Page 145 of One for the Road
They loved each other so much, it made me feel bad that I was dragging my feet about moving in together.
It was Alistair’s turn to be impatient.
He hadn’t come out and directly said he wanted to live together, but there had been signs.
He’d removed the lock on the connecting door the morning after the Cairn & Crust.
Then he started fitting out his cottage like it was an IKEA showroom. Everything I pointed out in shop windows suddenly started appearing in his place, along with stuff I didn’t even know I wanted. A rug, then a lamp shaped like a fish, scatter cushions. Lego sets for Teddy. Chocolate milk. Four different kinds of cereal.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to live with him. I really,really did. I just didn’t know what that would look like. Would we move into his place? Mine? Somewhere bigger in the village? Neither cottage had enough room for all three of us . . . but I also didn’t want to leave. Those crooked little cottages felt more like home than any place I’d ever known.
Thus, the foot-dragging.
“Hey,” Alistair said, then cleared his throat as he lowered the music. “Mind if we stop in at my mum’s first? I, uh . . . I left my iPad there yesterday; I’ll need it for work next week.”
“Sure.” I took the next turning, heading toward Iris’s house. Then did a double take at his flushed face. “Want the aircon on?”
“I’m fine. Why, are you too warm?” He fumbled with the controls.
“No, but you’re sweating.” Dots of moisture beaded his brow, but he quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand.
I pulled into the long circular driveway alongside Mal’s work van. “Shouldn’t he be at the distillery already?”
“Oh . . . um.” His throat bobbed, his voice a little scratchy. “I think Mum was watching Milo today. He’s probably just picking him up.”
“That makes sense.” Milo Kier Macabe was officially the cutest baby on earth. Well, second to Teddy of course, but still pretty damn cute. The Macabe clan were officially obsessed. He’d arrived two days after the Cairn & Crust, almost a week past his due date. “I can’t wait to squish his little cheeks later,” I said, turning off the engine.
Alistair paused, fingers on the door handle, and asked, “Are you coming?”
“Do you need me to?”
“Yeah, it might . . . uh . . .” He wouldn’t look at me. “It might take a minute.”
“Can we go, Mummy, please? I need the toilet really bad.”
“Okay,” I said, dragging the word out, unclicking my belt. Teddy was already scrambling from the back seat. “You sure you’re okay?” I asked Alistair. “You’re acting weird.” They both were, now that I thought about it. Sharing secret smiles and whispering when they thought I wasn’t looking.
He nodded. “I’m fine. Just wondering what you think of the car? It drives well, right?”
“I guess.” I handed him the keys.
He was pushing me to decide on a new car. Sharing one wasn’t exactly practical but getting a replacement felt like a betrayal to Daisy.
“Just think about it.” He pressed a kiss to my hair, holding me back as Teddy ran toward the front door. “Today’s been good, right?”
“The best. Want to fess up how you knew it was my birthday?”
“Want to say why you lied and told me it’s in May?”
“I just never really enjoyed the whole birthday thing growing up.” I shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. “Seriously, how did you know? Did Teddy tell you?”
“I’m a doctor, Lang. I have ways of discovering information.”
“Mysterious.” I tugged his shirt. “Now, tell me, before I have to put in a police report.”
“You keep your driving licence on your sideboard.”
“Of course you snooped.”
