning her attention to Kit. ‘I don’t even know where to begin. Subjecting us all to Lauren for starters, when it was completely unnecessary – not to mention treating Mom and Dad like a pair of throwbacks. I mean, what did you think they’d do – disown you or something?’
‘Come on, Hannah,’ Ethan said. ‘Give him a break.’
She smiled, softening. ‘It is nice to see you happy,’ she said to Kit.
‘God, we’re going to have an awful lot of explaining to do, aren’t we?’ Kit said with a sigh.
‘You most of all,’ Ethan said chirpily.
‘At least I’m not screwing around with a mom.’
‘I am not screwing around with her.’ Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t listen to them,’ he said to Romy.
‘Ugh, I’m suddenly not hungry anymore,’ Kit said, pushing his plate away. ‘I mean, how the hell are we going to explain all this to Mom and Dad? Where do we even start?’
‘Well, don’t look at me,’ Tank said as he piled bacon between two slices of toast. ‘I haven’t a clue what’s going on.’
‘I’ll explain it to you in the car on the way home, sweetie.’
‘We’ll have to tell Mum too,’ Romy said to Danny.
Hannah stirred her tea thoughtfully. ‘Mom and Dad will be back this evening. What do you say we make them dinner and just tell them everything? We could invite your mother too, Romy – kill a whole flock of birds with one stone.’
‘I’m on for that,’ Romy said. ‘Mum was going to keep Luke as long as I wanted today anyway, and we were going to go out for dinner. She could just come here instead.’
‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ Kit asked. ‘It’s an awful lot to hit them with all at once.’
‘I think the sooner everything’s out in the open, the better,’ Romy said. It would be such a relief – she couldn’t wait. She had had enough intrigue to last her a lifetime.
‘I agree,’ Danny said, smiling shyly at Kit. ‘I mean, what’s the point of having a hot boyfriend if you can’t show him off?’
‘You’re so shallow,’ Kit said, looking hugely pleased.
‘So, what are we going to have for this dinner?’ Hannah mused. ‘We’d better make it a good one.’
‘With lots of wine,’ Kit said. ‘Lots and lots of wine.’
They spent the rest of the day planning and preparing the dinner. They all worked companionably together, cleaning and cooking, chatting as they chopped and stirred, polished and tidied. Romy felt deliriously happy being close to Ethan and not having to hide how she felt about him. Even doing simple domestic things like chopping vegetables together was bliss. They made beef in Guinness with creamy mashed potato and roast root vegetables, and Hannah made a dense, luscious chocolate cake for dessert.
‘Anyone would think we were trying to butter them up,’ she joked as she and Romy put the finishing touches to it.
By the time Colm and Laura got home, the house was sparkling, the table was set and the candles lit, and several bottles of wine were open and breathing.
‘This is a lovely surprise,’ Laura said, smiling delightedly as she surveyed the scene. ‘And something smells wonderful.’
‘We’re almost ready to eat,’ Hannah told her. ‘We’re just waiting for Romy’s mum.’
‘Oh, Marian is coming? That’s nice.’
‘We have something we want to tell you,’ Kit said, ‘but we’ll wait until we’re all together.’
‘Oh, I think we can guess what that is,’ Laura said, her eyes twinkling as she smiled knowingly at Romy.
‘Um … I really doubt it,’ Ethan said.
‘Do you think she does know?’ Kit whispered to Romy when they were alone in the kitchen.
‘No, of course not. She thinks we’re getting engaged.’
‘Does she?’ he groaned. ‘Oh, fuck!’
‘Never mind,’ she said, patting him on the shoulder. ‘It’ll all be over soon.’
Just then the doorbell rang. ‘That’ll be Mum.’ Romy went to answer the door.
‘Let’s get this over with,’ Kit said, following her.
Luke was awake when Marian arrived, so everyone started on drinks while Romy fed him and put him to bed in Kit’s room. All eyes were on her when she returned to the dining room, and she could feel the excitement in the air, the eager anticipation in the expressions of Laura and Colm – and even her mum. She tried to ignore it as she busied herself with helping Hannah to serve the food while everyone took their seats.
‘This all looks terrific,’ Colm said.
‘Right, are you all sitting comfortably?’ Hannah said when they were all seated. While everyone nodded and began serving themselves, she added, ‘Don’t get used to it,’ under her breath with a sly smile.
‘Well, you had something to tell us?’ Laura prompted, her eyes darting between Kit and Romy.
‘We’re not getting engaged,’ Kit blurted out.
‘Oh.’ Laura’s face fell.
‘You’ve called us all here to announce that you’re not getting engaged?’ Colm asked. ‘Not that I’m complaining, mind. You can tell us you’re not getting engaged any time if we get a feed like this.’ His eyes had glazed over as he ate, his face flushed with pleasure.
