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“That was more than enough socializing for one lifetime, even for me.” Phryne peeled off her lace gloves with great satisfaction and threw them onto Jack’s bed, where her discarded silk shawl already lay. “I’m exceedingly grateful you’ve taken today and tomorrow off.”
“Miss Fisher, are you saying that your aunt’s friends aren’t your usual crowd?”
Jack’s voice was grave as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him. Phryne sighed happily and closed her eyes. Luncheons at her aunt’s could be tedious at best and actively harrowing at worst, but rarely were they so tiresome that she could practically feel herself growing over with cobwebs during them. They had both been swamped with work for the past fortnight, and it had been particularly cruel to sit next to Jack and not be able to touch him. Their ability to communicate solely with their eyes had come in handy today—no one else had picked up on their exasperation—but nothing beat the feeling of being back in his arms.
“I imagine that comes as quite the shock, given how much you love these gatherings.” She turned in his embrace and grinned up at him, honestly surprised when her mouth didn’t creak from all the fake smiling she’d had to do today. She began to undo his tie, for no reason other than that she could and to brush off some of his own cobwebs for him. The rest of the weekend lay ahead of them, wide open and glorious.
Jack smiled back, raising an admonishing eyebrow at her as he gently pried her hands off him and brought them to his lips for a soft kiss. “Do you want to stay here while I go get Hermann?”
Oh. Oh, right.
Phryne deflated a little. Jack’s parents were going away for the weekend and he and Phryne had agreed to take care of their dog in their absence. Phryne and Hermann had had a rocky start, what with him tagging along on their first weekend together after her return from England. Phryne rather liked him now—as much as she could like any animal, at least. Even so, it had been a long time since she’d had Jack to herself and the timing was particularly inconvenient.
Phryne sighed. “Ugh, don’t tempt me,” she said. “I know you promised your parents you’d take him in for the weekend.”
“Yes, but I also promised to take you for the weekend so you have as much claim to this house as he does.” He kissed her knuckles once more, and her eyes followed the movement of his lips with interest.
Oh, if only they could be alone! Still, she didn’t want to let him out of her sight, so she shook her head. “No, thank you. It’s been far too long since I had you all to myself.”
“You still might not have me all to yourself if Hermann gets any say in the matter,” he cautioned her, and she nodded.
“I know.” She let her head drop against his shoulder dramatically, feeling his unfamiliar tuxedo against her cheek. He still smelled like her Jack, though, and after the stress of the last two weeks, she would be grateful for any opportunity to be near him. Besides, Jack had been looking forward to this since before their work had made the last two weeks hell, and she wanted this to be fun for him.
“So,” she said, “how about we get changed and I treat you both to an ice cream at the foreshore?”
***
It was the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, and the foreshow was surprisingly empty when they arrived. Most people must still have been at work. They had caught John and Annette just as they were on their way out, and had stopped only for a brief chat. Phryne got along well with Jack’s parents, though, so she’d invited them to dinner the following week, somewhat to Jack’s chagrin. His mother enjoyed teasing him almost as much as Phryne herself, and Phryne made a mental note to request Mr. Butler’s chocolate cake to help him get through the night unscathed.
Yes, she thought as she watched Jack devour his chocolate ice cream while being dragged along the shore by an overenthusiastic Hermann, that would probably do the trick just fine. If not, she could always make it up to him afterwards.
Phryne strolled along at a much more leisurely pace, enjoying her strawberry ice cream and flashing Jack a sunny smile every time he raised an eyebrow or shook his head at her over his shoulder. The yellow labrador his parents had adopted could be quite a handful, and Jack looked almost relieved when Hermann stopped dead and picked a spot to dig a hole seemingly at random. Jack, who was smart enough to accept such an opportunity when it was offered to him, merely dug into his ice cream with renewed focus.
“That looks delicious, may I have some?” Phryne asked as she drew level with him. If her question had not been entirely directed at his ice cream but at the dashing figure he made in his light jumper—well, who could blame her? The closer she got, the more she could see that their little excursion and the warm weather suited him, and she was glad to have suggested it.
Jack held out his cone, but she shook her head.
“No, like this.”
She brought it up to his own lips and waited expectantly for him to lick it. The poor man looked somewhat confused but obliged her. Phryne grinned, enthralled by the pink of his tongue against the dark ice cream. Then she cupped the back of his neck and guided her mouth down to his for a chocolate-flavored kiss. His lips were warm and he smelled of the sun and the sea, and she couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful. The rather dazed look on his face when she pulled away was a close contender, though.
