Page 60 of Everything After

Alfie cleared his throat. “And I thought you were a man of the world, Charlie,” Alfie teased. “Do you want me to explain the biological mechanics of the ‘how’, or do you mean where in the world did the how happen?”

I felt my face redden while my dad chuckled at the sexual reference in Alfie’s reply. “What I meant was the last time we spoke about grandchildren Lily was adamant she wasn’t ready and almost tore me a new one for mentioning babies.”

“It wasn’t planned,” I mumbled, embarrassed that I’d been so vocal about not having kids just a few months before when I’d seen them.

“But we’re happy about it now,” Alfie insisted. “I’m taking a year off right now, and I’ll extend it by whatever time Lily and the little one dictates. The most I’d be willing to do after thatwould be a few short sets, a weekend gig, or a festival appearance on US soil. Lily’s going to continue with her plans that the band have for now. We still need to work out all the logistical stuff, but we’ll make it happen.”

I loved that Alfie took charge and made everything sound as if we’d been talking about the logistics for weeks, when in reality we’d had a ten-minute conversation in Battersea Park that afternoon.

“You’re not saying much, Roslyn,” my dad said, sounding surprised at her continued silence.

“I’m taking it all in. This is one of those moments in history where you look back and remember exactly where you were, what everyone was wearing and all the fine details of the conversation.”

Charlie chuckled. “So, our baby girl being pregnant is right up there with assassinations of world leaders and rocket launches from Cape Canaveral?”

“Don’t be crass, Charlie. You know what I mean,” she snapped, flashing him an icy glare.

“You don’t sound very happy,” my dad mumbled, making my stomach drop. I studied my mum closer.

“Of course I’m happy. I’m trying to figure out if it’s a boy and whether we’d need to retire there.”

“Whoa! Lily’s barely pregnant and you’re packing up and moving us to the US?”

“In case it’s escaped your notice, that baby will be our grandbaby. I don’t want to miss her growing up,” my mum insisted with conviction in her tone.

“It’s a boy,” Alfie corrected my mum, genderizing the baby.

“You know this already?” my dad queried with a face so full of excitement I thought he might burst.

“No, we don’t,” I corrected, glaring at Alfie who was grinning like a loon and obviously enjoying my parents’ reactions to ournews. If I’m honest, seeing my parents delight at the news made me feel guilty that I wasn’t as excited as they looked when I’d gotten the news.

Thankfully, our food arrived, and their attention turned to the delicious dishes of food being placed in front of us.

Alfie was back to being the man I had fallen in love with during dinner. His flirty banter made me blush on more than one occasion, but I couldn’t be mad at him because I believed he had wanted to lift my mood.

It made me be honest with myself, and I realized I’d have been disappointed if he had just let me go and hadn’t followed me to London.

Even though we hadn’t been in a great place when I’d taken my leave, once Alfie had learned why I hadn’t been as proactive in meeting up as him, he had been willing to go that extra mile to put things right between us.

Forgiveness had been required from both of us and, once that had been recognized by us at the Peace Pagoda in the park, his presence had melted away the anger that had been fueling me inside. In fact, as we’d walked home, a rumble of excitement stirred in the base of my stomach, and although I didn’t do change all that well, I had begun to look forward to the new chapter in our lives a baby would bring.

CHAPTER 37

ALFIE

Lily and I fell into a comfortable silence as we left the restaurant and headed back down the lamp-lit street to her childhood home. My heart swelled with contentment as I walked with the love of my life’s hand in mine, our connection even more precious after the rift there had been between us.

It’s hard to describe how much the little things in life gain more meaning once you’ve experienced fame, but being able to treasure private moments without a constant barrage of reporters or fans persistent demands becomes a luxury.

We had almost reached our destination when Lily glanced up at me, and the look of love that shone from her gorgeous green eyes took my breath away. The way the streetlight made them twinkle sent a spark of longing straight through me. Right then, the connection that I’d believed had been missing between us during the previous weeks immediately came roaring back.

Captivated by her gaze, the longer it lingered, the greater I became aware of the sexual energy that buzzed between us. And in that heightened state of self-awareness, the feel of us touchingskin-to-skin—even though it was only holding her hand, caused a second spark of desire that I could no longer ignore.

I stopped abruptly, tugging Lily back into me after she’d taken one extra step ahead of me, dropped her hand and wrapped my arms around her waist.

“Come here, we’ve got a lot of making up to do and I need to show you how much I’ve missed you,” I murmured in her ear. The moment my lips touched hers, fire ignited deep in my soul for the second time that day. Our kiss had begun as a tender and loving one until it quickly morphed and became a passionate, fierce promise to make things right between us.

Breaking the kiss, Lily looked up at me with bruised, swollen lips, while her doe eyes held the same lust I suspected was reflected in mine.