Page 86 of Emma

Freya smiled. “Me, too.”

“Alright, off you go. Ben will get stuck in the rush hour traffic if you don’t head off soon.”

Freya took a few steps away, then spun back suddenly. “If Carmen says yes to dinner, can we go somewhere with a booth? And not loud? And can we order chips as well as whatever we’re having? I love chips.”

Emma laughed fully and without restraint for the first time in Freya’s company. What a lovely, genuine kid. “Booth, quiet, chips. I can work with that.”

Freya nodded. “Okay.” She hovered for another moment, then in a tiny voice that managed to find its way deep into Emma’s heart, she said, “Bye, Emma.”

“Bye, Freya. Email me whenever you like. No pressure.”

Freya smiled, then jogged the last few steps to the car. Ben leaned across to push the door open from the inside. Once she was safely buckled in, Emma lifted a hand and waved, her heart in her throat as Ben drove away and Freya twisted in her seat to stare back at Emma through the rear window.

That small, quiet smile was there again, the one that had felt like acceptance in the sports hall and felt like belonging now. Emma remained rooted to her spot, smiling until the car was out of sight.

Booths. Quiet. Chips.

God, she’s definitely my sister.

Emma tucked her chin into the collar of her coat and turned back towards the car park. Vanessa would be at home by now, pretending not to check her phone every five minutes for a message. Emma could already picture her wife’s reaction when she told her about them walking out of school together. But that was Vanessa. Always there, waiting with bated breath and secure arms.

She pulled her phone from her pocket as she walked, typing with stiff fingers from the plummeting temperatures.

Walking to the car. Tell you everything when I’m home. By the way, she wants chips.

Three dots appeared immediately.

Of course she does. She’s definitely yours. Drive safe, baby.

Emma slipped the phone away and inhaled a deep breath as the wind whipped around her. For the first time, the space between school and home didn’t feel like an ocean she had tocross. It felt like a path she could walk, one steady step after another, towards a life big enough for all of them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

One month later…

Emma saton the edge of the bed, staring down at her phone in her hand. For the last month, she had been slowly getting to know Freya via email—though it felt more like they were both waiting for the other to progress the relationship—but this week, everything felt as though it had shifted. Two days ago, Carmen had called her out of the blue, asking if she could drop Freya at home after school. Ben was stuck in a meeting, and Carmen had been having car trouble. Emma hadn’t expected it, her heart was in her mouth for the entire journey to the other side of town, but Freya had been a diamond.

So tonight, she was making the call about taking Freya out for dinner. Surely if Emma could be trusted to drop her off after school, she could be trusted to sit across a table from her in a restaurant.

She smiled when she reminded herself of the grin Freya wore when Emma was waiting for her at the school gates. She’d been confused, understandably so, but that confusion had suddenlyturned into excitement as Freya slid into the passenger seat of Emma’s car, her face lit up like it was Christmas morning.

She pressed the call button before she could change her mind.

“Hi, Emma.”

Emma rubbed at the back of her neck, those nerves just about there. “Hi. Have you got a minute to spare?”

“Of course. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Great. I just wanted to run dinner with Freya by you again.” Emma cleared her throat. “I think maybe the both of us could be ready to give it a try.”

“Mm. Freya hasn’t stopped asking.”

Emma grinned. “That’s a good sign.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I thought maybe go for a walk along the beach and then have dinner.” Emma knew they didn’t have daylight on their side at this time of year, so a weekend would be the perfect opportunity to get a walk in before it was dark by four in the afternoon. “She mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she gets nervous in busy places. I was wondering if you had any suggestions? Somewhere she’d feel comfortable…”