“That’s not a method I’ve heard of,” he rumbled. If she were to point out that he was swaying slightly on his feet, she was sure he would blame it on Hermann.
“Mmmh, and did you like it?”
“I liked it very much, but we’d better do it again to make sure I got it just right.”
He handed her the leash so he could pull her in for a kiss this time. Yes, she thought vaguely as his tongue rubbed against hers and chocolate met strawberry, Hermann was definitely pulling on his leash and making it difficult to stand still. A breeze danced up her legs under her skirt and she inadvertently pressed her thighs together as Jack kissed her with all he had, as if to make love to her with his lips and tongue alone.
When Phryne pulled away and rested her forehead against his, it was because she was well and truly out of breath, transported back to the first time he had kissed her after her return from London. They hadn’t known what they were to each other then, or what would become of them, so he’d used that kiss to convey the only thing he knew for certain—that he loved her.
And oh, how much had happened since then. What that love had become! Not only had he accepted that he was part of her family—he’d formed connections of his own, with Jane and Mac and even with Mr. Butler. When she’d returned from London, she never would have expected to walk in on her lover helping her daughter with her homework or having a baking competition at 9 a.m. with her butler, but those had become some of her favorite things about him and there was always cake in the house now.
Noticing her fond expression, Jack raised an eyebrow, but she shook her head. Come to think of it, they’d been standing there uninterrupted for an awfully long time. She gave the leash an experimental tug, and sure enough, Hermann came stumbling out of a hole that was probably half as big as Phryne by now and began running circles around their legs. Jack snorted.
Phryne licked her by now somewhat soggy ice cream and grinned back. “Shall we do something with Jane tomorrow?” she asked, surprised by the idea, but she had always been one for spontaneity so she just rolled with it.
He tilted his head in consideration. “I thought you wanted me all to yourself.”
“Well, yes, but you so rarely get the whole weekend off and I thought you might like to spend it with the three of us,” she purred, smoldering up at him through her lashes.
A quiet weekend with family was Jack’s definition of heaven, and she knew she’d won him over before he even opened his mouth. He did, though—several times, in fact, looking rather like a fond fish—before any words came out. She kissed him, feeling a well of emotion against his lips and tongue, and his eyes were bright and soft when she pulled back before Hermann could completely tie them together with his leash.
“Ah, so now you’re agreeing to include Hermann in your plans?” he teased, his mouth finally deciding that a grin that bespoke his genuine happiness was called for.
Her heart nearly bursting at the ease with which she could make such a suggestion now, she shrugged. “He has his moments. Let’s drop by Wardlow on the way back and ask Jane what she would like to do.”
She made to pull away, but he stopped her with a gentle hand around her upper arm. She looked at him questioningly.
“I’m not sure about that, Miss Fisher. I do recall you saying that you’re rather tired.” His voice was perfectly level, and that, more than anything, bespoke his quiet humor.
Oh, he could be rather cheeky if he wanted to be! She thrust the leash at him for his audacity and stalked off so he wouldn’t see her grin. Really, it was a good thing that she loved him. “Then we’d better hurry so you can put me to bed at a reasonable hour,” she called out over her shoulder when she was a few meters away, loud enough for anyone in their vicinity to hear her.
She cackled as Jack made a show of looking around the nearly deserted beach and pinched the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. “You’re not the one with the easily distracted massive dog,” he called back, and now a few people did turn to glance at them.
Let them look, Phryne thought. She was far too busy watching him jog towards her across the sand, Hermann easily keeping pace at his side. They looked beautiful together, athletic and happy, the sunlight catching the specks of gold in Jack’s hair. She ran a little faster ahead to prolong the moment, then stopped to watch him again and again.
Jack huffed and picked up the pace, meeting her easily and effortlessly. With a little laugh, she realized that they’d made it halfway across the beach without her noticing, her happiness propelling her ever onward. She had been close to giving up on today, thinking a quiet afternoon in would be the best she could hope for. Now, the rest of the weekend stretched out before her like a beach of golden sands and glittering waves. She threaded her arm through Jack’s, eager to discover where the tide would take her.
***
“Good afternoon, Miss Fisher, Inspector.” Mr. Butler nodded at each of them as he opened the door, but having noticed the third member of their party he didn’t bother to bid them enter. Phryne glanced knowingly at him as he turned back to her. “Did your luncheon at your aunt’s go well?”
