“Our life has gotten better since we met you,” I admit, fighting back the tears when I extract my hand and leave the warmth of Eli’s. “I don’t know how else to explain it. But I’m grateful for you. And I’m always thankful for my little boy back there who ate three pieces of pumpkin pie.”
Aiden giggles. “But it was so good.”
“I agree, buddy. I’m grateful for pie, oh yes, I love eating pie,” Eli wiggles his brows my way. With a shake of my head and a sly smile, I leave the loaded comment there, gazing out at the road ahead of us, hoping nothing ever tears us apart.
Once we’re backat Eli’s Boulder house, he and Aiden take Zammie for a walk. I heat up some water for tea and click my phone back on. I don’t even bother with the ones from Jerrod, but there are a few from Mom. She sent photos of herself holding a tropical drink by the pool with her new tan and her eyes bright, the bags under them not as deep as usual.
A second chance at life looks good on her and is exactly what she needed. Eli gave that to her, freeing her from the financial burdens.
I take advantage of the minutes ticking by to throw in a load of laundry and wander through the great room to declutter from the past week. This home suits my style much more than the mansion. Set up perfectly for a family, there’s a great room and kitchen designed with an open floor plan.
The home is split with a master suite on one side and four bedrooms and two more baths on the other. It could use a woman’s touch in terms of furniture and decorating, and I haven’t wanted to push, but I could see it clearly for what it could become—a cozy family home.
It’s strange the different paths our lives took since college. Eli’s a path of notoriety and fortune. Mine a path of struggles and challenges. Deep down, we’re still the same two people who connected long ago; I see it in the way he looks at me, feel it in his touches, how he stirs my soul awake. The question is, can we really find a way forward through it all, combining our worlds into one?
They return and give Zammie treats. Eventually, I get Aiden to take a bath. Eli talks on the phone with Renae. I unpack a few more boxes of our things around the house, and catch bits of their conversation about selling cars, maybe even his Denver mansion, and investing the money. He’s actually following through, pairing down his luxuries. Life moves fast in his world.
When Aiden settles in bed, he calls for us both to come say goodnight. Eli’s hand on the small of my back guides me down the hall, like we’re parents sending him off to dreamland. If only things had been different, we could have been parents doing this for years with our own children. But we’re here. Can’t change it.
We enter his room, and the sight of him puts me off-center for a moment. With Nuk the polar bear, a gift from Jerrod, tucked under one arm, and Aspen the team mascot, a gift from Eli, tucked under the other, he’s surrounded by love. Too bad inreal life there’s animosity between the men who gave him these toys.
The bed dips when I sit on it, and Eli comes to stand by my side. Zammie jumps up, turns in circles three times, and then settles in his new favorite spot at the foot of the bed.
“It was a busy day. Time to rest. Tomorrow I’ll be at the shop all day for the holiday sale we’re having. Eli will drop you off when he goes into Denver for practice.” I tuck the covers in under my son’s chin.
“I’ll be making chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, but only if you help me, so please say you will,” Eli begs.
“Of course,” my sweet little boy cracks up. The giggles subside, and then he’s serious for about a minute. “Mom, Eli… we need to talk.”
We share a bemused glance.
“Look, I know you two make googly eyes at each other.” He shakes a finger at us with a stern attempt at his approach. “I’m old enough to realize that Dad has remarried, so I’m okay if you and Coach Eli kiss and hug. And it’s okay with me if you get married, too. If you want to. I mean, Mom, you already said to Grandma that he’s sex on a stick, whatever that means. ”
My cheeks must burn through five shades of pink. He takes me by storm with this, and I’m speechless. I thought we were being careful not to show any affection or talk about “us” in front of him, waiting to see what develops before clueing him in. But leave it to my smart kid to be more intuitive than we think.
Eli clears his throat and breaks the silence first, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Aiden, you have such a special mother, and yes, I want to kiss her—a lot. But you need to know how muchyou’reloved. We will always put you first. I’d like nothing more than to be there for you and your mom, all the time, and to have more days like today where we can be together. Like a family.”
“I’d like that, too.” He yawns, holding up a tired limb to fist bump with Eli one more time.
“I love you so much, buddy,” I croak; it’s all I can say, filling with emotion. I plant a goodnight kiss on his cheek.
“Goodnight.” Eli takes my hand and guides me out. We barely close the door before the tears rain down my cheeks and I swipe them away.
He moves to hold me, but I put up a hand on his chest, needing a moment. I escape to the kitchen. I clutch the counter to steady me, gulping in breaths, shoulders shaking. While heating water for tea, my mind reels from Aiden’s big boy approach. Does he understand what it would mean to let Eli become a permanent part of our family? To rewrite the shape of his life—and mine?
I calm down enough, cleaning my face, and eventually make the tea. Eli has a fire started when I return to the living room. I settle in at his side on the couch, cozy in his warmth. His arm lands behind me, grazing my shoulder with his fingertips.
He chuckles. “Aiden gave us permission. How about that? Only I thought you’d be happier about it. Are you okay?” His kind eyes search my face for clues.
I nod and watch the flames flicker, resting, sipping tea, and not ready to say a word yet. I replay the day in my mind. Eli and I are closer than ever now; Aiden is closer, too, giving us permission to be together. If only Jerrod wasn’t in the picture with all his threats to take Aiden away from me. But he is; he’s not going away, and it’s something Eli and I need to deal with.
“You know how you want me to let you in and tell you everything? There is something more,” I finally admit, setting my cup on the coffee table. The fear takes root of having a boyfriend—who might become more someday—who may not always get along with my ex, the father of my son.
He tightens his arm around me, his blue eyes imploring. “Whatever it is, I can handle it, as long as we’re together.”
In the safety of his arms, trusting at last, I tell him about Jerrod flying out for the birthday party. Next, I show him the texts on my phone from today at the game.
“Goddammit,” he mutters under his breath, reading through about a dozen of them, all threatening to take me back to court for full custody—if I don’t leave Eli behind.
