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The door opened relatively quickly, a good sign Ric thought, but instead of meeting Tessa for a chat he was face to face with a very large dog who looked none too pleased at his presence. The door shut, leaving him with the dog and a shopping bag in hand with a yarn-haired doll inside. “Oh, that’s mature,” he said loud enough that Tessa hopefully could hear him through the door. “Come on, Sugar. You can’t leave me out here all night.” The dog’s growls raised in volume as Alaric spoke, and he eyed the dog carefully as he took a step backwards. “Call the damn dog off.” In a more soothing tone, he spoke to the dog, “good doggy. We’re all good, aren’t we?” The dog growled again, letting him know they were not all good.

No maths equation had ever come together in Alaric’s head faster than the one Tessa laid out for him. He stared at the back of her head as Tessa turned and walked back into her flat, leaving the door open. For what? In case he wanted to come in and play daddy to a kid he didn’t know existed until a few weeks ago? A kid he wasn’t even sure was actually his? She was off her rocker if she thought he would just swoop in and act the perfect father the second she finally got around to telling him about his own damn kid. Nearly two years old! Two years and she never once came after him. By the time Tessa turned around from the fridge, Alaric would be gone. He made no sounds as he slipped out, down the stairs and disappeared through the crowd in the pub below.

No new man? Alaric’s smile changed ever so slightly into something more seductive. “I can’t imagine the fool who would leave you,” he replied, eyebrows raising in her direction. He could handle a baby. Sure. He’d come to her looking for adventure, to shake up his mundane life a bit, and her having a kid with some absent bloke didn’t need to get in the way of his plans. “So, are you gonna invite me in, or are we setting up camp in the doorframe?”

Footsteps grew louder as someone approached the other side of the door and Alaric dropped his hand, knowing he had no need to knock a second time. He wasn’t sure whether he was expecting Tessa not to answer the door to him or for her to just open it a bit more calmly than she had, but regardless of what he had been expecting, Tessa’s rushed appearance at the door and scolding him because the baby was sleeping made him chuckle. “Well, hello to you, too, Sweetness. Am I interrupting?” He gave her a charming smile, still leaning against her doorframe with no intention of moving until he was good and ready.

Alaric sipped his beer as he waited for an explanation that never came. Tessa got dewy eyed and ran off, leaving Ric dumbstruck at what the hell had just happened. She was nearly out the door by the time he managed “was it something I said?” and then he looked around the room as if for confirmation that he had in fact been an arsehole. All he got in the way of an answer was Tessa’s dog coming up and snatching up the kid’s toy and trotting off after the pair, leaving Alaric to sit alone with a half empty beer and no bloody clue what he had just been part of.

Azzy gave him some sass and Alaric smiled. He had been expecting it from the moment her eyes hardened upon recognizing him. None of Tessa’s family fancied having anything to do with him, but he wasn’t here for her family. “Lucky for me, then, that it’s not your pub to kick me out of.” He gave a charming smile but his eyes narrowed at he stared at her while taking a long sip of his beer. “Ahhh,” he finished, eyes still locked with Azrielle’s as he set the bottle back on the bar and made absolutely no movement to signal he was ready to leave.

"I wouldn't dream of it, sweetness." Their conversation was certainly headed in the right direction, however it came to a screeching halt when Tess’ little sister arrived. Azrielle, along with the rest of Tess’ family, never really cared for Alaric. They had good reason not to, but it still felt unjust somehow. He would have to dial up the charm with a dazzling smile Azzy would absolutely loathe. “Well if it isn’t little Azzy Abbott. All grown up.” Alaric turned toward the woman who carried a baby on her hip. The last time he could remember seeing Azreille she had been just a kid. It looked now as though she had one of her own. “You’ve been a right bit busy, it seems.” Fuck, Tess owning a business and her kid sister having a family? They really were getting old.