“As well as can be expected, thank you.” Phryne smiled tightly, but with the way their beach jaunt had gone, she found the memory didn’t bother her as much anymore. When she turned her mind to the weekend ahead, her smile became genuine. “Tell me, Mr. Butler, is Jane home by any chance? We thought we might whisk her away for the weekend,” she said, reaching for Jack’s free hand and squeezing it companionably.
“I’m sure Miss Jane will be delighted,” her butler replied, not batting an eye at their open display of affection, though the twinkle in his eyes was impossible to miss. He really was a treasure, another member of their family she never wanted to do without. “The last I saw,” he said, “she was out back in the garden.”
“Marvelous, thank you! I think we'd better take the long way around.” She beamed before wrinkling her nose at Hermann, whose wet nose and legs had left more than a few damp spots on her and Jack’s clothes and who was pulling them towards the door to her beloved home more than a little menacingly in her opinion.
“Good idea,” Jack agreed, voice dry but his humor evident to those who knew him well, which included both her and Mr. Butler. She shared a fond look with the older man, and between that, Jack’s hand in hers, and well… Hermann as well, she supposed, she felt incredibly lucky.
“Shall I see about finding some chicken for Master Hermann while you talk to her?” Mr. Butler’s gaze traveled between her and Jack.
“That would be most helpful, thank you, Mr. B!”
Feeling rather overcome, Phryne let go of Jack’s hand and jogged up the few steps to her front door to press a smacking kiss on her butler’s cheek. Her hand on his shoulder, she pulled back to admire her handiwork—the red lipstick print stood out brightly as it caught the sun—before returning to her partner’s side, satisfied.
Mr. Butler closed the door with a chuckle, and Jack looked at her, amused, as they stood together on the little walkway. She shrugged happily, and, sliding her hand into the crook of his arm, began leading him and Hermann around the house and towards the garden.
Hermann pulled them along, having caught a whiff of another one of his favorite people and deeming even a second’s delay unbearable. Phryne and Jack, who were being carried on a similar wave of love that only being in the company of one’s loved ones could induce, found that they rather sympathized.
The garden was not large, but it was another way Jack had carved out a space for himself in her family. It had always been well-kept, Mr. Butler had made sure of that, but it had been Jack’s hard work and love that had made it flourish.
Amidst the shocks of vibrant blooms that marked the edges of the small space, Jane sat at the small table, a book open in front of her and several more piled high on the second chair. Phryne smiled, glad to see her daughter so at ease. That Phryne, Jack, and Mr. Butler had all contributed to making the garden what it was made it even better. She grasped Jack’s arm tighter, relishing in the scene. When several beats passed and Jane didn’t acknowledge them, however, Phryne clear her throat and, admittedly, delighted in watching her daughter jump.
Her head jerked up, glare firmly in place; her face brightened when she saw who had interrupted her.
“Oh, hello.” Jane looked at each of them, including Hermann, in turn. Then she blinked rapidly a few times, refocusing her eyes, and turned to Phryne. “How was your luncheon with Aunt P?”
Now it was Phryne’s turn to shoot her daughter a playful glare. “Why does everybody want to talk to me about my aunt?” Turning to press her face against Jack’s chest, she asked the question into the material of his light jumper.
Jack’s arm came around her and he kissed the top of her head, which made Jane giggle. Phryne’s heart warmed as she hugged him tighter, happy to be surrounded by her family on all sides.
“Utterly thrilling as always,” Jack answered Jane dryly over Phryne’s head. “I know. I was there.”
Jane giggled once more, and Phryne pulled back to look at her partner wonderingly. Jane had been their biggest supporter since Phryne had returned from England—well, one of them anyway; everyone had been so delighted to see their relationship progress that it would be impossible to pick just one. They’d never thought of keeping their relationship secret from her, exactly, unconventional though it was. But this degree of approval from their daughter meant the world and it felt miraculous to have earned it.
Phryne turned back to her daughter, who was grinning, her book still open on the table in front of her. “I’m so glad you’re both here,” Jane said, and Phryne could see that she meant it. “Can you let Hermann off the leash?” she added, looking up at Jack hopefully.
He chuckled. “Of course, if you’re up for some wet dog cuddles. We’ve just been to the foreshore,” he explained, unhooking the leash from Hermann’s collar as requested.
