Page 62 of Awakened Desires

"That's good to know." I stand. "Thanks for the advice, Theo."

"Anytime. And if you ever need to talk, you know where we are."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure the same goes for everyone else in the house," Preston says. "We're a friendly, approachable bunch."

"I'd noticed that. Rory is lucky to live here."

"We all are," Theo says. “He said you might stay longer."

“I'm going to move to London to be close to the baby."

"That's great. You can stay here for as long as you want to."

"Thanks." All these offers of help seem too good to be true, but I’ve got no reason to doubt Rory or his housemates.

"You should bring the baby to say hi,” Theo says.

“You’re just broody,” Preston says before kissing him.

“I am.” Theo blushes. “Maybe we could—” He whispers the rest into Preston’s ear, too quiet for me to hear.

Not that I try to listen. Preston’s eyes widen, and Theo’s blush deepens.

“We could.” Preston glances at me.

I look elsewhere.

“We should.”

“After ice cream?”

Preston kisses Theo again. “Good idea.”

Theo clears his throat. “Sorry about that. Bring the baby to visit. We’d love to meet him.”

"I'd like that." I cover my mouth as I yawn.

Theo chuckles. "You need to go to bed."

"I know. I'm going."

I trudge up the stairs to my room. Once I'm ready for bed, I turn up the volume on my phone, so I’ll hear it ring, even if I'm asleep. It's been a crazy twenty-four hours. My thoughts are a mess. I’m exhausted, hopelessly in love with the baby, and worried about his mam. But all of that can wait for a few hours. Theo is right. I need to get a good night’s sleep so I can be there for the baby and Niamh. Hopefully, I'll see Rory before returning to Niamh's bedsit. I don't know what I want to say to him. I just want to see him and hear his reassuring voice.

12

RORY

I get up early in an attempt to see Callan before he goes to Niamh’s. Luckily, I'm not too late. He's in the kitchen, staring at his phone.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"I've just talked to my boss."

“To quit your job?”

He nods.