“Come on, don’t be like that.”

“I’m not being like anything. Just know that I care about what happens to you. Think about it, Bryan.”

With that she hung up and I sat staring at my phone for a long while, a feeling of unease building within me. Finally, I managed to shake it off and emerged from the car.

I knocked on Eilish’s door and heard little feet running down the hallway. Bigger feet followed and then she opened the door to greet me, Patrick in front of her.

“Bryan!” he roared and ran forward to throw his arms around my legs. His excitement took me by surprise, and instantly the lingering bad vibes from Sarah’s phone call melted away. He was mine. In my heart of hearts, I knew it was true. I met Eilish’s gaze, and she was shaking her head at our son’s antics.

“I made the mistake of letting him have ice cream after lunch about an hour ago. He’s been running about like a crazed monkey ever since.”

I took his hand and stepped inside. He was practically hopping with energy.

“How about I take him across to the park, and we can throw a ball around for a bit? That’ll burn off some of the hyper.”

“Yes! Let’s go now,” Patrick yelled enthusiastically.

Eilish blew out a breath, looking relieved at the suggestion. “That’d be great, actually. It’ll give me a chance to put dinner together.”

“Take your time,” I told her and bent to press a kiss on her cheek. As I pulled away, I caught her eye and found her looking at me strangely, like she was disappointed or frustrated.

But then Patrick exclaimed, “You’re kissing again!” breaking the moment, and both Eilish and I started laughing.

“Yep, we are, and now you’re getting one, too,” I said, lifting him and laying a big smacker on his cheek. He giggled loudly, and I set him back down. Eilish wore a warm expression as she took in the two of us. I felt that same warmth suffuse my chest. It was such a normal, everyday moment, and I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so light, like life was full of good things, endless possibilities. Sarah was wrong about Eilish, so fucking wrong.

“We’ll be back in half an hour,” I said as I took Patrick’s hand and led him over the road to the park. I made a quick stop at my car to grab a rugby ball from the trunk.

“I’m cold,” said Patrick, and I realized in his excitement he’d forgotten to put on a coat. I didn’t want to bother Eilish so I grabbed a clean rugby shirt I had stashed in the car.

“You want to wear this?” I said, holding it up to him.

“Okay,” he nodded, completely unaware of the significance. I bent down on one knee and pulled the shirt over his head. The thing was huge on him so I tied it at the end to make it fit better and rolled up the sleeves. It still swam on him but it was the best I could do. Patrick stared up at me with his big, trusting green eyes and emotion smacked me right in the chest. There was something about seeing him in my colors, my number on his back, that had me choking up. Yes, that’s right, I was a grown man, and I was welling up at the sight of a little kid wearing my shirt.

“You warmer now?” I asked gruffly, too much love for this boy.

Patrick wriggled around in the shirt for a second, getting comfortable, then said, “Yep.”

I smiled so hard my jaw hurt. “Okay, let’s go play some rugby.”

By the time the half hour was up, both of us were covered in mud and grass stains. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun. The kid’s hyperactivity was infectious. Eilish gaped at us when she opened the door, and held up a hand. “Wait. You both need to take your shoes off. I don’t want grass trampled all over the house.”

I quickly helped Patrick off with his shoes and then removed my own. Whatever Eilish had made for dinner smelled delicious.

“Is that your shirt he’s wearing?” she asked in surprise.

“I wanna play rugby like Bryan and Monkey Sean when I get older,” Patrick said.

“He forgot his coat,” I answered softly. “I hope it’s okay I let him wear it.”

“Of course. It’s way too big for him, but he looks adorable,” Eilish said, reaching down to rub some mud off his face. “He also needs to wash all this mud off. I’ll take him into my en-suite and you can use the main bathroom,” she went on, plucking a tuft of grass from my hair and winking. I liked her like this, easy-going, flirtatious. She was different when she was at home, definitely a lot more relaxed than at work.

About twenty minutes later, we sat down to eat. Eilish made Spanish omelets, and I devoured everything on my plate. The three of us talked and laughed. It was an unexpected moment of blissful domesticity. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Just this.

I looked across the table at Eilish, and she gave me a small smile. Maybe she liked it, too. Me being here with them. I caught her feet between mine under the table, my gaze darkening. She pulled at the collar of her top, like she was too hot all of a sudden. I grinned and continued cradling her legs between mine. She shot me a look that said quit it.

I didn’t.

By the time we’d all finished eating, I had her truly flustered and was enjoying myself immensely. I loved winding her up. But more than that, our lack of physical interaction was really starting to weigh on me. I didn’t need sex, not if she wasn’t ready, but I felt like I needed to touch her more than I needed to breathe.

She went to settle Patrick in the living room and I made a start on the dishes. I was almost done when she came back in.