Page 78 of Discretion at Its Finest

I let out a small sigh. “Reid…” I lowered the mug to my lap. “About last night—”

He took another sip, unbothered. “We need to talk?”

“I mean…” My voice wavered despite my effort. “I think it’d be good… to discuss where to go from here… what we are now. What this even means now.”

He set his mug down, slow. Then he looked at me, his eyes deciding how much I could probably withstand this early in the morning.

“From this point forward,” he said calmly, “you are the mother of my son. And,” he continued, stepping closer, stopping just short of touching me, “until further notice…” My pulse thudded hard in my ears. “…you’re mine.”

The thought sent warmth through me, a feeling of relief at his words oddly pulling at me in the worst ways. But then—

“Until further notice?” I murmured.

He let out a sigh, grabbing my mug from me, my eyebrows furrowing as he set it on the nightstand.

Then without warning, he pushed me back on to the bed, a yelp escaping me as he pulled my ankle, yanking me closer to him with ease. And when I looked to the ceiling to see him hovering over me, his arms holding his body above me, the heat of his body seeping into my skin, I knew I was in trouble.

“The truth is, Vieve, I don’t know what to do with you. You’re a liar, a manipulator, a pretender—”

“Wonder who I learned that from…” I murmured.

His eyes hardened, his face drawing closer. “Quiet,” he reprimanded. “I’m speaking.” I could have rolled my eyes, but Iwas too busy trying to ignore the fluttering feeling climbing up my spine.

He continued, “And I don’t know how to push you away. I want nothing to do with the woman who left me… but everything to do with the woman before me now.”

His until further notice. Meaning this wasn’t permanent. I could lose him again and I didn’t even have him fully yet.

“You don’t get forgiveness yet,” he said quietly.

My chest tightened, face dropping in sadness as he caressed the side of my face. “Then what is this?”

“This is me deciding if you deserve another chance. Or if I even want to give you one.”

“What do you mean?”

His hand dropped from my face. “You’re still engaged to Gregory. Even if you spent the night in my bed, you still belong to someone else.” The way he said the words felt like a lie as he stared at me, because I was sure both of us didn’t believe that statement at all. There was only one person, one man that owned me. And I was staring right at him.

Gregory smiled for Cheryl without effort. He showed up for a child that wasn’t his while mine learned not to wait by the door, and I’d made myself into something quiet to keep the peace. Stability had been my excuse for staying. I didn’t know what Gregory’s excuse was.

But Reid? Even now… furious, hurt, wounded by the years, he showed up, and he stayed.

I’d left him before. Why should he believe I wouldn’t do it again? Make another excuse that would ruin us once more?

Tears formed in the corner of my eyes. “You don’t trust me,” I said softly.

“No,” he agreed. “I don’t.” The honesty of it burned.

At this point, I wasn’t even afraid of him destroying my life. I was afraid of how easily I’d already started choosing him again.How quickly my body, my heart, my instincts had remembered what it felt like to be seen.

Footsteps padded down the hall, cutting my thoughts. They were light, fast, and unmistakably my…ourson’s. Reid pulled away as I sat up, fixing the buttons to be more decent.

There was soft knock, then the door creaked open. “Mom?”

Eugene stood in the doorway, wild bedhead, one sock on, the other lost somewhere throughout the night, clutching his toy car in one hand, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the other.

“I was looking for you,” he mumbled.

Reid walked over to him, scooping him up from the ground as a fit of giggles followed. I smiled genuinely, watching Reid flip him upside down as he cocked an eyebrow.