Page 35 of Silver Lining (London Love #6)

C alm. I felt it, despite being on my knees in the road trying to clean ketchup and vomit off the car mat in front of me.

Perhaps I should have taken the car in and had it properly valeted, but then I was me. Things I could do myself, I despised paying for, and this wasn’t bad. Just a few bits of organic matter stuck in the fibres that I was trying to scrub out.

I was doing an okay job of it. I hoped.

“You okay, Dad?” Reuben sat on the stairs watching me with a cup of tea in his hand.

He was becoming me. Just like I was morphing into him, huffing and puffing and swearing under my breath, trying to get up off the ground.

At least the sun was shining.

“Where are the kids?”

“iPads,” he said, grinning. “They’re so used to doing homework on them now that they’re better than me at loading things up. All the apps and all that. I have to get Jay to log me into BitPaper for my lessons because I keep losing the link.”

“Bookmarks,” I said, like I knew what I was talking about. I did, actually. Jean had shown me, and I’d managed to print off paperwork the other day. Law stuff.

“I know. I can never remember. Too many weird new browsers with funny names, and I get confused. Then I start scrolling through things and get distracted.”

“Don’t I know it.” I smiled, sitting down next to him. “I think I got most of it out. A bit of a smell in the car, but I’m just going to leave the windows down for a bit.”

“You couldn’t have done that in Peckham. ”

“Nah.” I smiled.

“Do you miss it? Our house there?” Good question. Big changes.

“I thought I would. I thought I’d miss the sounds and the neighbours and find it hard to adjust. Funny how I didn’t. This place felt like home from the start. Because you were in it.”

“I couldn’t move out of home without bringing you with me.”

“Independent living and all that,” I teased. He nudged my shoulder. I nudged his back.

“We’re just…evolving,” he said quietly. “Always growing. Becoming better at all this. Even me. I feel good now. Like, I know I’m a good dad, and I’m responsible, and the studying is cool and the kids and having Gray.

It’s all become…I dunno. My life? And I have no idea how I lived before, because now it all seems like a blur. ”

“I agree,” I said with conviction. He wasn’t wrong. “And here’s Constance.”

Looking like a completely normal girl. No make-up, jeans, a nervous scowl on her face.

“Hello,” I said politely, standing up .

“Hey,” she said, biting her lip.

“This is my son, Reuben. Reubs, this is Dylan’s daughter, Constance.”

“Hey,” he said, reaching out his hand, then standing up too and wiping his hands on his trousers. Nerves? What for?

“You’re…The Reuben,” she said, eyeing him up and down.

“Not really. Just Reuben,” he replied, shuffling around, a grin on his face.

“And you live here.”

I just stood there like a lemon.

“So do you.”

Okay.

“And…”

“You want a photo? For Instagram?” My son was a twat. But Constance just laughed.

“Dude, I don’t have any social media. So yesterday and weird now. I’m on WhatsApp, that’s it. ”

“That’s…” My son smiled. “Cool. Refreshing. I’m on all of it, but then I am old.”

“Not old.” She smiled sweetly.

Oh dear. Get me out of here.

“So…” My son smarmed. “You’re my new lil sis then?”

What?

It took Constance a few seconds to compose herself.

“Lil…what?”

“The Constance. You’re now part of the family?”

“The Constance?” she stated in disbelief.

“It’s a joke, dude.” He reached out and bumped his fist gently onto her shoulder. “My dad has the hots for your dad. It’s cool. Going well.”

“I noticed,” she said flatly. “My dad is currently on a Teams call with both my brothers hiding under the table. That’s not going well.”

“Oh God,” I burst out.

“We need… Well. I’m done being the unpaid help, so I’m going out.” She flicked her hair.

“Do you want a lift? Where are you going?” I was a father, through and through, and offering young Constance a lift was inappropriate. I needed permission from at least one of her parents. But still.

“I can take the Tube.”

“Yeah, and that—”

“It’s only up to Kilburn Park.”

“I can run you up there,” my son offered. “Dad’s car is a bit…miffy.”

“Miffy?” Constance laughed. “What does that even mean?”

“Something my daughter says. I’ll bring the kids and take them out for a bit.”

“You don’t have to,” Constance said with zero conviction, clearly enthralled by my son and his ways.

“And you can meet the kids.”

“Since we’re now siblings?” She didn’t miss a beat. “And I think Dad could do with a cup of tea, Stewart.”

Oh? So she was running the house now? And where was Jean ?

“Jean’s still out,” she filled in, like she’d read my mind.

My life had been simple. Now everything had tripled up. Family. Kids. Commitments. Had I signed up for all this? Nope.

Did I secretly love it? Did I love the fact that Reuben went inside, coming back with two kids and his car keys swirling around his fingers? Absolutely.

“Kids, this is Constance. She’s Dylan’s kid.”

“Stranger danger,” Jasmine piped up, staring at poor Constance, who actually laughed.

“I am a stranger,” she said, nodding at Jasmine. “But we can fix that, can’t we? I know your granddad. He’ll vouch for me.”

“Granddad is not a stranger.” Jasmine pouted.

“No, he’s not. I’m Constance.” She sat down on her haunches and reached out her hand. “Now we shake hands. Then maybe one day, we’ll be friends. I’ll check with your granddad if he approves of that.”