“And now you’re here,” Jane said with a smile, squeaking when the large dog came pounding towards her and threw himself against her legs.
As she watched them, Phryne wrapped her arm more tightly around Jack’s waist. “We are, and we may or may not have a hidden agenda. We’ve come to ask if you’re free tomorrow afternoon—provided your books can spare you that long,” she teased, watching the way Jane never let her books out of sight with amusement. By now, Hermann had hoisted his front legs onto Jane’s knees and was leaving wet paw prints all over her white skirt. It wasn’t Phryne’s idea of a good time, but her daughter looked delighted.
“Of course,” Jane replied excitedly. “What did you have in mind?”
Phryne smiled. “I believe that’s up to the guest of honor.”
“Though our other guest also has to be welcome,” Jack interjected from beside her; she felt another rush of warmth for this family he had played such a large part in creating.
The other guest in question wagged his tail as Jane scratched him under the chin, humming thoughtfully.
“Ah, yes, that does make things rather more difficult,” she said. She remained quiet for a moment in which Phryne and Jack stood holding each other around the waist, and Phryne knew they were both thinking about ways they could make this weekend special for their daughter. Jane perked up after a few heartbeats, though, and they both froze as if under a spell as they waited for her to break the tension.
“Oh, I know! How about we take Hermann to one of the nearby farms? One of my friends from school recently went with her younger brother, and they both loved it.”
Phryne nearly melted from the sweetness of that request. She’d secretly suspected that places that appealed to both teenage girls and overenthusiastic labradors would likely need to be invented first, but Jane was glowing with excitement. It occurred to her that at least a small sliver of that excitement was about getting to spend the day with her and Jack, and she had to fight the urge to press her face back into his chest to conceal her emotions.
“That would work, wouldn’t it?” She looked up at Jack, pushing the words past the lump in her throat.
He lightly squeezed her waist as if knowing exactly what she was feeling. “Yes,” he smiled, “I don’t see why it shouldn’t.”
“Good,” Phryne beamed, charmed by the slight blush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears.
She considered if she could get away with kissing him in front of Jane—he looked adorably boyish, his hair curling over his forehead and his skin glowing with health and happiness—but his mouth opened again before she could come to a decision.
“And, uh, Jane, my house Is always open to you if you would like to stay the night.”
Had she been asked, Phryne would have said she had seen close to every expression his features were capable of producing, had heard every tone of voice ever to come forth from his perfect lips, but she had never heard his voice as soft, nor seen his face as hopeful as it was in that moment. It was a different kind of softness than the one he reserved just for her, for lovemaking and sweet confessions whispered against parted lips. Her heart buzzed with happiness at seeing him this way and at the corresponding look of awe on Jane’s face. It was so reminiscent of how she herself had looked the first time he’d invited her into his home, into his life.
“Oh, do you really mean that?” Jane asked, her face gleaming and the hand that had been petting Hermann hovering uselessly by the dog’s head. He nosed and licked at it, trying to get her to resume petting him, but she remained frozen as she breathlessly awaited Jack’s response.
Taking pity on both her and Hermann, he said, “Mmmh, and your books are more than welcome as well even if Miss Fisher would tell you otherwise.”
Phryne snorted, Jane and Jack’s eyes blazing with fondness as they turned to smile at her. She allowed herself a moment to bask in their love as Jane turned her attention back to Jack and his monumental invitation.
“I’d be delighted!” she exclaimed, and Hermann got what he had been waiting for as her hand found his sun-warmed fur once more.
Before Phryne and Jack could use her momentary distraction to share more than a warm glance, the door to the kitchen opened and Mr. Butler appeared with a plate piled high with chicken scraps. Stepping away from Jack for the moment, Phryne shot her butler a wry look, which he responded to with a small chuckle.
Confused, Jack looked up as well, relaxing when he saw Mr. Butler approach with the plate. “Ah,” he said in understanding, “and there’s Mr. Butler with the chicken. That should keep Hermann busy while we work out the details.”
***
“Did you have a good day today?”
Phryne glanced in the rearview mirror and found her daughter engrossed in her latest book, completely ignoring Jack’s question. She shared an amused glance with her partner, who sat in the backseat with Jane and Hermann, having the most experience with the transportation of distractible four-legged passengers.
The road home lay before her mercifully straight and empty, and she found herself glancing back to look at her loves with surprising frequency. It helped that Hermann was fast asleep and shedding his beige fur all over Jack’s car rather than her beloved Hispano, and beyond that, both her human passengers looked happy and she couldn’t help the frisson of pride that overcame her. After all, it had been her idea to take the two of them away for the weekend.
