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His throat bobs. He opens his mouth, but closes it tightly and says nothing.
I see him struggling and I immediately switch into fix-it mode. “Thank you for your help, Mr. Bolton. We’ll discuss our next steps given the information that’s come to light.”
He nods, his eyes sweeping to the picture frame on his desk. It’s of him and his family. He’s got his arm around a woman and he’s wearing a smile on his face—which is shocking enough—but next to a little blonde son who looks exactly like him is a dark-skinned little girl.
Clay Bolton speaks in a hoarse voice. “Losing a loved one is tough. I hope things work out for you.”
“Thanks,” Adam responds.
I slide Bolton my card. “In the future, if you can’t reach Adam, you can contact me. I’ll get the message to him.”
“Sure.”
Adam stumbles out of Clay Bolton’s office, still looking dazed.
“Adam,” I call in a worried voice. “Are you okay enough to drive?”
“She’s not a loved one,” he says faintly.
“What?”
“I never loved Alexa.”
My eyebrows knit together.
“How am I supposed to explain this to Rowan?” Adam breathes hard. “How am I supposed to tell him his mom is dying? She’s the woman I knocked up eleven years ago, but she’s his mom. She’s all he’s ever known.”
“Hey,hey.” I cup his chin until he looks at me.
His brown eyes find mine. He looks like a drowning man and I wish I could take the burden off his shoulders and latch it squarely onto mine.
“I know how much your heart is hurting for Rowan. I know this isn’t the outcome you were hoping for, but we have a brilliant, talented eleven-year-old boy whose world is about to change. As much as it hurts, you have to make some decisions now.”
He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. Taking my hand in his, he squeezes. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that you’re on my side?”
One half of my mouth lifts up and I want to kiss him, even if this is the absolute worst time to feel that urge—given he just found out that his old fling is dying and he has to either tell his son and risk breaking his heart or keep it a secret and risk Rowan’s anger.
“What do you want to do?” I prod.
“I think we should tell him.”
“Then we’ll do that.”
“Tonight.”
“Alright.” I agree.
He arches a brow and gives me a vulnerable look. “You’ll be there with me, right? You’re better with words.”
“And you’re better with people.” I bump his shoulder. “You have a big heart, Adam. Right now, I don’t think Rowan needs my version of the cold, hard truth. I think he needs your humanity.”
“We’ll see,” Adam says, a nervous tick in his jaw.
“Either way, I’ll be right beside you.” I check my watch. “We should pick up Rowan from Dejonae and Sazuki’s now.”
Adam stops me before I walk away. He cups my cheeks, turns my face to his and kisses me softly. It’s a light, gentle,I love youkiss. I feel it even though he hasn’t said the words.
“Alright,” he sets his face to the horizon, “nowwe can go.”
