Spiralling Skywards: Fading (Contradictions, #2)(40)

“I left it by the front door. Thanks, Nan.”

Liam reached down and offered me his hand, and I took it. He pulled me straight up and into a kiss while Luke and Carter made ewww and yuck noises from behind us.

“Are you supposed to be upright?” Liam asked.

“Thirty seconds won’t hurt anyone.”

He lifted me up under my arse cheeks so I could wrap my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck. Just like with my last pregnancy, my sex drive was off the charts, and my husband was more than happy to accommodate my needs.

“How long till dinner, Mai?” he called out.

“About an hour and a half, maybe two.”

“Excellent. I’m just taking Sarah upstairs for a nap.”

“Is that what they’re calling it these days? It was called a bit of afternoon delight back in my day or a mid-day quickie.”

“There’ll be nothing quick about this—believe me.”

“Please, don’t encourage her,” I told Liam from where my face was now buried in the crook of Liam’s neck.

***

After our afternoon delight, which was anything but a quickie, I spent thirty minutes having an interesting conversation with my husband about anal and why we’d not ever tried it. Liam gave Carter a bath, I read him a story, and we both tucked him into bed. Then, we finally sat down for dinner.

The men were discussing China and supply and demand of something or other that failed to hold my interest, when Luke dropped into the conversation . . .

“Well, we’ll take it all into consideration when we’re there.”

“Where?” I asked, my interest specifically on his use of “we”.

Luke shot Liam a quick look, and the table fell quiet.

“China,” Liam said quietly, “and Hong Kong.”

“Both of you are going?”

“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.