When a few moments passed in which Jane didn’t acknowledge them at all, Jack looked up to shoot Phryne an amused glance only to find her staring at him with barely concealed adoration. He raised an eyebrow in question, and she blushed, the electric current in his gaze enough to make her skin break out in goosebumps. His eyes darkened in response, and she forced herself to stop looking at him, returning her eyes to the road. Home. They would be home soon, she reminded herself.
She wondered when she had started thinking of Jack’s bungalow this way, but it thrilled her that she did. That thought brought her back to Jane, who would be sleeping at said bungalow for the first time in just a few hours.
Phryne loudly cleared her throat, making Jane jump.
“Mmmh?” she glanced up at Jack as if only just registering his question, looking startled. “Oh, yes. It was wonderful, but I’m rather exhausted now and happy to be on the way home.”
She did look rather tired, Phryne thought and felt a rush of warmth hit her. Still, she could see Jane’s finger marking her spot on the page and knew she was dying to keep on reading. In the rearview mirror, Phryne saw Jack smiling as he too noticed the way she kept glancing down at her book. She appeared slightly disoriented, her mind refusing to leave the world Jack’s words had tried to pull her away from.
“Well, that’s a relief,” he was saying now, the smile that spoke of his own affection for Jane still firmly in place and making Phryne’s heart soar with its intensity. “I think there might be cake, and I would hate to see it go to waste.”
A distracted hum was her daughter’s only reaction, and Phryne glanced at her to confirm her suspicions. Phryne’s eyes met Jack’s, and she made no effort to keep her voice down as she purred, “I hope that isn’t your only plan for the night.”
There was no real intent behind it, but usually, that sort of comment would have been met with an overdramatic eye roll at the very least, perhaps even a fake gagging sound or two if their interactions had been particularly sweet and loving that day. After the way they’d kissed in the shadow of a large tree while Jane introduced Hermann to a pen of goats, Phryne rather thought they deserved it. Not that their kissing session had lasted long—they had both been too enamored with their daughter to do more than stand frozen watching the sweet interaction between girl and dog—but she couldn’t help but wonder at the book that had her so enthralled.
“Jack, darling,” Phryne began loudly, “do you think we ought to keep a closer eye on our daughter’s reading material?” She grinned at Jack, whose eyes twinkled at her in the mirror.
“Yes, I think that would be for the best.”
“What?” Jane looked up, frowning at each of them suspiciously as if she sensed that she was being talked about. Luckily, Phryne had the excuse of needing to focus on the road, which she made use of to look away and press her lips together to keep from laughing.
“Oh, you’d never do that,” Jane said definitively, and Phryne felt her mirth gentle into a current of love at the confidence in her tone, especially heartwarming in light of the uncertainty that had defined her past.
“What are you reading that has you so enthralled?” Jack asked curiously.
Phryne knew that he, too, was comparing the young woman beside him to the girl, fierce but terrified, who would never have found her way to them if not for his influence. He had begun to shape her family long before he’d recognized his own part in it, and she couldn’t help thinking that he too had become more secure in himself and his place in their lives in the time she’d known him.
The excitement in Jane’s sweet voice as she responded pulled her out of her thoughts, and Phryne realized with a small but not unwelcome start that she had been smiling to herself as she drove, happy to just bask in the sounds of her family being incorrigible bookworms together.
“It’s a ghost story,” Jane was eager to explain. “It’s about a girl who, while waiting for her beau to pick her up for a school dance, is killed by a hit-and-run. She still haunts the road where it happened, desperate to find her boyfriend.”
“Sounds fascinating,” Phryne said drily after a moment’s silence, leaning back and tapping her fingers lightly against the steering wheel as entire worlds of forests whizzed by outside the car, blurred like a watercolor painting. Jane might be growing up, but in some ways she was still very clearly a child.
Jane nodded. “I’m sure the two of you could find the killer,” she said confidently. “And the boyfriend.”
Jack, who at the description of the overdramatic story looked rather like he’d bitten into a lemon and was trying very hard not to let his confusion show, smiled at that. “Now there’s an idea for our next big case.”
Phryne tilted her head as she took a turn off the forest road and onto the smaller, winding one that would lead them back to the city. The landscape opened up and she could see that the darkness from before had not just been due to the trees—it was rapidly approaching evening. With the road getting more crowded, she could no longer glance back as frequently as before, but she could still feel the steadying presence of Jack’s gaze on her as she spoke.
