Page 19 of A Found Family at the Cornish Country Hospital

Isla nearly choked on the mouthful of coffee she’d just taken, and she was still spluttering as she spoke. ‘You might want to work on your chat if that offer is anything to go by, but we’ve got ourselves a deal.’

Isla suspected she needed a change of scene, and to try something new, every bit as much as Amy did. And Gwen was probably right about it being the best way to combat exhaustion. Although the very last thing she wanted was to meet someone and have to explain her decision to be an egg donor. That was the story she was telling herself for now, but the truth was she’d been frightened of the idea of meeting someone special for a long time and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever find someone capable of making her want to take that risk.

10

As Jase closed the door of the counsellor’s office behind him, Isla had to fight the urge to cheer. And she could tell by the look on his and Aidan’s faces that they felt exactly the same way.

‘I can’t believe we’re all signed off and they think they might be able to find you a surrogate within the next couple of months.’ Isla whispered the words, almost afraid that, if she said them too loud, someone would come and tap them on the shoulder and say they’d changed their minds.

‘Me neither. It feels like we’ve been chugging along at ten miles an hour, and now we’re flying at full speed.’ Jase took hold of Aidan’s hand. ‘He seemed to think we’ve got good reasons for deciding which one of us will have a biological connection to the baby.’

‘That’s because we have.’ Aidan stopped and looked directly at his husband. ‘When we have a child, I couldn’t think of anything better than seeing a likeness of you in them somewhere, or of them having some of your traits. I fell in love with you for a thousand reasons, and if I can see just a handful of those in our kid, I’m going to love them all the more because of it.’

‘I don’t know how I got so lucky.’ Jase shook his head. ‘Although I’ve got a horrible feeling we’re going to put Isla off her celebratory lunch, before we even get to the restaurant, if we don’t shut up soon.’

‘I am feeling a bit queasy.’ She smiled as Aidan turned to look at her in mock horror.

‘We could bump this down from lunch on the Sisters of Agnes Island, to a drive-through at McDonalds you know.’

‘Do you know what, I could actually go for a big juicy burger right now and I never normally fancy things like that. Maybe all this talk of making babies is giving me cravings.’ Isla pulled a face. ‘God knows what I’ll be like when I start the treatment.’

‘If you need a burger at 2a.m., all you have to do is call.’ Jase linked an arm through hers. ‘In fact, if you need anything at all, at any time, we’ll be only too willing to help from now until forever. We owe you more than we can ever hope to repay.’

‘Unless it involves DIY, in which case we’ll pay to get someone in, because the Chuckle Brothers look like a crack team of builders compared to us.’ Aidan linked his arm through hers on the other side, and they set off like they were reenacting theWizard of Oz. But Isla didn’t share the longing Dorothy had had to go home to Kansas, because right there, in the clinic corridor, sandwiched between Aidan and Jase, she had more of a sense of home than she’d had since her mother had left for America.

As the aroma of garlic and herbs she couldn’t have hoped to identify, drifted across the restaurant, Isla was very glad she hadn’t persuaded Aidan and Jase to take her to the drive-through. She might not have any idea how to pronounce thename of some of the dishes on the menu, but whatever it was the chefs were cooking up, it was making her stomach rumble.

The restaurant in the hotel on the Sisters of Agnes Island, which was cut off from the mainland in Port Agnes at high tide, was rated as one of the best in Cornwall. It was booked up for months in advance and Isla had no idea how Aidan and Jase had managed to get a table. From what she’d read, the restaurant was a favourite with the celebrities and other wealthy incomers who had second homes in the area. One glance at the prices on the menu had made her swallow hard, and it didn’t really matter that she didn’t recognise the name of most of the dishes, or know what they tasted like, because she’d be going for the cheapest option. Aidan and Jase had already insisted this was their treat, but she wasn’t going to let them blow a small fortune on her. They’d said they’d been given a gift voucher for the hotel at Christmas, which they needed to use, but Isla couldn’t help worrying that they felt they owed her in some way. When the truth was, they were the ones giving her a gift by allowing her to honour her dad in this way.

‘So, what’s it going to be, Isla?’ Jase lowered his menu to look at her.

‘The Caeser salad looks lovely, and I’ll just have some water I think.’

‘Nope, no salad leaves, not today. Anyway, calories don’t count when you’re celebrating. Everyone knows that, and I fully intend to have a day off from my diet.’ Aidan raised his eyebrows. ‘And if anything, you need feeding up.’

‘Now you sound like my nan.’ Isla couldn’t help smiling. Her grandmother had been known to turn up at the hospital with a Tupperware box of sandwiches, if she’d thought her granddaughter was looking too thin. It wasn’t something Isla felt was justified, but the love behind her grandmother’s gesturenourished her soul in a way that even the best sandwich in the world couldn’t compete with.

‘Not only that, but the minimum spend per table is two hundred pounds, so a salad and a glass of water just isn’t going to cut it.’ Jase smiled and she wondered for a moment if he’d worked out the real reason for her choosing a salad. But it didn’t matter, because he and Aidan were clearly determined to push the boat out.

In the end, she’d decided on the three courses Aidan had suggested she went for, because they sounded delicious: roasted red pepper and Cornish cheddar crostini, chilli, garlic and lobster bucatini, and warm pecan pie with clotted cream. Two courses in, and the food had exceeded even her highest expectations.

‘Well it’s going to be hard to go back to stir-in pasta sauce after this.’ Aidan pushed his plate away and sighed. ‘I didn’t know it was possible for something as simple as pasta to taste like it had been woven by angels. I knew it was going to be good when Gwen said the food here was almost better than sex, but I’m definitely going to have to drop the almost.’

‘Me too.’ Jase laughed at the look that had appeared on his husband’s face. ‘Hey, you said it first, which means you’re not allowed to be offended.’

‘You should know me better than that.’ Aidan was still feigning a look of mock outrage, but the twinkle in his eyes completely gave him away.

‘Well look who finally decided to take my advice.’ A strikingly good-looking man, who Isla guessed was probably in his late twenties, had suddenly appeared at their table. He had dark blond hair, green eyes, and the easy golden tan of someone who looked as though he spent a lot of his time outdoors. He wasn’t dressed like the other waiting staff, and he was hugging Jase in a way that suggested their relationship was a close one.

‘You were right, Rube, we should have splashed out ages ago, but we might never have done it without your very generous gift.’ Aidan held out his arms toward the younger man, earning him a hug too.

‘It’s nothing less than my two favourite uncles deserve.’ His words were muffled as Aidan held him close, releasing him just in time to regain the look of mock outrage.

‘We’re your only uncles!’

‘That doesn’t make it any less true.’ Aidan’s nephew shrugged, his eyes framed by long, dark lashes, and Jase suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth, as he looked at Isla.

‘Oh God, sorry, I’d forgotten you two don’t know each other. This is my sister, Tash’s, son, Reuben, but we all call him Rube.’ Jase turned towards him. ‘And this is Isla, who you’ve heard so much about.’

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