Page 129 of How Good It Was (Excess All Areas 3)

Luke burst through the door to Nan’s house, scanning the small space for Willow, as the rest of the band followed behind.

“Flower,” he said, hurrying to the sofa to scoop her into his arms and pepper her face with kisses. “Are you and Cletus holding on okay?”

“It’s been a long-ass day,” she mumbled, her face pressed into his shoulder.

“I bet. What happened?”

“If you put her down, she’d be able to answer you better,” Nan said as Ben hugged her.

Even though the feel of her in his arms had slowed his heart rate, which had been elevated since the first moment Matt had hammered on his door, he put her down. “Thanks for looking after everyone, Nan.”

“Happy to be useful.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Alex King, get out of my kitchen.”

Alex stopped by the kitchen door. “I’m starved, Nan.”

“When are you not? Your mum’s in there making sandwiches. The only reason you step in there is to help her, not eat them as fast as she can make them.”

Alex went to join Pat. Ben smiled at Chaya and stroked a hand down her long dark hair. It seemed unusually intimate for the two of them.

“Little Jase missed you,” Jase professed as he hugged Cerys, causing Matt to groan before he kissed Izabel.

The look on his sister’s face reminded him how much of a dick he’d been. But then, something his therapist had said. There was always a “back then” and a “now”. Back then, he’d thought stopping her from hooking up with Matt was the sensible choice. Now, he knew better.

Now, he felt like the black cloud that had hovered over his life had lifted. And while they were in the middle of a crisis, he felt happy and healthy enough to lead Willow through it. “Tell us what you know.”

He sat down in the chair and pulled Willow into his lap. It was as reassuring as it was practical, given there were too many people in Nan’s cosy living room.

Willow filled him in on everything that had happened, but it entertained him the way the other women would fill in gaps.

“Nan gave Riley a piece of her mind,” Chaya added.

Luke looked over to where Nan sat sandwiched between Cerys and Zoe. “You did.”

“She hurt two of my family. What was I supposed to do? Sit there like chopped liver while Riley tried to persuade Willow that what she’d done was understandable. I’m glad Willow didn’t doubt us, even though she doesn’t like drinking tea.”

Luke laughed.

Willow placed her head on his shoulder. “It’s not that funny, Luke.”

“No, flower. It’s not. But this. Our life.” He placed his hand on her bump. “Cletus. Family. It’s ours. It’s real. And it’s fucking amazing. And when you and I stand and face the world, the ten other people in this room have our backs. We can’t fail. No matter what the fallout from all this is.”

A light flashed outside. Then another. A paparazzi stood on the pavement out on the street. “What the fuck?” Luke said.

Ben marched to the door. “I’ve got this.”

Nan stopped him. “No, I’ve got this.” She grabbed her copy of the Manchester Evening News on the way out of the door.

Everyone watched through the large window as she stepped into the garden, her cooking apron still tied firmly around her waist. “Oi, you useless sack of shit. Get away from my house.”

“I’m allowed to be here.” The man kept snapping.

“Your arse must be jealous of the shit coming out of your mouth right now, because you aren’t. Go home. Re-evaluate your life choices. Do something useful, because you’re currently as helpful as the letter g in lasagne.”

Willow pressed her hands to her lips but couldn’t bite back the chuckle.

“She’s going to eviscerate him,” Cerys said, interpreting for Zoe.

“I should go get her,” Jase said.

---