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Brianna

“ A ldous told us you’re starting a law degree, Brianna.”

Bri looked into the eyes of the woman opposite her, leaning against the railings guarding the perimeter of the beach house’s expansive garden terrace. Even if Aldous hadn’t told her who she was, Bri would have known instantly that she was his mother. Alison . Those ethereal amber eyes stared straight into her soul. “I am.” She nodded, patting Jasmine as she passed. “I got my acceptance letter this morning—but call me Bri, please.”

These days, the only person to call her Brianna was Aldous. Usually when they were in bed. Letting Alison call her Brianna with a British accent and looking at her with those amber eyes was a recipe for disaster.

Alison’s face lit up. “Congratulations. I didn’t realise your acceptance was so fresh. You must be thrilled.” Alison glanced over to the other side of the crowded garden terrace, where Aldous stood next to his motorbike with a couple Bri hadn’t had a chance to learn the names of yet. Their daughter was with them, a little girl she thought was called Lucie. “When do you start?”

Behind Alison, Roman manned the barbecue, wearing an apron emblazoned with the words ‘I cook as good as I look’ , chatting to a man Bri remembered from the photo in his cabin. Jensen—who, according to Roman and Aldous, was the only member of Aldous’s family who knew the truth surrounding the circumstances of their marriage.

As though he felt the weight of her gaze, Jensen glanced over to her with eyes full of suspicion. Bri quickly looked away. “September,” she replied. “But it’s only down the road, so I can commute from home.”

Or, she thought, I can get Aldous or Roman to drop me off until I’m cleared to drive again. Stupid seizures.

“Your family must be so proud.” Alison’s focus shifted to Aldous taking a seat on the motorbike and lifting a giggling Lucie onto his lap. Her mother-in-law placed a hand over her breast. “Oh, I have to get a photo of that.”

Alison rushed over and pulled out her phone, squinting as she tried to get the right angle for the photo. “Hold her right there, Aldy. Smile!”

Bri snorted back her laugh as her husband deadpanned his way through the impromptu photoshoot—before Alison switched out Lucie with Jensen’s son, a little boy named Felix. She caught Roman’s eye as he approached her, lowering her voice slightly. “If Aldous spends anymore time with those kids, I’m going to start ovulating.”

A hacking laugh from over in the corner made her jump. Beneath the shade of a banana plant sat Rhys, Aldous’s older brother.

“Oh lord . ” Bri was seized with the urge to go down to the beach and bury herself beneath the sand, damn the colony of sea lions who had moved in overnight. “I didn’t—”

“Don’t apologise.” Rhys took off his dark sunglasses to reveal that he too had inherited those amber eyes, accentuated by the dark circles of exhaustion beneath. Getting to his feet, he wiped them on his shirt with a chuckle, bending down to scratch Jasmine’s ear. “There are worse things to be embarrassed of than being attracted to your own husband.”

Bri gave him a weak smile as he passed, her cheeks hot enough to cook an egg on. He looked as terrible as she felt after a seizure. Hadn’t Aldous mentioned something about him having chronic migraines? Poor man.

Ignorant of where her brain had led her, Roman asked her a question. “Are kids something you’d want?”

“I think so,” she replied. Her chest twinged when she thought of carrying a little Aldous or little Roman inside her. “One day. After my seizures have stabilised and I’m not about to start a law degree. What about you?”

Roman’s nostrils flared, his eyes hungrily travelling down her body. “Yes,” he said, his voice half a growl. “Fuck yes.”

A smirk bunched her lips to the side. “You sound like you’re more excited for the conception than anything else.”

“I can be excited for two things at once.” Roman leant against the railings, looking across the terrace to Aldous. “As you well know.”

“Roman?” A small, high-pitched voice carried across the space. Felix, the little boy in the photo at Roman’s cabin, weaved through the garden furniture to make a beeline for the man. He held out something in his palm, a cylindrical gold object she couldn’t quite focus on. “What’s this?”

Roman bent down to Felix’s level to inspect it. “That’s a 0.30 calibre round.” At Felix’s blank expression, he explained, “A bullet. Well done for finding that. I dropped the box earlier today.”

Felix’s sapphire blue eyes rounded. “For a gun?”

“For one of the guns in my safe, yeah.” Roman nodded.

The little boy looked like all his Christmases had come at once. “Can I have a go?”

Roman looked hopefully at Jensen.

“ No. ” Jensen’s voice shot across the terrace, drowning out Roman’s response. “Obviously not.”

Roman’s shoulders sank slightly. “Well, what abou—?”

“No weapons,” Jensen decreed, in a tone that brokered no arguments.

Roman seemed to be more disappointed than Felix, a small pout sitting on his bottom lip.

Trying to conceal a grin, Bri looked out towards the sea. She liked Roman’s enthusiasm, but she did have to agree with Jensen. She half listened to Roman negotiating buying Felix a Nerf gun whilst they were visiting, but the sight of the horizon had a sense of melancholy creeping up on her.

Biting her lip to stop it trembling, Bri sucked in a deep breath, scenting a fishy hint of the sea lions squatting on the beach. She hadn’t expected her acceptance letter to come so soon after she’d applied. She hadn’t even had a chance to call Dante to tell him.

But Dante hadn’t been the first person she wanted to celebrate with.

Reina. She wanted to tell Reina.

“Bri?”

Bri looked around just as a traitorous tear escaped from her eyes, the salty breeze chilling it almost instantly.

Aldous’s face fell. He brushed her tear away before pulling her into the comforting embrace of his arms. “What’s wrong?” He aimed a suspicious look behind him. “Did someone upset you?”

She shook her head, burying a quavering sob against his shirt. His dark, masculine scent filled her lungs as she clung to him, wrapping her hands around his waist. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to—” She swallowed, steadying her voice. “I just—I just wanted to tell my sister about getting accepted to law school.”

“Oh, my love.” Those amber eyes radiated the tender compassion she needed. “One day you will.”

Bri’s nod was feeble.

Aldous dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Roman says the food should be ready by now. Shall I steal some for the two of us to eat inside?”

“I’ll be okay. It just…hit me all at once. I’m sorry.” She shook her head, grateful that he had offered. “Let’s eat out here with your family.”

“Don’t apologise,” he assured her, his hand around her waist as he guided her towards the garden furniture.

It was then that she realised their little embrace hadn’t gone unnoticed. From amidst the crowd strewn across the outdoor sofa, Alison looked dumbfounded, and the rest of the family wasn’t far behind. When Bri thought of how touch-phobic Aldous had been when they’d first married, it wasn’t difficult to see why.

Recovering from the apparent shock, Alison gave her a little smile, but it was Jensen who surprised her. The distrust from earlier had shifted into something lesser, something that was closer to protective than outright suspicious.

As they sat down to eat, Bri’s eyes were drawn to Aldous. She just hoped his family knew how much she loved him. The start of their marriage may have been… unusual , but it had blossomed into something beyond her wildest dreams.

Bri glanced over to Roman, purposefully keeping his distance from the two of them whilst Aldous’s family were in town. She just hoped that one day Aldous would be comfortable enough to reveal their love in the light of day.