Page 182 of Lessons in Chemistry

Em shakes his head. “I won the bet. It’s mine. Love you.” He leans across and pecks my lips.

“It’s a good thing I love the two of you.” I tap my finger against the wine glass. “To get truly sappy, being in a relationship with you is the best decision I’ve ever made. It was scary at the time, especially as I didn’t know myself. But I never regretted it, even for a second. Being with you has always felt right.”

“Now that was sappy,” Auggie says.

Em nods in agreement.

“But I like sappy a lot,” Auggie says.

The three of us hold hands around the table.

“I can’t wait to spend the next five years with you,” Em says.

“What are we going to do for our tenth anniversary?” I ask.

“How about Paris or Venice?” Auggie says.

His suggestions remind me of our summer travelling through Europe after we graduated. It was so much fun. We got to see and do all the usual tourist things, but we also headed off the beaten tracks, finding walks through gigantic forests, seeing ruins that tourism had forgotten about, and watching the sun set and rise in some of the most beautiful countryside imaginable. It was a holiday I didn’t want to end, even though I barely got to swim, and it was one we haven’t repeated since. It’s not as if any of us can take three months off anymore, nor could we afford to lose that much pay. Maybe one day.

“We should go somewhere romantic, but we’ve been to Paris and Venice,” Em says.

I smile as my heart overflows with love. “I don’t care where we go or what we do as long as I’m with you.”

“We should have brought a crown so we could make you the king of sap,” Auggie says.

“You’re just as sappy as I am.”

Auggie grins. “It’s true. We’re the sappiest saps that ever did sap.”

“Let’s never change,” Em whispers.

I squeeze his hand. “We will change. But we’ll change and grow together.”

“But we’ll always be saps, right?” Auggie asks.

I laugh. “Yes. We’ll always be saps.”

“Do you know what I want to do now?”

Em and I shake our heads.

“Go home and cuddle my gorgeous men.”

“That would be the perfect end to the perfect evening.” Em kisses me, and then Auggie, who kisses me.

I am so happy it almost hurts. “Let’s get out here.”

We have a king-sized bed at home, and I can’t wait to be in it with my men.

* * *

AUGGIE

Emory and I sit on the decking, eating breakfast while Casey swims. We can watch him through the windows of the conservatory, which houses a small pool. It’s barely long enough for him to need to swim after pushing off from one end, but he doesn’t seem to care. It’s water, and he can swim whenever he wants.

The property was a dump when we bought it, which meant we got a three-bedroom bungalow with an indoor pool, in commuter range of London, for an absolute song. Yes, we had to do it up, but it was a project we were excited and passionate about. It took us three years, enough money to make you cry, and hours of hard work, but now it’s beautiful. Best part? We get to see Casey in Speedos every day. Sometimes twice a day.

“Are we still meeting your parents for dinner?” Emory asks.