Page 92 of Dr. Single Dad

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I blurt.

Her face breaks into a huge smile and we both stand there, grinning like idiots at each other until someone shouts my name and the spell is broken.

I groan. “My mum and dad are here and—” I don’t get a chance to explain more before Mum appears at my side.

“Eira, darling! Come in. How wonderful to see you. I was so disappointed when Dax said you’d resigned. I always knew Guinevere and Dax were in such good hands when they were with you.”

Eira handles my mother like a champ and just changes the subject. “How is the house in Norfolk coming on?”

Mum takes the bait and starts complaining about how long it’s taking. Much easier than explaining why Eira decided to leave and what’s happening between us. Even though I really want to know the answer to the second question.

“Look who it is!” Mum says as she guides Eira into the kitchen.

I’m more than fucking happy she’s here. I just wish my family wasn’t. I know Eira didn’t pop round to give me a potted plant. I want to hear everything she’s got to say.

“Eira,” Dad says, his gaze flitting from me to Eira and back again. “Good to see you, girl. How’ve you been? Couldn’t put up with this one for long, I heard.” He gestures in my direction.

“Who would?” Zach asks from where he and Ellie are leaning on the rickety dining table where Eira and I played backgammon and ate pie. “Dax on his best day is bad enough, but with the added pressure of having a kid?—”

Eira glances at me across the kitchen, and I don’t hear what Zach and Dad are saying. It’s so good to see her. She looks so beautiful. Her brown mane of hair looks less wild than usual, her smile brighter. I want to know everything that’s happened to her since she walked out of the Marylebone house until the moment she stepped onto the doorstep.

“I heard your uncle died,” Dad says, and it takes me by surprise. How did he know that? By the look on Eira’s face, she wasn’t expecting it, either. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t be,” Eira says. “He wasn’t a very nice man and his death has…uncomplicated my life. Substantially.” She glances at me meaningfully. As much as I love my family, I really wish they weren’t here right now. I want to know why her uncle dying has uncomplicated her life, and whether that newfound simplicity means she’s here to restart—or start?—what’s between us.

“Well, that’s that,” says Ellie. “Would you like a flapjack?”

“They look delicious, but I’m saving myself for dinner.” She pauses. “In fact, I was hoping you might join me, Dax.” She looks back at my family members. “But you have visitors so perhaps another day?”

“Oh we’re not staying here,” Dad says. “Apart from anything else, my son doesn’t have any furniture. I don’t know what you’re waiting for. You seem to have plenty of money. Why don’t you hire someone to help you?”

“Dax is taking his time,” Mum says. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“Nothing at all,” I say, not taking my eyes from Eira. “I don’t have a sitter tonight, but if you wanted to come round?—”

“Jacob and Sutton will babysit Guinevere,” Mum says.

“I don’t even know if they’re in,” I say.

“We’re over there for dinner, along with Zach and Ellie, so there’ll be six of us there. Guinevere will be in safe hands.”

I’m not convinced about the people I share my gene pool with, but at least with Sutton and Ellie there, Guinevere might not go completely unnoticed.

“Sounds like I have a sitter,” I say. “Or six.”

She laughs. “Shall I pick you up at seven?” she asks. “For our first date?”

I laugh because a first date seems ludicrous, but I suppose technically she’s right. We’ve never been out together. “I’ll pick you up,” I say. “I have your address, so?—”

“It’s okay,” she says. “I’ll pick you up.”

I shrug. What else can I do? I don’t know if there’s a reason she wants to pick me up, but I’m not going to ask her, or even discuss it further, in front of my family.

“Good,” she says. “So I’ll see you later.” She hands me the spider plant and says goodbye to everyone. I walk her to the front door.

“Thanks for coming,” I say.

“Thanks for waiting.” Her voice breaks on the last syllable.

---