“How do we make this work? I mean, practically speaking.”
“It won’t be easy at first,” he admits, his expression serious. “I can’t leave L.A. right now. My partner Matthaios has been spending half his time between Greece and New York lately, which means I’m handling most of our major clients alone.”
I raise an eyebrow, curious. “What’s keeping him away so much?”
Ethan’s mouth quirks into a smile. “It’s quite a story, actually. He dated this woman and stole her father’s company out of revenge. When she found out, she left him. He hasn’t seen or heard from her since. He’s been searching for her for months, like a man possessed.”
“So you need to be there.”
“For now, yes. But we could make it work with visits until we figure out something more permanent. I could fly to Atlanta on weekends.”
I consider this, imagining the strain of a long-distance relationship while trying to give Axel stability. The thought of being separated from Ethan again, even temporarily, sends a cold wave of panic through me.
“What if...” I start, then pause, gathering my courage. “What if I looked for a library position in L.A.?”
Ethan goes completely still beneath me. “You’d move across the country?”
“Yeah.” I trace my finger along his collarbone, suddenly nervous. “Libraries exist everywhere, and L.A. must need librarians. I could start applying right away.”
“But your position in Atlanta. You’re the head librarian. You’d be giving up everything.”
I shake my head. “Not everything. I’d be gaining us. Besides, I’m good at what I do, Ethan. I could work my way up again.”
His arms tighten around me. “You know, you don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to.” His voice is tentative, almost shy. “Our company’s done well. Really well. I’m worth... well, several hundred million these days.”
I pull back. “That’s... that’s beyond anything I can comprehend.”
He nods, looking almost embarrassed. “Information security turned out to be lucrative. We developed a proprietary system that most major corporations now use. What I’m saying is, if you wanted to take time off, or do something different, or just focus on our family, you could. We’d be more than fine.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, though I know I would take him up on the offer for the next few months at least while Axel adjusts.
“I’ll do everything I can to make the transition easier,” he murmurs. “My main residence has five bedrooms. Plenty of space for all of us. And L.A. has some amazing private schools.”
“By the way, the social worker called yesterday. She found a foster family for Axel. They offered to pick him up tonight. Well, last night now.”
Ethan’s body tenses. “What? No. Absolutely not.”
“I already told her no,” I assure him, placing my palm against his chest. “I told her we were both interested in obtaining guardianship.”
“Good.” His voice is fierce, protective. “My son isn’t going into the system. He’s been through enough.”
“Our son,” I correct, watching his expression soften. “We’ll raise him together.”
“Our son,” he repeats. “Cassidy, what’s in Britney’s journal... do we tell him someday? About how he came to be?”
I’d been wondering the same thing. How do you explain to a child that his mother drugged and assaulted his father?
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe when he’s older. He deserves the truth, but he also deserves to be protected from it for now.”
“And how do I explain why I wasn’t in his life?” Ethan’s voice is tight with guilt. “I should have done more. Should have fought harder.”
“We tell him that adults make mistakes. That sometimes the world is complicated.” I smooth my hand over his chest. “But mostly, we’ll show him through our actions that he’s loved, wanted and belongs with us.”
Ethan’s hand catches mine, bringing it to his lips. “When did you get so wise?”
“Somewhere between losing everything and finding it again,” I tell him. “Besides, children can be resilient when given love, consistency and stability.”
“Then that’s what we’ll give him,” Ethan says. “Starting today.”
