‘It’s an honour you thought of us.’
He sits back, a slight smile playing on his lips.
‘But?’
‘We’ve got more than enough. Perhaps you could leave it to Charles and Kathy, Louis and his family? Maybe it’s time to give someone else a break?’
‘I thought you might say that. And you’re right. I just didn’t want you to think I’d overlooked you.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ I reassure him. ‘We don’t need anything else. I’m a lucky man. I have an incredible wife, three amazing children, great friends, a job I love, more money than anyone could ever need. What more could I want?’
‘You should invest more of that money, play the market.’
‘Why would I want to do that?’
‘With what you’ve got, you could become seriously rich.’
‘I’m already seriously rich. You’re talking about ridiculously rich. There’s no need for it, Bill. We don’t need a house in every country, a private jet, a yacht in every port. People who live like that, they lose touch with reality, and it doesn’t make them happy.’
I won’t even start on how much we give to charity. Even though we’ve still got more than enough, he’d have a heart attack on the spot.
‘It’s nice to be fairly normal,’ Maya cuts in, sliding a slice of toast onto Ruby’s plate. ‘And we don’t want the kids growing up in some weird bubble.’
Bill raises an eyebrow.
‘Bubble?’
‘For example,’ she explains patiently, ‘Jack’s in the local state school because it’s perfectly decent and perfectly safe. He loves it. Ruby’s starting there in the autumn.’
Bill pulls a face, as if he can’t quite understand.
‘We’ve got cleaners and gardeners and security, but we like to do normal things together, like shopping and cooking and washing the pots.’
‘I cook the meals,’ I mutter wryly. ‘Health and safety, darling.’
That earns me a light slap on the thigh.
‘We don’t need people doing those things for us,’ she goes on. ‘We don’t need to be mega-rich.’
‘And we certainly don’t want all the shit that comes with it,’ I add.
‘Dan!’ Another quick slap. ‘Language.’
‘Sorry, boss.’ I bite back a laugh. ‘Look, I’ve got everything I want, Bill … apart from maybe one more of these things.’ I wave a hand at the children, and hear Maya sigh.
‘Come on, woman. You’re the one who said you wanted four.’
‘Was I drunk?’
‘Absolutely not. It was on our wedding day.’
‘Oh, yeah.’
‘One more. Please?’
‘I’m quite enjoying the not being pregnant thing. There was barely space to breathe between Ruby and Emily.’
‘And now you’ve had two years. Pretty please?’
‘I’ll think about it.’
‘You do that.’
‘I will.’
‘But just remember, I always get what I want in the end.’
‘No, you don’t, Daddy,’ Jack announces, looking up from his food. ‘Mummy always gets what she wants.’
‘Yes!’ Ruby screams excitedly.
‘Excuse me,’ I grin, leaning forward and addressing them both. Emily wiggles in my arms. ‘I’m the boss around here.’
‘No, you’re not!’ Ruby squeals.
I raise an eyebrow, mock dramatic.
‘Well, if I’m not the boss, who is?’ I demand.
‘Mummy!’ she squeals again. ‘She’s the big …’ She comes to a halt and I chuckle. Time and time again, Maya’s taught them the phrase, but they still can’t get it right.
‘The big kamuma,’ Jack smiles, picking at his fruit.
‘Big kamuma!’ Ruby shouts, making Bill jump.
‘Big!’ Emily gurgles, trying her best to join in. I lean back and push her mop of hair out of her face.
‘Of course she is,’ I whisper, giving Emily a wink. ‘But we don’t go on about it.’
‘I think you’ve been conquered,’ Bill laughs.
Maybe. But only because it’s what I want.
‘Come on. Me and Jack are outnumbered,’ I argue. ‘We want another boy.’
‘And what if you get another girl?’ she demands, fixing me with those emerald eyes.
‘Then we’re stuffed,’ I shrug.
‘Stuffed!’ Jack echoes.
Emily moves again, edging her way back off my knee, and I’m relieved. We might be in the shade, and it might be early morning, but I’m already feeling hot. And the look in Maya’s eyes isn’t helping much. I watch as Emily runs back out onto the lawn, almost falling over her own feet in the process, and picks up the ball. And then I lean across, snuggling my head against Maya’s neck. I feel her tingle at my touch. It’s a sure-fire way to get her on my side. I’ve used it right from the word go, and I’m not about to give up on a winning tactic now.
‘Don’t even try that,’ she complains.
‘Che la dura,’ I mutter against her skin. ‘One more. And then …’ I make a scissors shape with my fingers.
A day on the boat. It’s enough to try the patience of a saint and the energy of a superhero, but somehow we’ve managed it. The clan are bathed and ready for bed. With Kathy and Charles playing with them in the living room, babysitting for a couple of hours, I’m free to indulge in my yearly treat.
We pick our way down the steps to the beach, Maya ahead of me, stunning in a flowing pink dress. I can barely take my eyes off her arse. It’s a miracle I don’t lose my footing and fall flat on my face. With trees hanging over us, I watch as she runs her hands across the flowers, stopping every now and then to admire the colours with her artist’s eye. Suddenly, she turns back to me.
‘I’ve been thinking.’
‘Have you? Careful, that sort of thing’s dangerous.’
‘You can say that again.’ She bites her lip. ‘Anyway, I reckon my pelvic floor can deal with one more.’
‘I knew you’d come round.’
She gives me a wicked grin, turns and walks on. Before long, the path gives way to the cove. She stops again, digging
