“I bet it does. Now, go grab some of those sandwiches before Alex arrives and eats everything, including the plate they’re sat on, and I’ll make you a fresh cup of tea.”
“Nan?”
“Yeah?”
“Would you still keep me if I told you I don’t like tea?”
“Yes, but I might introduce a three-month probationary period. Do you want a cup of decaf coffee?”
Willow laughed. “Yes, please.”
“I’ll give you a minute.” When Nan opened the door, Izabel was jumping up and down outside.
“What’s got your knickers in a knot, now?” Nan asked.
“Willow, Luke just joined Shamaze.”
“What? He hates it. Why would he . . . oh. Oh!”
Willow opened the app and put in the profile name Izabel gave her. As James Arthur sang about meeting in the dark and being scared of the woman he loved letting him go, images of their life appeared on her phone screen. But they weren’t images she’d taken. They were candid and raw.
An image of them in bed in Mallorca. She was still asleep; Luke was turned to face her, pretending to lick the tip of her nose. One of her walking down the street several footsteps ahead of him, pointing something out. Their hands linked on his lap as they ate in the apartment. It ended with one of her taken from onstage when she was talking to Cerys in the wings in Detroit. He must have taken it right in the middle of their gig and she’d never noticed.
This one had text on it.
Just because it began unconventionally doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
But it was the words beneath that made her cry.
I can’t solve all your problems, but I can make sure you never face them alone. #Willowsdilf
“I can’t believe he did that,” Willow said, watching it all over again.
“Me either, to be honest. Let’s go wait for him downstairs.”
Luke burst through the door to Nan’s house, scanning the small space for Willow, as the rest of the band followed behind.
“Flower,” he said, hurrying to the sofa to scoop her into his arms and pepper her face with kisses. “Are you and Cletus holding on okay?”
“It’s been a long-ass day,” she mumbled, her face pressed into his shoulder.
“I bet. What happened?”
“If you put her down, she’d be able to answer you better,” Nan said as Ben hugged her.
Even though the feel of her in his arms had slowed his heart rate, which had been elevated since the first moment Matt had hammered on his door, he put her down. “Thanks for looking after everyone, Nan.”
“Happy to be useful.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Alex King, get out of my kitchen.”
Alex stopped by the kitchen door. “I’m starved, Nan.”
“When are you not? Your mum’s in there making sandwiches. The only reason you step in there is to help her, not eat them as fast as she can make them.”
Alex went to join Pat. Ben smiled at Chaya and stroked a hand down her long dark hair. It seemed unusually intimate for the two of them.
“Little Jase missed you,” Jase professed as he hugged Cerys, causing Matt to groan before he kissed Izabel.
The look on his sister’s face reminded him how much of a dick he’d been. But then, something his therapist had said. There was always a “back then” and a “now”. Back then, he’d thought stopping her from hooking up with Matt was the sensible choice. Now, he knew better.
Now, he felt like the black cloud that had hovered over his life had lifted. And while they were in the middle of a crisis, he felt happy and healthy enough to lead Willow through it. “Tell us what you know.”
He sat down in the chair and pulled Willow into his lap. It was as reassuring as it was practical, given there were too many people in Nan’s cosy living room.
Willow filled him in on everything that had happened, but it entertained him the way the other women would fill in gaps.
“Nan gave Riley a piece of her mind,” Chaya added.
Luke looked over to where Nan sat sandwiched between Cerys and Zoe. “You did.”
“She hurt two of my family. What was I supposed to do? Sit there like chopped liver while Riley tried to persuade Willow that what she’d done was understandable. I’m glad Willow didn’t doubt us, even though she doesn’t like drinking tea.”
Luke laughed.
Willow placed her head on his shoulder. “It’s not that funny, Luke.”
“No, flower. It’s not. But this. Our life.” He placed his hand on her bump. “Cletus. Family. It’s ours. It’s real. And it’s fucking amazing. And when you and I stand and face the world, the ten other people in this room have our backs. We can’t fail. No matter what the fallout from all this is.”
A light flashed outside. Then another. A paparazzi stood on the pavement out on the street. “What the fuck?” Luke said.
Ben marched to the door. “I’ve got this.”
Nan stopped him. “No, I’ve got this.” She grabbed her copy of the Manchester Evening News on the way out of the door.
Everyone watched through the large window as she stepped into the garden, her cooking apron still tied firmly around her waist. “Oi, you useless sack of shit. Get away from my house.”
“I’m allowed to be here.” The man kept snapping.
“Your arse must be jealous of the shit coming out of your mouth right now, because you aren’t. Go home. Re-evaluate your life choices. Do something useful, because you’re currently as helpful as the letter g in lasagne.”
Willow pressed her hands to her lips but couldn’t bite back the chuckle.
“She’s going to eviscerate him,” Cerys said, interpreting for Zoe.
“I should go get her,” Jase said.
“I should go,” Willow said, trying to stand up.
Luke tugged her down. “Like I said. Ten other people willing to stand up for us. It’s time we let them and realise neither of us is alone anymore.”
His lips had just touched hers when he heard Nan yell again.
“And I’ll sue if anyone prints a picture of the inside of my house, you scumbag,” Nan shouted.
The photographer raised his long lens again. “It’s freedom of the press.”
“The press?” Nan yelled, rolling up her copy of the paper. “I’ll give you the bloody press.” She smacked the photographer repeatedly on the side of his head.
“Jesus,” Ben said, stepping outside to grab Nan.
“I’ll sue,” the man yelled.
“For taking a smack with a bit of paper from a septuagenarian?” Ben shouted. “What kind of arsehole are you? Get the fuck out of here.”
The man disappeared out of view.
“Wow,” Zoe said. “Nan’s feisty.”
“That I am,” she said, coming back into the living room. “Now. Where were we? Oh, right. Food.”
Feeding everybody must have been expensive, given Nan was on a pension. “Give me a sec, Will,” Luke said, following Nan into the kitchen.
He pulled his wallet from his pocket. “Hey, Nan. Thanks for looking after everyone. Can I give you some money for all the food and—”