Good job, Constance. I was impressed. Wildly so, as she smiled sweetly and got into my son’s car.

Leaving me once again …

Alone.

Damn it.

Space. I’d promised him space. But this was a gated community, not Peckham, and leaving my car with the windows slightly ajar was probably safe. I threw the mats on the stairs, closed my front door and took the few steps over to Dylan’s with a smile on my face.

Like I was a naughty child.

I wasn’t sure I was breaking any rules here. Or maybe I was breaking all of them.

I had a key. Fuck the rules. I almost blushed thinking that. What had I become?

“Stewart!” Marmie greeted me, crawling on his knees from under the table. “You have to be quiet. Daddy’s on a call.”

And Phinney was peeking out from under the table too. I waved, motioned to the kitchen as Dylan gave me a little smile. A grateful one. I hoped.

“Come,” I whispered, relief flooding through me as the boys followed .

“I’m dry,” Marmie whispered. “I went to the toilet and everything. But there are wet pants on the floor. I didn’t know where to put them.”

“Well done,” I said, hoping it was the right thing to say. “Do you think…”

Think, Stewart. Four small eyes stared at me like I had all the answers.

“Snacks,” I said, grasping for something. Tea. Food. Simple things.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

Laughter. Even a small smile from Phinney.

“No.” Marmie grinned. “We’re kids.”

“Ah. I thought you were grown-ups.”

“Silly,” he said.

“So. I have…” I opened the fridge and flicked the kettle on with my free hand. “Cheese.”

“I don’t like cheese.”

Okay.

“Avocado?”

“What?” the boy shrieked .

Right. In the fridge next door, I had snacks—apples, cheese sticks, small pots of organic yoghurt, cereal bars, and vegetable puffs galore. Here? What did these kids even eat for snacks? I couldn’t remember what Jean had bought. The past few hours suddenly felt like years.

“What do you like?” I asked.

Wrong question. Never ask. Offer options. I was setting myself up for mayhem.

“Do you have milk?”

“I do.” I nodded. Phew.

“Phinney likes milk.”

“Good. I do too. Shall we have some milk?”

“Daddy likes tea. He told me.”

“He does like tea. And coffee.”

“No worms.”

“I promise. No worms. Only aliens have worms.”

“Are you an alien?”

Honest question. Four eyes, serious.

I lifted Phinney onto my lap and poured milk into three glasses. He let me, though I braced myself for a well-aimed kick. A wail. But I seemed to be getting away with it.

I nodded at Marmie, took a gulp of milk. He copied me.

Bonding.

Maybe.

What were we doing?

“I think you’re an alien. You talk funny,” Marmie said.

Maybe I was.

“You okay?” Dylan asked, rounding the corner, then just standing there. “Thank you.”

“Stop thanking me. We’re okay.”

“This is not easy.”

“It never is. But it’s all good. Reuben’s running Constance over to her friend’s. You okay with that?”

“Reuben is?” He shook his head, lips twitching. “Jean set up another meeting this afternoon. It’s not far. We’ll walk.”

I nodded again.

“You…” He grimaced, running his fingers through his hair. “I need to set up schools. ”

“I’m not going to school,” came the sulky response from Marmie.

He was definitely going to school. Eventually.

“I need to get the hang of all this. It’s… I mean?”

“I know,” I said. “You’ve got this. I’ll stay with these two and figure out dinner.”

Intrusive? Maybe. But right. He looked relieved.

“Stewart.”

“My son called your daughter his sister. It was…sweet.”

“Disturbing.” He laughed. “But…is this what we are now?”

“Family?” I suggested.

“I like family,” Marmie said. “I like being home.”

“I like it too,” Dylan said as I helped Phinney sip more milk.

“Nugget,” Phinney declared.

“I’m going to call you Nugget,” Dylan said, walking up and kissing the top of his son’s head. Phinney promptly wailed.

I saved the glass. Go me .

“Go,” I offered, letting Dylan take the boy from my lap. His son.

We had this. We had to have this. Make it work. Be normal.

Nothing was normal here, yet everything was.

I stood and brushed myself down as Dylan hoisted Phinney onto his hip.

“Nugget!” Phinney shouted.

“Phinney,” Dylan scolded gently, kissed his cheek, then turned to me and leant in. Kissed me too.

“Beso,” Phinney said, poking Dylan’s cheek with a finger.

“Kisses,” Dylan echoed. “Your Spanish is excellent. Better than mine. Here, beso.”

More kisses. And suddenly, I thought…

Yes.

Life throws curveballs, but maybe this—this chaos, this sweetness—was what life really was.

Happiness. Struggles. Challenges.

But ones we’d overcome .

“Marmie, do you want to show me where you put the wet clothes?” Dylan asked. “Then we’ll figure out where to wash them. Want to help?”

“I’m good with washing machines. I can press the buttons.”

“You can. But we do it together, okay?”

I just stood there, not sure what to do for a minute.

Dinner.

For two households. I’d apparently volunteered myself.

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

I rolled up my sleeves. Nothing I hadn’t done before, right?

I opened the fridge, still smiling.

Wanted. Needed. Useful.

Small words, but bloody lovely ones.

Loved. I felt it.

And how wonderful was that?