“And how would we go about finding this tormented soul, Jane?” she asked, playing along.
“Oh, that’s easy—you don’t. She only appears when you’re about to die in a terrible car accident,” Jane said cheerfully, making Phryne and Jack snort in unison.
“Ah, it’s a good thing I’m driving then. Isn’t it, my loves?” Phryne asked, never looking back at them as she pointedly overtook another car, accelerating to fly down the now empty stretch of road before her.
At that, Jack barked out a laugh, the sound ringing out loud and clear in the quiet car. “Ask me again when we reach our destination, darling.”
Both Phryne and Jane burst out laughing. The car wasn’t quite so quiet after that, and neither was Phryne’s joyously beating heart.
***
They made it to Jack’s bungalow without incident, Jane assuring them of her excitement even if their run-in with any visitors from the underworld would have to wait. She practically sprinted up the front walk with Hermann in tow while Phryne and Jack unloaded the picnic supplies from the car, Phryne perhaps working a little slower than necessary if only to make Jane glare at her. Whatever Jane was imagining, the reality of Jack’s home was even better, and Phryne knew it would be worth the wait.
She had long since acquired her own key, but Phryne left it to Jack to unlock the door and show Jane in. She went straight through to the kitchen to dispose of the basket. Jack had left the living room door open, and she could hear Jane’s delighted gasp as she caught her first glimpse of the bookshelf that spanned the entirety of the back wall. There may or may not have been an element of trepidation involved in her decision to let Jane and Jack have their moment, but as his low laughter rang out in symphony with their daughter’s giggle, she couldn’t regret her choice to hang back. It was late, and wanting to grant them another moment of solitude, she went into Jack’s bedroom to remove her makeup and change into her pajamas.
As she pulled them out of Jack’s wardrobe, Phryne reflected on the day they’d had. They had gone to a farm and seen baby animals, and thinking back to Dot’s reaction to the vineyard, she made a mental note to take her companion there as soon as possible. Both Jack and Jane had seemed so happy to just be there as well, both with each other and with her, and had chatted about books but always made a point to include her in their conversations. Never in a million years would she have come up with this idea herself, but it had been wonderful. Her family was wonderful—unconventional and unique, which was exactly how she liked it.
Speaking of which, Phryne realized they had been unusually quiet for a while now. Hermann had gone after his favorite humans a while ago, so she was the last to arrive in the living room, slipping on Jack’s dark cotton robe over her peach silk pajamas as she went. Her slippered feet made no sound. Jack heard her, of course, he always did—but Jane didn’t look up as she entered. She was curled up in one of Jack’s large leather armchairs, once again engrossed in her questionable ghost story and mostly facing away from the door, a piece of cake balanced on her lap while two more sat on the coffee table.
Phryne paused. Jack silently tilted his head at her from the loveseat she’d purchased against his will, but which he hadn’t complained about once since the first time they had used it.
She raised a finger to her lips, vigorously shaking her head. He looked somewhat suspicious but didn’t seem inclined to draw attention to her, which was good. She carefully took another step forward, angling herself so she remained directly behind Jane as she approached. Jane turned a page and sank deeper into her armchair. In front of her on the lush carpet was Hermann, and Phryne watched with a smile as Jane stretched out her socked feet to rest them on the dog’s warm back. Then she plunged back into the world of her book as if she had never left it.
Phryne’s heart spiked with mischief; she recognized a golden opportunity when she saw one. Jack, who was holding his own book, was visibly trying not to look at her as she took the last few steps that would position her behind Jane’s chair. Then she leaned down so that her lips were directly beside Jane’s ear.
“Boo!”
Jane jumped. “Aaah! Ugh, what was that for?”
The look of absolute betrayal on her daughter’s face made Phryne laugh, and she bent down to drop a kiss on Jane’s forehead on her way to the second armchair. “I’m sorry, darling. It’s just that you looked so comfortable, and I couldn’t resist.”
“Hmph.” Jane continued to glare at her.
Grinning from ear to ear, Phryne flopped down into the chair and drew her knees up to her chest, amazed at how at ease Jane looked despite having only entered Jack’s house a few minutes ago. She was delighted to get to share this safe haven with her daughter, knowing that she too would always be welcome here.
