Page 101 of All Yours

‘Here,’ Rosie said, passing him a baby. ‘Meet our new daughter. Everyone else has had a hold.’

The tiny bundle took him straight back to those early days with the boys, and Meg. The swell of feeling that overwhelmed him, the surge of love for those tiny, helpless creatures. He looked again for Robyn, thinking about the way she looked after Willow so tenderly, and found her watching him. He smiled and she bit her lip. Fuck. This was such a mess, it was impossible.

‘So, what are their names?’ Isabella asked. ‘You said you’d tell us when we were all here.’

Rosie and Wren exchanged a happy nod.

‘Our beautiful son here is called River,’ Wren said, pointing to the boy in Toby’s arms.

‘And our daughter is called Quinn,’ Rosie said, pointing at Fox, and he watched in wonder as the baby yawned and opened her eyes, squinting against the bright lights. He gently shaded her eyes with his hand.

‘Does it take you back, Fox?’ Wren asked.

‘It does. The best days of my life were when Reggie and George were born. They’re the biggest blessings in my life.’

Toby jiggled River against his chest.

‘And we’re so fortunate because we got one more than we were expecting!’

Wren nodded. ‘That’s true. We always said we would stop at two.’

‘But you got one you never expected,’ Robyn echoed in a strange voice, from where she stood, her eyes trained on his face.

‘Then it’s an extra blessing and you definitely are extra lucky.’ Fox turned back to Wren. ‘Having a third one must be like an unexpected gift.’ Wren smiled, delighted with that.

‘Glad you think so too,’ she said as he passed Quinn back to her.

The baby mewled and yawned sweetly, making everyone coo and laugh. When Fox looked across the bed again to see Robyn’s reaction, the corner was empty.

His heart sank; he’d missed another chance to iron things out. He glanced out of the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her as she headed to the car park, but she must have already gone.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

Robyn: Can you come outside? I really need to talk to you.

Fox groaned in frustration because he really wanted – no, needed – to talk to her. But how was he supposed to do that with it being Christmas Day and him having two hyperactive children?

‘You okay, Fox?’ Wren asked under her breath. He jolted. ‘You look stressed.’

Fox ran a hand through his hair and sighed. ‘Somebody needs to see me urgently, but . . .’ He indicated the boys, playing on the floor of the hospital room with Jayden and Riley while the adults drank champagne around them.

‘Leave them here with us for a while if you like,’ Wren said.

‘Really? It’s not the best timing, though, is it? For you, I mean?’ He pointed to the two newborn cots side by side.

‘We’re having our own Christmas nativity scene in here if you hadn’t noticed. Come and get them in an hour.’

He kissed her on the cheek.

‘Thank you.’ He smiled and replied to Robyn, saying he’d be there soon.

‘No worries. I really hope everything works out okay.’ His smile faltered as she grasped his hand rather intensely. Maybe she was still on all kinds of painkillers and didn’t realise how hard she was clutching him. She kissed him again before she let him go.

‘Good luck,’ Wren said and he wondered if she was high.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Robyn