Romy looked around the table, but no one seemed inclined to begin. Hannah and Ethan were both looking expectantly at Kit, who was clearly struggling to think what to say. He opened his mouth several times, only to shut it again. She didn’t blame him. She wanted to do this, but it really was hard to know where to start.
‘I’m not Kit’s girlfriend,’ she said to get the ball rolling.
‘Oh! You’ve broken up?’ Laura asked.
‘Er, no �
�� not exactly.’
‘She’s sleeping with Ethan,’ Kit piped up.
‘Ethan!’ Laura gasped, turning to him. ‘How could you do that to your own brother?’
‘She told you – she’s not his girlfriend,’ Ethan said.
‘Well, not now that you’ve slept with her,’ Colm said. ‘For feck’s sake, son!’
‘But he wasn’t sleeping with her,’ Ethan said defensively.
‘Oh, so you thought you might as well!’
‘No! Anyway, he slept with Romy’s brother.’
‘With her brother?’ Laura gasped, and all eyes shot to Danny. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘I’m gay,’ Kit said.
‘No, you’re not, son. Just because you’ve had one …’ Colm cleared his throat, ‘you know … experience … it doesn’t mean you’re gay.’
‘But he is gay,’ Hannah said.
‘Since when?’
Kit shrugged. ‘Always, I suppose.’
‘And you knew?’ Laura turned to Hannah accusingly. ‘And you never told us!’
‘I never told you! What about Kit? He should have been the one to tell you. Anyway, Ethan knew too.’
‘God, this is better than EastEnders,’ Colm said, grinning.
‘We didn’t know,’ Ethan said. ‘We just suspected. Kit never told us.’
‘Well, good on you for coming out anyway, son! That can’t have been easy.’
‘Dad, he’s thirty-one,’ Hannah said, rolling her eyes.
‘Still … But what about your girlfriends?’ Colm asked Kit.
‘They were beards,’ Ethan said. ‘Including Romy.’
‘His girlfriends wore beards?’ Tank whispered to Hannah.
‘I’ll explain later,’ she said, patting his hand.
Kit turned to his mother. ‘A beard is what they call a—’
‘Good Lord, I know what a beard is, Kit,’ Laura said indignantly. ‘I do watch television, you know.’
‘So Romy wasn’t really with Kit at all,’ Ethan said. ‘We weren’t doing anything wrong.’
‘No,’ Laura said gently, ‘but honey, when there’s a child involved—’
‘I’m not going to mess her around, Mom. I swear.’
‘He’s not,’ Romy said, feeling the need to stick up for Ethan when everyone was having a go. She wanted him to know that she trusted him.
‘Thank you,’ he said, taking her hand and smiling at her. ‘It’s nice to know someone has some faith in me.’
‘So, everyone’s happy, in the heel of the hunt?’ Colm summed up, looking in turn at Kit and Ethan, Romy and Danny, who all beamed and nodded in response. ‘Well, that’s the main thing, isn’t it?’
‘You’re right,’ Laura said, a fond smile softening her features as she looked at all the happy faces around the table.
‘Well, I think it’s great,’ Marian said. ‘I always liked Kit.’ She smiled approvingly at him.
‘She did,’ Danny said to Kit. ‘She never trusted Paul – thought he was sly.’
‘Ah, for feck’s sake!’ Tank swore. ‘I was just getting the hang of this. Who’s Paul?’
‘I don’t know, actually,’ Hannah said.
‘He’s Danny’s ex,’ Kit told her.
‘Ah, okay. All clear now?’ Hannah asked Tank.
‘Yeah,’ he said uncertainly. ‘But I still don’t get where your man comes into it all.’
‘Who? Paul?’
‘No, the little fella who was here on Christmas Day – the baby.’
‘Oh, Luke! He’s Romy’s son.’
‘And are we not going to find out who his father is?’
‘Er … no, I don’t think so.’
‘Oh. I thought we would.’
‘I suppose you’ll be like a father to him now,’ Kit said to Ethan, looking downhearted. ‘I kind of liked having a son.’
‘Well, you can be like an uncle to him,’ Romy said, and he brightened.
‘Same as you,’ he said, smiling at Danny. ‘He can be my sort-of nephew.’
‘So, I take it this means you won’t be moving back to New York?’ Laura asked Kit.
‘No, definitely not.’
‘Well, that’s great news,’ she said, beaming at him. ‘It’s good to see you so happy, honey.’
‘This is better than an engagement any day,’ Colm said. ‘I think we should have some champagne.’
‘Well, that was certainly an interesting evening,’ Marian said to Romy as they got into a taxi later, replete with chocolate cake and champagne.
