The question hung in the air between us. I didn’t have an answer.
“Jessa was enough,” I said finally. Voice rough. “And I still fucked it up.”
“Yep. You did. Be sure to thank Dad for that one.” Atlas said nothing more, only refilled my glass before retreating to one of my guest bedrooms.
Alone in the dark penthouse for another hour, replaying Atlas’s theories about Dad, and half the bottle now gone, the truth I’d been running from for weeks finally struck me.
I loved Jessa. And she was pregnant with a child we made together one fantastic night in Holly Creek. Our baby…
Somewhere between the first night we met, the night she walked into the lake house, and the moment she walked out of here, I’d fallen completely in love with her.
It wasn’t about the contract or the image or having someone to help with Theo. It was her laughter. The way she made up bedtime stories for Theo. How she looked at me like I was more than just a bank account with a pulse.
The way her body made me feel alive again.
I’d been so busy protecting my heart, so determined not to get hurt again, that I hadn’t realized what was happening until it was too late.
Fear had held me back from loving Jessa after losing Elsa long ago.
But how long was I going to let fear be in control of my heart?
How long was I going to let it cost me everything that mattered?
Chapter Twenty-Four
PASTA POCKET
Griffin
The next morning,I drove Theo to school myself instead of Brock.
My angry little boy sat in the passenger seat staring out the window. Silent, as he’d been giving me the cold shoulder for days now, existing in the same space like I was a stranger.
I gripped the steering wheel, trying to find the right words.
“Theo,” I said finally. “I need to talk to you about something.”
No response.
“I know you’re angry with me. I know you miss Jessa. And I—” My throat tightened. I swallowed a lump. “I messed things up with her really badly.”
He didn’t respond. Didn’t even turn his head.
I pulled up in front of the school. Put the car in park.
“I don’t know if I can fix it. But if it would make you happy, I’m going to try to bring her back.” For Theo’s sake, I needed to. For mine…?
Theo’s hand was on the door handle. For a long moment, he didn’t move. A rude mom honked her horn behind us.
Then he turned and threw his arms around me.
He didn’t say a word. His small body pressed against mine, his face buried in my shoulder. He shook and the wetness of tears fell against my neck. Hot tears came to my eyes, too. Something I hadn’t felt since the day Elsa left us.
“I love you, buddy,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
He squeezed tighter for one more moment. Then he pulled away, grabbed his backpack, and ran into the school without looking back.
As I drove off, I lost it. I choked up. Tears in my eyes blurred the road so much I had to pull over. I sat there in the car for a long time trying to remember how to breathe. I fought for control but it was useless.