A quiet wheezing sound coming from the loveseat pulled Phryne out of her musings. She blinked. Jack’s book lay forgotten on the loveseat as he shook with barely suppressed laughter, eyes tightly shut and a flush high on his beautiful cheeks. Not for the first time that day, she wondered just what she had done to deserve this man. What she felt for him in that moment was so intense, though, that she found herself not really caring about the answer.
“Jack, darling, are you quite alright?”
“Ah, yes, sorry. It’s just…” He glanced at Jane, his grin widening again. “You should have seen your face!”
This second burst of laughter was even stronger and more long-lasting than the first, and Phryne snorted as she turned her head to glance inconspicuously at Jane, only to find her daughter doing the same. Phryne rose from her chair, glad that she hadn’t made herself too comfortable, and held out a hand. “Come here, Jane. I think perhaps it would be best if we stayed close to keep an eye on him.”
Jane giggled and stood, and together they squeezed themselves onto either side of Jack on the loveseat. Phryne settled into his side automatically, resting her head against his shoulder and breathing him in. Jane just sat there, somewhat awkwardly, until Phryne gestured grandly at Jack and she took the hint and settled lightly against his side as well. Jack threw Phryne a bemused look, but her heart clenched pleasantly as he wrapped his arm around their daughter’s shoulder and lightly squeezed her.
Jane beamed. “Will you read to us from your book?” she requested, gesturing at the book lying open and forgotten on his lap.
“Yes,” Phryne chimed in, “I promise we’ll be good and not steal any of your cake.” She grinned, looking past him to the two plates of cake before them on the table.
Jack tilted his head at her, making Jane giggle. “Why would you when you’ve got your own piece right in front of you?”
Jane perked up at that. “Because yours tastes better, of course,” she said automatically, making Phryne’s heart sing with joy.
If she was already staking a claim on his food, Phryne had taught her daughter well and she must truly be comfortable at Jack’s bungalow. Jack, who was seeing this from the angle of ‘just what I need—two of them,’ shared none of her pride but ten times her exasperation. He grumbled, “I wonder where I’ve heard that one before.”
Phryne huffed. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Jack.”
“And I don’t recall mentioning any names, Miss Fisher.”
They’d unconsciously drifted closer to one another during their conversation, and happiness made her heart jump as she realized that they were practically nose to nose. Her hand had found its way onto his thigh, where her thumb was drawing circles onto the skin right above his knee. She could have leaned in and kissed him if it wasn’t for…
“You can cuddle, you know.”
The tension between them had been thick enough to cut, but the uncertainty in Jane’s tone made it dissipate within seconds. Both detectives turned to stare at her. Under the weight of their red-cheeked gazes, she rushed to explain.
“I wouldn’t mind, really, and I can tell that you want to,” she said, stumbling over her words in her hurry to get them out. “And besides, I’m not alone. I’ve got Hermann.”
Phryne and Jack looked at each other, exchanging startled glances that began, gradually, to soften. Jane’s mouth opened and closed as she searched for words. Phryne didn’t know what else she could possibly wish to say, and she turned slowly from her startled daughter to her equally startled-looking partner. Her heart clenched as she vowed to herself never to let either of them go.
“I think our daughter may be a little too clever for her own good, Jack,” she said quietly.
Jack took her hand from his knee and lightly squeezed it. “Mmmh, I wonder where she got it from,” he replied, his voice equally soft.
Jane squirmed a bit under their gazes, unused to such open shows of affection. They’d have to do something about that going forward, Phryne thought gleefully, beginning to make plans for their next family meeting in her head. For now, though, she would take pity on her.
“Well, if you insist, Jane,” she said brightly, tipping to the side to curl up in the small space between the arm of the loveseat and Jack’s warm body.
Jane shuffled closer to the other armrest to give them more room, but as if on cue, Hermann jumped up onto the loveseat and curled up in the little space she had just vacated. Phryne cackled but didn’t comment, and Jack, seeming to appreciate her restraint, leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. She hummed, content, rubbing her cheek lightly against his chest as she waited for him to pick up his book again.
“Alright,” Jack said, clearing his throat. “‘A sharp clip-clop of iron-shod hoofs deadened and died away, and clouds of yellow dust drifted from under the cottonwoods out over the sage…’”
Phryne and Jane groaned in unison at the first line of Riders of the Purple Sage. Phryne didn’t raise her head, though. She stayed just as she was, reveling in Jack and Jane’s laughter and the wonderful feeling of being home.