My heart races as I read. I switch from totally understanding the bloke’s heartbreak to wanting to smash his face in. Then I remember that he’s dead and getting pissed off with him is pointless. I don’t understand why she’s putting herself through this. It’s been fifteen years, why would she want to drag up all of these memories now?
I look down and watch Georgia sleep. As much as I like to think I know what makes her tick, I’d still love to get inside her head sometimes. Like now, just so I can understand the thought process that led to her believing this could be a good idea.
My eyes are starting to sting, and I decided to wrap myself around my wife and rest them for a little while.
CHAPTER 3
Cameron
After what feels like just five minutes of sleep, I wake with a start. I open my eyes and see Georgia lying in the recovery position next to me. Her side pressed into mine as I lie on my back. I hear quiet footsteps walk past the study and on into the kitchen. I assume it’s one of the kids but get up anyway to check.
At some stage, I must have taken off my jeans, as I’m now just wearing a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. Georgia stirs and so does my dick as I hear her little sigh. I adjust what’s happening inside my Calvin’s, collect the glass things Georgia insists we drink our coffee out of, and head up the hallway.
Tallulah is standing at the coffee machine with her head resting on her arms, which are resting on the kitchen worktop. Her long dark hair, which is the exact same shade as her mother’s hair, is hanging down her back, and she’s watching the hot dark liquid fill her cup.
When the fuck did my daughter start drinking coffee?
Tallulah is probably going to be our problem child. She has a short fuse and a quick wit. She can cut with a glare from her blue eyes or a single word from her sharp tongue. She’s also loyal, possessive, and protective of those she loves. Lu has no fear, and her strong will and defiance have already gotten her into trouble. She takes no shit from anyone—not even her teachers, and I’ve had to go up to the school on more than one occasion. She’s not naughty, per se, just outspoken, fearless, and headstrong. She’s a passionate kid. I don’t wanna sound like I’m making excuses for her, but I don’t want the system to knock her spirit out of her. Despite what life has thrown at Georgia, she still maintains hers to this day. In fact, it’s what I think got her through everything. I want Lu to grow up to be as resilient as her mum. I want that for all of my kids.
The problem at home is that Lu and Georgia are a fucking nightmare when they start going at each other. Their personalities are identical, and when they clash, most of Essex hears about it. Georgia always thinks she knows best, and Tallulah can’t, or won’t, be told she’s wrong. Like I said, she’s a carbon copy of her mother, right down to her striking blue eyes.
That’s the other reason I worry. The girls turned fourteen in February, Georgia was just twenty when I first met her. In six years’ time, they could potentially have men like me sniffing around them. I clench my hand into a fist and push it against my chest where it suddenly feels like I’m having a heart attack.
Lu must catch my movement, because she spins around and her hand flies to her own chest.
“Shit, Daddy. You scared the crap outta me!”
“Language, Syrup,” I say in my best warning voice. That’s the other thing Lu has in common with her mother, her foul mouth. She swears more than her brothers, and I blame that on her mother.
She rolls her eyes and folds her arms across her chest, and I already know what’s coming.
“Don’t call me Syrup.”
Lu hates the nicknames I’ve called the twins since they were babies. She’s always been Syrup, Kiki has always been Treacle.
She walks towards me, wrapping her skinny arms around my chest.
“Sorry for swearing, you made me jump. I thought you weren’t coming home till later.”
“I missed you all and managed to get a flight home last night.” I kiss the top of Lu’s head as I speak. Her hair smells of mint.
“You been nicking your mother’s shampoo again?” Another cause for conflict between Georgia and Lu, they have the same taste in a lot of things. Lu likes to borrow without asking, Georgia throws a fit, and Lu tells her to take a chill pill and be flattered that at her age, her fourteen-year-old even likes her taste. That’s when I generally step in to prevent my wife from throttling our daughter.
I feel her shake her head against my chest. “Nah, Mum treated me to the shampoo and conditioner while you were away. If she’d have just done that in the first place, it would’ve saved a lot of arguments.”
I can’t help but laugh at my daughter’s reasoning. “I hope you also said thank you?”
“Do you think she woulda let me keep it if I hadn’t? You know what Mum’s like with her manners.”
“Manners cost nothing and will get you a long way in life, Lu, believe me.”
She doesn’t reply, but I can hear her brain thinking that one through.
“What you doing up so early anyway?” I ask her.
“I didn’t muck out last night. I need to get over to the stables and get it done.”