Awkward.
“As it turns out, Gina’s been volunteering with women’s and children’s organizations for decades. She’s long had fantasies of being able to take out the people who harm the population she serves. She’s turned everything over to me with her blessing and only asked that we keep her children out of it.” Hedy laughs. “Including her fantasy list of assholes.”
The fathers all collectively let out a relieved breath, which tells me how important that detail actually is. The bottom line is Hedy’s dad told the truth for once, Whitaker’s dead, Gina wantsin, the organization isn’t imploding, and everyone deeply regrets not doing this five years ago.
It’s…a lot. But for the first time in days, the air feels lighter.
The elevator dings one more time, and I don’t know if my heart can take it.
Thankfully, Hopper and Liam step into the living room. After Oakley makes sure they get biscuits and coffee, they make their way next to Boone and me.
Hopper, unable to help himself, wraps an arm around Boone’s waist, placing his head on Boone’s shoulder. Given the looks I’m getting, I check in with them.
“Are you two okay to let everyone know?”
Boone nods, and we agree he should be the one to tell the story.
Since he and his mom haven’t talked about her work with Luca, he carefully explains that Hopper and his mother slept together and that he is the result. The room turns to Hopper, and he’s got the biggest smile, with tears rolling down his cheeks.
“I have a son.”
Everyone cries. The uncles offer fatherly advice. The cousins welcome Boone with wildly inappropriate jokes about how we’re thankfully not related. Rami remarks that this must be why Boone is both hot and artistic, and I tell him to fuck right off. Everyone throws their name at Boone and I’m not surprised that he remembers each and every one.
In this moment, watching my family fold him in without hesitation, something unclenches in my ribcage. He chose me long before this. But now my family chooses him too.
We end the gathering with a collective agreement:
The secrets did more harm than good.
Boone is officially family.
I am deeply loved. Loudly, stubbornly, maybe even too much sometimes.
And, somehow, despite everything, we still have reasons to celebrate.
“Steaks?” Hopper suggests, wiping his eyes.
“Steaks,” I say, slipping my hand into Boone’s.
And just like that, everything slides into place.
34
BOONE
I standon the tarmac with Hopper and Maverick, heart in my throat as the private jet carrying my parents touches down.
The call I had with my mother was one of the most difficult in my life. She was embarrassed to find out that I learned her secret, though I was quick to assure her that it didn’t change the way I felt about her or myself.
Life doesn’t exactly give you time to process, though, and PTO is forever running short, so I let Liam handle the flight arrangements and accompany my parents without me. Thankfully, Hopper doesn’t like to fly all that much, so I didn’t have to explain to him that he might be a little much to handle in the confines of a small jet.
Hopper thought it was silly of me to worry about PTO since the Whitaker operation made me independently wealthy, and I’ve been cut into the family trust, more or less against my will.
The money is already proving to be a pain in the ass because, as Liam warned me, if I wanna keep my job, I need to make sure the department doesn’t find out about my wealth.
By the way? Supremely weird to say the words, “my wealth.” The only reason I said yes is because now Mom and Dad won’t have to worry about their retirement.
I did tell Joni, mostly because I’d feel weird if I didn’t. She agreed I should keep it to myself, then read me the riot act when I tried to top off her retirement accounts.
