Page 81 of The Quirky Vet

Muir

"So…" Gramps lifts his fork with a twinkle in his eye. "I see that you and Fitz are still married."

I finish chewing my steak. "We are."

"And you two looked mighty cosy at his birthday party last week."

I arch a brow. "Cosy?"

"I was tossing up between cosy and head-over-heels in love, but I didn't want to push my luck."

I chuckle. "First time for everything, eh?"

He smiles warmly. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Jesus, mate. We're not here to fuck spiders, are you going to tell me what's going on with you two or not?"

"Oh, so you're fishing for info. I had no idea," I say dryly.

"The last time we properly spoke about things was right after you got back from the Goldie. You weren't sure about your feelings, and you hadn't done anything physical. That seems as good a place as any to start."

"Oh, gee. Thanks." The old man smiles, and even though he's prying, I don't really mind. To his credit, he has backed off these past few months and let me figure things out on my own. He cares, so I suppose it's only natural that he's curious about where things stand with Fitz and me.

I put my knife and fork down. "Like you said, we are still married, and things have…progressed."

"I see." He steeples his hands, fingertips pressed together, as he pauses to think. "Things like kisses?"

"Amongst other things." That's all he's getting from me about the physical intimacy front because as much as I love him, boundaries are a necessary thing. "And feelings. We both have feelings for each other. Strongfeelings."

"Are you in love with him?" he asks, not beating around the bush.

I swallow, but the answer is dancing on the tip of my tongue, just waiting to be spoken. "Yes."

Gramps doesn't flinch, doesn't blink, doesn't miss a beat. "And is he in love with you?"

"I'm pretty sure he is, yeah."

"So you two are likely to stay married, then?"

"I don't know, Gramps. We haven't talked about it."

"Have you told him about my will?"

I nod. "I have. But that's not a reason to stay married."

Gramps falls silent, and I don't know what else to say. Even though Fitz and I are totally doing this backwards—getting married first and then falling in love—there is a certain logic to staying married. But I don't want to get Gramps's hopes up, and I definitely don't want Fitz to feel under pressure to stay married. It's a thin and complicated line I'm walking here.

"What are you thinking about?" Gramps asks.

"Everything that's going on." I tuck into my food again. "It's a lot, and I don't want to mess anything up."

"You won't. You're both good blokes. That's half the battle won already. Do you have any idea how many shitheads there are in the world?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I don't know how you kids do it with all the apps. How can you find love on a phone? Anyway…" He shakes his head and pulls himself back on track. "Just keep talking, and don't overthink things too much. Life is as simple or as complicated as you want to make it, Muir."