Colm had insisted that they drink toasts to Kit and Danny, and Romy and Ethan, and to Kit coming out of the closet. And then, so that they wouldn’t feel left out, they had toasted Hannah and Tank as well. The party broke up shortly after dinner as everyone was flagging after the celebrations the night before.
Romy and her mother were the first to leave. Romy wanted to get Luke home and settled – and she was longing for bed herself. Though she and Ethan had left the party early last night and were in bed before midnight, they had got very little sleep, and she had struggled to keep her eyes open throughout dinner. As fantastic as last night had been, right now she was looking forward to conking out in her own bed. Besides, she didn’t feel comfortable about sleeping with Ethan in his parents’ house when they were home. In the next couple of weeks, he would be starting work and moving out, but in the meantime they would have to stay at her place if they wanted to sleep together.
‘Not too weird for you, I hope?’ she asked her mother.
‘No, it was lovely.’
‘It was, wasn’t it? She smiled. ‘Danny and Kit seem really happy.’
‘They do. Is it strange for you, seeing them together?’
She considered. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Is it strange that it’s not?’ She laughed.
Her mother cocked her head to one side, regarding her thoughtfully. ‘You’re back to your old self,’ she said. ‘It’s good to see.’
‘I feel more like my old self. Only different – better.’ She felt so light-hearted and free now that everything was out in the open. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. ‘Dad would have loved tonight, wouldn’t he?’
Her mother threw back her head and laughed. ‘He would. He always liked Colm.’
‘He was never a big fan of Kit’s, though.’
‘If only he’d known he was gay,’ Marian said, laughing.
‘Yes, he’d have felt duty-bound to approve of him then.’
‘I think he’d be very impressed with how he turned out,’ Marian said seriously. ‘And he’d have loved Ethan.’
‘Do you think so?’
‘Of course.’ Her mother’s eyes sparkled as they flickered over her. ‘He’d have loved anyone who made you this happy, Romy.’
After he had seen Danny off in a taxi, Kit walked down the hall and into the kitchen, where Ethan was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. Kit poured himself a cup and sat down opposite him. Hannah and Tank had already left, and their parents were in bed. It was just the two of them.
‘Strange night, huh?’ Ethan said, blinking tiredly.
‘But in a good way.’
Ethan smiled. ‘Yeah, it all went really well. And somehow you managed to get treated like the conquering hero – jammy bastard!’
Kit grinned.
‘So – out and proud,’ Ethan said, doing jazz hands. ‘How does it feel?’
‘Like I should have done it years ago.’
‘Well … better late than never. And if you’d done it earlier, you probably wouldn’t have ended up with Danny. He’s great.’
‘Yeah,’ Kit smiled fondly. ‘And so is his sister.’ He took a deep breath, bracing himself. ‘Look, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,’ Kit said. ‘I think it’s great about you and Romy, but—’
‘Oh God, not again! For the umpteenth time, I am not going to mess her around, okay?’
‘That’s not what I was going to say
.’
‘Oh. What is it, then?’
‘It’s just that – there are things you don’t know about Romy. She’s not as … straightforward as she seems.’
‘Hey, I know you used to go out with her, but that was a long time ago. I think I probably know her better than you do now.’
‘I don’t think you know everything. I just feel I should warn you, so you know exactly what you’re getting into.’
Ethan’s face changed, his smile disappearing. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Romy’s … into certain things that, well, I’m pretty sure you’re not.’
‘Oh, is that all?’ Ethan laughed, his relief obvious. ‘Don’t worry, I know about that.’
‘You do? And it doesn’t bother you?’
Ethan shrugged. ‘No. Why should it? If it makes her happy.’
‘But it’s not just about what makes her happy, is it? She’ll expect you to, you know, join in.’
‘You think so?’ Ethan still looked unconcerned. Kit felt he wasn’t grasping the seriousness of the situation.
‘Of course. You’re her boyfriend – naturally she’s going to want to do that stuff with you.’
‘I suppose … maybe. But so what if she does? I mean, it’s not my cup of tea, but I’m sure I could put up with it if it’s what she wants.’
‘How could you – if you’re not into it?’ Kit could hardly string a sentence together. He couldn’t believe Ethan was so cool about all this.
‘It’s not a lot to do for someone you, you know …’
‘Love?’
‘Yeah,’ Ethan said, smiling shyly. ‘Anyway, she probably has friends she could do that stuff with – people who’d be more into it.’
Kit gulped. ‘And you wouldn’t mind? Her doing that with other people?’
‘Of course not.’ Ethan laughed at the shocked expression on Kit’s face. ‘Jesus, we don’t have to be joined at the hip.’
‘No, but—’ Kit spluttered.
‘I’m sure she’d rather do it with people who like the same stuff. It’d be more fun for her.’
‘I don’t believe you can be so—’
‘Anyway, if she really wanted me to, I’m sure I could sit through it if need be—’
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