My heart stutters.
“I want to fill them,” he says softly behind me. “Together.”
“Tuck…” I whisper, turning back to him. “I want that too.”
He exhales like the words knock something loose inside him. “Ben wasn’t my biological son,” he begins, his voice quieter now, more fragile. “But he was my son in every way that mattered.”
I frown slightly, tilting my head. “Tuck…”
“I lived with his mom. We built something…or I thought we did. But she didn’t like the travel. The distance. The uncertainty.” His jaw tightens. “So one day, she left. Took him with her. She told me I failed them,” he continues. “That showing up sometimes wasn’t enough. That I’d ruin him if I kept coming in and out of his life.” His voice cracks. “She said that there was no coming back from that.”
“Ruin him?” I echo, but the confusion fades quickly, replaced with something deeper—understanding. Everything about him suddenly makes sense. The fear. The distance. The way he held back…even when he didn’t want to.
“Tuck,” I murmur, reaching for him, my hand settling against his arm. “I’m so sorry. That must have destroyed you.”
“It did.”
Heavy silence stretches between us for a moment. “My boys…” I start.
“Yeah,” he says, meeting my eyes.
We don’t need to say it. We both know. He was terrified. And he loved us anyway.
“Loving you all scared the hell out of me,” he admits, taking my hand in his. “But I did it anyway. And then that picture of Ben…it brought everything back. The loss. The fear.” He swallows hard. “That night…I failed Josh. I promised I’d be there, and I wasn’t. Marbles got out, and for a second, I thought I lost him too.”
“Tuck…” I whisper, my palm rising to cup his cheek.
“When I asked you to leave…” His eyes close briefly. “I was hurting. And instead of fighting for you, I pushed you away.”
“I’m so sorry,” I breathe.
“I’m the one who’s sorry, Maria.” He glances up, and I follow his gaze to the box, to my boys, who are watching, smiling, hopeful.
“Nicklas, and your boys, they helped me get you here tonight.”
A soft laugh slips out of me. “I had a feeling they were in on this.”
“I talked to Josh,” he says. “I told him I was sorry for missing his game. His winning goal.” His voice thickens. “I told him I’d show up whenever I could. Asked if I could stay in his life.”
“And?” I ask, my heart in my throat.
“He said yes.”
Emotion swells so big in my chest I can barely breathe. “He’s a good kid,” I whisper.
“He is.” Tuck squeezes my hand, anchoring himself to me. Then his voice drops. “I love you, Maria. I was so afraid of loving and losing…but when you walked out that door, I realized something.”
His eyes lock onto mine, and there’s nowhere to hide from the truth in them.
“It happened anyway,” he says, his voice breaking. “Everything I was terrified of—it all came true. I lost you.” He swallows hard. “But you didn’t walk away from me…I pushed you out. I let my fear win.”
My breath catches, my chest tightening at the raw honesty in his words. “Because you were scared,” I whisper gently.
“Yeah.” His thumb brushes over my knuckles, like he needs the contact as much as I do. “I was terrified. Of loving you. Of loving the boys. Of building something real and then watching it disappear again.” His voice softens, steadier now, but no less emotional. “But losing you showed me something I can’t ignore.”
I lean in slightly, my heart pounding.
“That living without you is worse than anything I was afraid of.”
