Eis’s death stare turned into a smirk. “It’s your move, arsehole.”
Three more members of the security team had appeared, and Eis gave them the tiniest nod. One of them stepped forward.
“Sir, we need you to leave now.”
I didn’t wait around to see what happened. I didn’t give even one tiny shit. They could toss Steven into the pool for all I cared, and no, he couldn’t swim. Instead, I leaned into Eis as we walked back to the party.
“Future husband?”
“As soon as those fucking papers are signed. You good with that?”
It would be fast.
Really freaking fast.
With Steven, I’d spent hours agonising over the details of the wedding. Pink flowers or purple? Veil or no veil? Should we shell out for a fancy car to take us to the reception? Which photography package should we buy? Would people judge me for being pregnant? And don’t even get me started on the seating plan.
With Eis, I realised I didn’t care about any of that stuff, or what people thought of me. I just wanted him to be mine, and that was it.
“I’m good with that. You think I should see about getting my tubes untied?”
“Yeah, I do. Your birthday is the twenty-fourth of November, by the way. Just in case you forgot.”
I’d told him that thirteen years ago.
With Eisen Renner, the big decisions were the easy ones.
The party began to wind down after nine o’clock. The local kids had been picked up by their parents, and the Bristol kids were back on the minibus, along with two parents who were acting as chaperones. Harry was yawning, and Alfie was hyper and telling everyone who would listen that he was getting an entire flock of chickens.
“We can make a quiet exit if you want,” Eis suggested. “I wasn’t kidding about being hard earlier, and I’ve got a better use for your sharp tongue.”
“We can’t leave our own party. What about the boys?”
“Harry’s asleep on his feet, and I can borrow a straitjacket from that guy dressed as Hannibal Lecter for Alfie.”
“Is it small enough? What about his extra legs?”
“The straps are…” Eis’s attention focused elsewhere. “…adjustable. Who’s that guy with Edie?”
I turned to look. “Oh, that’s Liam’s little brother.” Little in terms of both age and stature. Heath was two inches shorter than Liam and best described as wiry. The handbag was still in Edie’s left hand. “Is she okay?”
“I think so. Edie started the conversation. She never starts conversations. Is Liam’s brother a decent guy?”
“I’ve only met him a couple of times, but Marissa says he’s very sweet. He just got out of the Army.” I groaned as Alfie bounced over to Marc di Gregorio and began flapping his arms. “Where did Hannibal Lecter go?”
“You deal with Harry; I’ll catch Alfie.”
“If I’m too knackered to tell you later, I love you.”
Our story wasn’t exactly conventional, but I knew one thing was certain: I’d be writing “The End” with Eisen Renner at my side. This Halloween would go down in history as a day to remember.
“Love you too, Janie. Always have, always will.”
