Page 30 of The Suitcase Swap

‘That’s what I’m trying to find out. All I know is he had a cameo on this woman’s travel blog and when I called him, he looked like something you’d find on the floor of the tube.’

Noah made a face. ‘Wait, the airport woman?Swanning About?’

‘Yeah,’ Rahul said.

Noah held up a finger. ‘Wait please.’ He took out his phone, pulling up Sophie’s blog.

Mike took this opportunity to stir cream into his coffee and drink it, wishing, not for the first time, that he could just dump it directly into his veins.

Noah stared at his phone, his eyes wide, his hand over his mouth. By the end of it, he had his hand on his chest. ‘Michael Tremblay, I didn’t know you had it in you.’

Mike groaned, his hand over his eyes. ‘I haven’t seen it. How bad is it?’

‘Honestly?’ Noah said, his brows high. ‘You’re adorable together. The energy between you pops on the screen.’ He shook his head. ‘There is much buzz in the comments.’

He pinched his eyes shut. ‘Sophie’s probably livid.’

‘Why?’ Noah asked. ‘I know you haven’t seen it yet, but the fansloveyou. They’re asking who you are and if you’ll show up in more videos. Honestly, the comment section is usually a mire of troll behaviour, but this one is oddly wholesome.’

Rahul peered over his shoulder, looking at the comments. ‘Who’s Andrew?’

‘Her arsehole of an ex-husband,’ Mike said into his coffee. ‘They’re comparing me to that bastard? Is Sophie?’ The first wouldn’t be great, but the second . . .

‘Contrasting, mostly,’ Noah said. ‘Lots of “you go, girl” energy.’

‘That’s something, at least,’ Mike said with a sigh.

‘I think we’re going to need it all, Dad,’ Rahul said. ‘Spill.’

‘Boundaries— ’

Noah cut him off. ‘With all due respect, Mike, boundaries can go hang. You cannot dangle this kind of delicious morsel in front of us after years ofnothingand expect us to ignore it.’

‘He’s right, Dad,’ Rahul said. ‘You’ve really only brought this on yourself. We want the tea.’

‘The tea?’ Mike asked.

‘The gossip,’ Noah clarified. ‘And quickly, please – my mum is only here for another thirty minutes, and she’s handling the children.’

Mike’s instinct, the one that had been keeping him alive since Tara’s death, was to stay silent. Close off and deny. It had kept him safe, but it had also been utterlyexhausting.He was so very tired of keeping everything locked down and inside. Still, he wavered on that tightrope, his instinct screaming at him to protect his kids from this. They’d had enough pain, they’d had enoughgrief,they’d—

‘Da,’ Rahul said, his voice sharp. ‘I’ve let this slide. Both Amaya and I – leaving you be, waiting for you to heal . . . We know you loved Mum. Putting yourself out there,trying– Da, she’d want that. We want that. So please, for the love of fucking everything holy on this spinning orb, tell us what happened.’

And really, what was he going to say to that? Mike gave up and told them an edited version of the previous night, leaving out the more . . . personal bits. The softness of her skin, the taste of her, the feel of her body beneath his hands as they danced, the pulse of his desire like a second heartbeat. Some things you just didn’t share.

By the end of this tale, Rahul was banging the back of his head against the side of the house and Noah was frowning.

‘Well,’ Noah said to his husband with a sigh, ‘I’m starting to understand why you were so difficult when we got together.’

Rahul turned his head, his expression irritated. ‘What are you on about?’

Noah waved a hand. ‘I’m just saying, a lot of stuff is making sense. You arejustlike your father.’

Rahul scowled at him. ‘What doesthatmean?’

Mike poured himself another cup of coffee. ‘Not loving that I’m being touted as a negative here, but weirdly I also can’t argue against it.’

Noah placed a hand on Rahul’s chin. ‘You’ve worked hard, myheart, but remember how long it took you to tell me you loved me?’ Rahul looked disgruntled by this, but softened after Noah kissed his cheek.

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