Page 78 of The Secret

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I told you I want you and I always get what I want, even if this did take me a little longer than usual.” I glanced at her again. “And don’t try to deny you don’t want me.”

She chuckled softly. “I’m not; I’m just getting in the practice now before we arrive.”

I stroked her flushed cheek. “We’ll figure it out.”

I turned left down the road which led to the house, passing by a couple of huge gates before pulling up to the biggest gates on the road and tapped in the code on the keypad, waiting until they swung open.

“Wow, this place is incredible,” Kit exclaimed as we drove along the immense driveway lined with more maple trees, expansive lawns on either side beyond them. Then the drive opened up right before we reached the house, the Atlantic Ocean looking remarkably calm in the distance, a stretch beyond the beach. “Holy fuck! Look.”

“You know, for an English major, I’d have expected something a little more poetic than ‘holy fuck’.” I winked.

Her face was filled with challenge as she turned to me. “As an English major I can tell you that ‘fuck’ is the most versatile word in the English language: adjective, noun, verb, pronoun, modifier, adverb… I could go on.”

The front door opened as I pulled to a stop, my mum and Wolf running out. I leaned into Kit, whispering to her before they reached us. “I look forward to using it as a noun and a verb.”

My prize was a blush of the deepest red, which made me throw my head back in laughter. “Come on. Let’s find the rabble.”

No one came around to my side of the car to greet me; instead, my mom couldn’t get to Bell quick enough, while Wolfie grabbed Kit in a massive bear-like hug, which made me smile more than it should have. I opened the trunk for Barclay to jump out.

“Come on, Barc. We’ll stick with the guys this weekend.”

Hewoofedin agreement.

“Wey hey, there he is! Dad of the year.”

I put down the bags I’d picked up, just as my brother, Jamie, scooped me into a hug almost as big as the one Kit had received, slapping me hard on the back.

“I am goddamn Dad of the year. I honestly don’t know what you lot have been whining about all these years, sleepless nights, schleepness nights.”

“Ah, my baby brother, the comedian.” He bent over double with loud, forced laughter before righting himself and giving me a thorough assessment. “You look good though.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s only been three months since I was last home.”

“Yeah, but look at how much has changed.” He turned around, spotting no one because they’d all gone inside. “Speaking of, where’s my niece? Lemme hold her.”

“You snooze, you lose buddy. I think mum already took her.”

“Jesus, I’m not going to get to hold her all weekend, am I?”

“Yeah, good luck with that.” I heaved another bag out of the trunk. “Jay, make yourself useful and help me carry all this in, will you?”

“You might be Dad of the year, but I’m Brother of the year,” he said, picking up one of the many bags full of Bell’s things. Babies didn’t travel light, that was for sure.

“Yeah, yeah, make sure you pick up the heavy ones then I might consider voting for you.”

He gave me a massive grin then loaded up with as much as he could carry, and seeing as it only took another two trips instead of what would likely have been five, I was seriously contemplating on creating the award just so I could vote.

I couldn’t even see Kit, or Bell for that matter, for the sea of women in my family fussing around both of them. Or at least that’s what I assumed was happening when I walked into the backyard after dumping all the bags in the hallway, and where I found eight adults, seven kids, and a dog, which made up the rest of my family. Sam was being followed by a soaking wet Barclay, who’d clearly made the very large swimming pool his first port of call. It was also where Florence was currently ordering my dad to throw her higher, taking it in turns with Noah, Maggie, and Mia – Jamie and Alex’s three kids. I couldn’t see Macauley, but I assumed he was part of the loud gaggle over by the veranda.

I picked up a beer from the ice trough and headed in the direction of the barbecue, where Jasper and Cooper were manning a dozen T-bone steaks.

“Hey, man. How’re you doing?” Cooper slapped me on the back, following my line of sight to the veranda, misinterpreting it. “Yeah, you need to come to terms with the fact you won’t get to hold your baby at all this weekend.”

“You think?”

“I know, especially in this family.”

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