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Marcus goes very still beside me.

“Mr. Ash is your biological father,” I tell him softly.

Jamie’s eyes widen.

“Like…my real dad?”

“Like your dad,” Marcus says, his voice rougher than usual. “But nothing else changes. Your mom is still your mom. Brittany is still Brittany. Everybody you love is still here. I just get to love you too. If you want me to.”

Jamie stares at him.

Then he looks at me.

Then back at Marcus.

“Is that why I look like you?”

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it.

Marcus’s mouth twitches. “Yeah, buddy. That’s probably why.”

Jamie’s eyebrows pull together as another thought hits him.

“And my middle name is Ash.”

My mouth falls open.

Smart little shit.

“Yes,” I admit.

He nods like he has just solved a particularly difficult Scooby-Doo mystery.

Then he looks at Marcus again.

“So can I call you Dad?”

Marcus stops breathing.

I know because I stop breathing too.

“You can call me whatever you want,” Marcus says quietly.

Jamie doesn’t hesitate.

He launches himself across the rug and straight into Marcus’s arms.

“Dad!”

Marcus catches him and closes his eyes as he holds him. Tight.

And that’s it for me.

I start crying.

Marcus is definitely crying, even if he will deny it later.

Jamie pulls back and looks at both of us.