“Sorry. Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put my foot in it.”
“Don’t be sorry, Luke. You’ve done nothing wrong.” I looked pointedly at Liam, letting him know it was him I was pissed off with. Once the look was delivered, I decided not to be a bitch and cause an atmosphere at dinner, plus, winding myself up about it wasn’t going to do my blood pressure any good.
“When d’ya go?” I was pretty sure I managed the calm, interested, and friendly tone I was aiming for. Given my history and the fact that we were expecting twins, the doctors warned us that we should expect another premature delivery. If they arrived as early as Carter, they would be here by the beginning of December, and neither Liam nor I wanted him to miss the birth.
“November,” Liam said without looking at me.
“When in November?”
“The last three weeks.” He finally met my gaze, and I tried to keep my stare neutral, hiding the panic I was starting to feel bubble inside me. I had an uneasy feeling about this. It wasn’t just that I was pissed off. It was something else.
“Best make sure you take your phone charger this time then,” Nan said, breaking the atmosphere.
My grandad was decidedly quiet. In fact, he had been since they’d been here and I was a little worried about him.
“Oh, Luke, before I forget. I pulled these out the pocket of a pair of jeans before I put them in the wash and wasn’t sure if you needed them.”
She pulled four foil wrappers out of the top pocket of the linen shirt that she was wearing and passed them across the table to Luke. My brother blushed a deep scarlet, and Liam smirked. Grandad just raised his eyebrows and gave his head a little shake, as if passing condoms around the table was something we did at every mealtime.
“Pass the gravy, would you?”
“Of course. Would you like a condom with that?”
“Yes, please. I’ll take a Magnum Ribbed in large if you have it?”
“Thanks, Nan.” Luke stared down at his dinner as he spoke.
“They haven’t been through the wash, in case you’re worried.” And then after a beat, “Ya know, I’ve always wondered what the point was in making them flavoured. I mean, it’s not like a fanny has taste buds or anything like that, is it?”
I spat water all over my baked potato, and Luke, Liam, and Grandad almost choked with laughter.
“Let’s have them here, son. I’ll show her later what you do with a flavoured Johnny.”
Luke stopped laughing at that point.
It was the first week in November, and my blood pressure had improved enough that I was allowed to leave the house. So, I had been out shopping and busy decorating the house early for Christmas, which was probably going to be quite the party.
After much badgering from me, the boys gave Shain three weeks off, so he was coming over this year, and he and Sash would also be joining us. The biggest shocker of all, my brother was seeing a girl as in, dating and taking her out, not just home for flavoured condom sharing. Her name was Grace, and she worked with Will. The other big shocker was that she looked a lot like Sasha—not a just a bit like her, either. She was a carbon copy, and my jaw actually dropped when he’d first introduced us.
I had not divulged this fact to Sasha yet—I mean, she knew he was seeing someone. I just hadn’t mentioned that that someone happened to have dark hair and eyes and looked a whole lot like her.
It would be interesting to see how things played out if they were still together at Christmas and she made an appearance.
I was still a bit upset about Liam having to leave. It wasn’t so much the fact that he hadn’t told me, although it did hurt to find out like that, it was more about the fact that he broke his promise not to travel again while I was pregnant. He knew what a mess I was the last time when everything went wrong with Carters delivery. I just didn’t think he really got how important it was for me to have him close by in case there were any unexpected complications this time. I just couldn’t shake the anger, even though I knew it was doing me no good.
I’d allowed Carter to stay up late to wait for Lori, who Liam was currently picking up at the airport. Though, he’d long since passed out curled up in the corner of the sofa with his blanky wrapped around his hand while he sucked on his two fingers.
I made myself a hot chocolate and grabbed a couple of Hob Nobs to dunk as I sat and read for a while. Just as I was getting to a good part in the plot, Liam’s headlights lit the room as his car pulled into the driveway. I stood and when I opened the front door, my mouth dropped open in shock.
“Surprise!” Maggie shouted as she almost squeezed all the air from my lungs.
“What are you doing here?” I was laughing as I cuddled her back.
“Ahh, got bored of forty degree days on the beach and thought I’d come and slum it with you freaks who insist on celebrating in the cold.”
“You’re staying for Christmas?”
“I’m staying till the babies are born, maybe longer.”