Page 23 of Crying in the Rain

“I’m having another beer, so…”

Ade smiled at the bartender. “Yes, please.”

“Ice and lemon?”

“Fab, thanks.”

“And a beer, Kris?”

“Yes, thanks.”

She returned to the bar to prepare their drinks, leaving them in an uneasy silence. Kris couldn’t believe how badly he’d screwed up. He wasn’t a drinker, and the two pints he’d had was usually his limit, but he’d never police other people’s alcohol intake. He tried to come up with something to say that wasn’t yet another apology, but they knew almost nothing about each other. The little he had picked up from Ade told him they’d both had more than their fair share of trauma, and it didn’t make for good first-date material, especially as Ade’s seemed to be ongoing. Not that Kris had any real idea of whatdidmake for good first-date material, seeing as he’d been on precisely three, including this one.

Perhaps that was a good place to start.

He peered across at Ade, who was immediately attentive and seemed to have forgiven Kris’s latest faux pas.

“I was thinking…we should get to know a bit more about each other?”

Ade nodded, though he had that same look about him as this morning, the one that suggested he might bolt at any second.

“I’m happy to set the ball rolling,” Kris offered. “I have a feeling it might be easier for me than for you?”

Ade nodded again, still a little uptight, but he adjusted his position, so he was turned towards Kris, and settled back against the seat.

“OK, well…” Kris paused for their drinks to be delivered, along with a knowing grin from the bartender. Kris thanked her and gave her a tip even though he had an open tab and usually tipped when he settled up. “I’ve always been an actor, which you probably know already from my CV. I moved to England with my family when I was three. I have an older brother, Lars, and we have nothing in common whatsoever. He and my parents moved back to Sweden when I was in my twenties.”

“They left you here all on your own?” Ade looked horrified.

“It wasn’t a moonlight flit or anything. We came here for my dad’s work, and it was always the plan for us to move back when he retired, but by then I was in a long-term relationship with Shaunna, and we have a daughter…well, she’s my stepdaughter, but my parents always accepted Krissi as their granddaughter. They offered to pay for the three of us to resettle in Gothenburg, but we decided to stay in England.”

“Wow, OK. So you and Shaunna settled down pretty young.”

“Er, yeah, you could say that.” Kris chuckled. He’d come back to that, assuming he hadn’t chased Ade off before he got that far.

“Were you together a long time?”

“Twenty years. We only separated last year, and…” This could be make or break, but he wanted to be honest with Ade. “We still share a house.”

“Oh!” Ade blinked a few times in surprise and picked up his drink, half-emptying the glass before he said, “I guess if it works for you…”

“It has until now.” Even though he and Shaunna had discussed what they would do with the house when it stopped working, it had been more of a technicality, anif…thenrather than awhen, and Kris could feel the foundations shifting beneath him. He wasno longer on solid ground, and it was disorientating but also exhilarating.

“Hey,” Ade said, resting his hand on Kris’s. “It’s not a deal breaker.”

That smile…

Kris vented a breath and followed Ade’s example, taking a less-than-sensible glug of his beer. He’d been so worried how Ade would react, and he honestly couldn’t have wished for a better response.

“Can I ask…if Krissi’s your stepdaughter…”

“Why is she named after me?”

Ade nodded.

“The short version—I was the first person Shaunna told she was pregnant, and we came up with this mad idea to tell our parents the baby was mine. We couldn’t keep up the lie, but we were always together, and I got to see this bump growing and feel first kicks, so by the time she was born, she felt like shewasmine.”

“You were at the birth? Amazing!”

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