“I’ll sit here,” he said without preamble. I laughed. King stared at him, a mixture of amused and perplexed. This was typical Oliver behaviour, though; he befriended quickly. I shrugged and took the seat beside King as our son sat on his lap, happily eating away at his candy floss like he hadn’t a care in the world.

I looked at King then and whispered, “You okay?”

He swallowed and blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

I smiled and shot a glance in Oliver’s direction as he watched a few stage hands set up the props for the start of the show. “I think he’s decided you’re both going to be friends. Not sure you get a say in the matter. Sorry.”

King laughed gently. “That’s fine by me.”

“Thank you for being so cool about this,” I went on, voice soft.

“Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve fully comprehended what’s happening yet.”

His bemused tone made me chuckle, because I completely got where he was coming from. If I had been in King’s shoes right then, I’d probably be freaking the hell out.

Oliver twisted in his lap and practically shoved the candy floss in King’s face. “Want some?”

“Uh, sure,” he said, and picked off a piece.

“Oh, yeah, don’t bother to offer me any,” I mock-complained, and then the candy floss was being shoved in my face. I picked off a larger piece.

“Don’t eat it all,” Oliver whined before looking to King. “She always eats it all.”

King chuckled, his eyes alight and fascinated by every little thing that came out of Oliver’s mouth. A second later, the lights were dimmed and the start of the show was being announced. It turned out that Marina was the ringmaster, and she walked out wearing a long red coat and a top hat. Her capuchin monkey sat on her shoulder, and, just as I’d imagined when I first saw it, Oliver almost lost his shit.

“She has a monkey! Look, Mummy, she has a monkey!” He bounced on King’s lap, who bent down to tell him,

“That’s my sister Marina. Her monkey’s name is Pierre.”

Oliver looked up at him, a massive grin on his face and bits of pink candy floss stuck to his cheeks. “Can I meet him?”

King smiled at him, and again it made my heart go whoosh. “I’m sure I can arrange it.”

“You’re the best,” Oliver declared, and without warning reached up and threw his little arms around King’s neck for a hug. He seemed startled at first, but then his eyes came to mine and I saw the emotion in them. He squeezed him back, and somehow I knew in that moment that everything was going to be all right. I had to look away for a second and clear my throat to keep from getting all weepy.

The show began with Marina announcing the elephants.

“That’s the one I got to pet,” Oliver shouted, pointing to one of the large creatures.

He was mesmerised by the entire show, in particular Jay’s part, which even had my jaw hanging open in slack-jawed amazement. After Jay came Jack, but Oliver didn’t like this bit so much. In fact, all the fire frightened him, and he turned in King’s lap, shoving his face into his chest because he didn’t want to watch. King startled, hands in the air like he didn’t know what to do. I gave him an encouraging look and gestured to his hands. Finally he got the hint and wrapped his arms around Oliver as though protecting him from what scared him.

Unlike my son, I wasn’t scared by Jack’s act at all. On the contrary, I was a smidge titillated, especially since the man wore jeans and no shirt. I caught King shooting me an arch look, so I shrugged and mouthed a what? at him. He only grinned and shook his head, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous. The thought made me oddly giddy.

During the intermission, Oliver was a chatty cat, as per usual. And he was more than fascinated by King.

“Why have you got long hair?”

King gave me a devious smile before replying, “Your mum likes it like this.”

Oliver turned to me, all inquisitive. “Why do you like his hair long, Mummy?”

I shot King an annoyed scowl, trying not to smile back, but my effort was useless. “Because it’s pretty and blond just like yours.”

By the look on his face, he didn’t like the sound of that. “I’m a boy. I’m not pretty. I’m handsome.”

His response made me laugh, and I was staring at King when I answered, “Sometimes boys can be pretty and handsome.”

“Granny Elaine tells me I’m handsome all the time,” Oliver preened.

A pained look crossed King’s face at the mention of his mother, and I knew exactly what I had left to do. I had to get him to go see her. The show came to an end, and Oliver wouldn’t hear a word about going home until he’d gotten to meet the monkey. King led us backstage, and Marina was more than happy to introduce Oliver to her furry companion. I even saw a bit of a shine in her eyes as she took in my boy. She kept looking between him and King, noting the similarities. I thought she might well up at one point, but she managed to hold it together.

“Do you want to come home with us for dinner?” I asked King quietly as Oliver giggled excitedly while Pierre stuck his monkey hands in my son’s shirt and trouser pockets, searching for loot.

King breathed deeply, standing close enough for me to feel his breath hit my skin. “Yes, I’d like that, Alexis.”

There was something intense in the way he said my name. It caused the tiny hairs on my arms to stand on end and my breathing to turn shallow. I started remembering our kiss from the night before, his tongue hot and wet in my mouth and his cock hard and ready in his pants. I blinked and looked away, trying to clear the images. I had no business thinking those sorts of thoughts right then.