Some life sparked in his eyes at the mention of food. “Burgers. Yes. Starving.”
I chuckled. “We’re down to one-word responses, huh? Alright, I thought this would only happen once you became a teenager, but I’ve heard kids these days start everything early.”
Burgers at the little joint between the rink and their neighborhood, the same place where I’d asked if I could marry his mom, was our after-practice ritual. Just the two of us.
Once we were there, we placed our identical orders and grabbed the same booth next to the window where we had sat that day. Brody rested his cheek in his open palm, his elbow propped on the table.
His eyelashes were fluttering like he was about to doze off, but as soon as the burger was set down in front of him, hestraightened up and tore into it with a gusto not even I could parallel. In between bites, he took sips of his chocolate shake and it was like I could slowly see the energy returning to his body. I didn’t speak while he ate, just giving him time to recover.
While he chewed, I devoured my own food, but I also couldn’t help just staring at him. It had been weeks now, but I still found myself marveling over little things, like the exact curve of his chin or how his hair stuck up slightly in the back no matter what Maisie did with it.
My son.
We hadn’t come up with a way to tell him just yet, but the words pressed against my teeth, sitting heavily right at the tip of my tongue. I’d come so close so many times. Since he was only seven, I doubted he would really understand much of it yet, but right now, he still thought hisreal dadhadn’t wanted him.
It was becoming harder by the day to live with that knowledge. I couldn’t stand it. It was the one blight on the otherwise perfect life we were all building together.
The urge to say it had never been quite as strong as it was in this moment. I was sure it would be even stronger tomorrow, but I suddenly found myself wondering why I was waiting. What I was waiting for.
There would never be a better time than right now. Hell, there wouldn’t have been a better time than immediately after the wedding. As soon as the dust had settled.
“I’m your real dad,” I said before I could stop myself, looking right into his eyes as my heart start pounding. “Did you know that?”
Brody didn’t even blink. He just took another bite of his burger, chewed, swallowed, and shrugged. “Yeah.”
“Yeah?” I repeated like an idiot. My heart stopped for a short beat.
“Uh-huh.” He reached for a fry and dunked it in some ketchup, sending me a sheepish smile. “I overheard Sadie talking to Jameson about it in Scotland, but I know I shouldn’t eavesdrop, so I pretended I hadn’t.”
I blinked hard, completely taken aback, but he wasn’t even done yet. “Besides, everyone knows anyway. We look exactly alike, so I kind of figured.”
He chomped happily on his fries as I sat there, completely floored. It felt like my entire world had just shifted on its axis and Brody was just… fine.
Finally, I leaned back in my chair and laughed. Brody grinned, pumping his eyebrows before he picked up his shake. “Kids aren’t stupid.”
“No.” I chuckled, my head shaking. “No, you certainly are not.”
In a state of complete disbelief, I finished my burger like a major bomb hadn’t just detonated in my life.Fuck, how was that so easy? I should’ve done this weeks ago.
On the other hand, I kind of liked how it had happened this afternoon. Brody was a cool kid.
Just like his dad.At least, I think so.
Once we were finished eating and on our way back to my car, he looked up at me. I could see nerves shimmering in his eyes and I frowned, but before I could ask, he was talking. “Was it ever true that you didn’t want me?”
I shook my head, moving in front of him and sinking to my haunches right there in the parking lot. The sun was setting fast and streetlights were blinking on, but I held his gaze directly, needing to get this right.
“There is no universe in which I don’t want you, Brody. Things were just a little complicated between Mom and I for a while, but I’m here now and I’m never going anywhere ever again.”
He stared at me silently for a beat, then grinned and tossed his arms around my neck in a rare display of exuberant affection. “I knew it. I knew it wasn’t true. Can I call youDaddynow?”
Something really hot put pressure at the backs of my eyes. I nodded, holding him tight against me. “Please do. I would love that.”
Brody laughed as he pulled away from me. Glancing at me over his shoulder after opening the back door of the car, he said, “Okay,Daddy.”
If my heart hadn’t belonged to this kid and his mom already, I would have shoved it into his hands without a second thought the moment he said that word. What was more was that we got to go back to our own little slice of paradise together now.
Maisie’s house.
