Page 154 of Romeo

I stared toward the ceiling.

How did I explain that motherhood wasn’t some abstract possibility to me? I knew what pregnancy felt like. I knew what it was to hold a newborn and count ten tiny fingers because I couldn’t believe something so perfect had come from me.

I also knew love didn’t guarantee you could give a child what they needed.

Me: I’d want to know I could give them stability first.

Jasper: You would.

No hesitation.

No qualifier.

Just certainty.

Me: You sound certain again.

Jasper: I’ve seen how you talk about Charlie. You’d build your whole life around making a child feel safe.

My eyes burned and I lowered the phone for a moment, swallowing hard.

He’d noticed.

Not the truth. Not yet.

But something close enough that the words landed in the exact place I’d been guarding.

Charlie was loved, completely. Frank and Claudia had built their lives around him, and I’d done everything I could to make sure my own complicated feelings never touched his security. He would grow up knowing me as Aunt Fiona unless the day came when his parents decided he deserved the full truth.

I’d agreed to that because it was what Charlie needed.

Jasper didn’t know any of it.

Still, somehow he’d looked at the way I loved that little boy and seen the mother I wasn’t allowed to call myself.

Me: What about you?

Jasper: Yeah.

I smiled faintly.

Of course his answer would be that simple.

Me: How many?

Jasper: Depends on the woman.

Me: Convenient answer

Jasper: Practical answer.

I shifted against the pillows, curiosity pushing some of the emotion aside.

Me: What if she wants a house full?

Jasper: Then I’ll build a bigger house.

A laugh slipped through the tightness in my throat.