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He crosses the room to me and takes my face between his hands. “I’m going to be there the whole time. If it starts to be too much, just look at me and find your center.”
I smile up at him. “I love you.”
He chuckles. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m fucking grateful for it. I love you too.” He kisses me quickly and then grabs the keys from the counter. “We have to go, like now.”
I know he’s right. We’re already running late, and I wanted to be there early so I could have a moment to prepare myself.
I grab my coat and put it on.
He already has his on so he waits by the door.
I rush past him once I have my coat on and he locks up behind us.
As we ride in the elevator, I type the address of the ice rink into my phone.
“It’s twenty-five minutes from here. Think you can make it twenty?”
He smiles crookedly. “I can do anything.”
Jace parks outside the ice rink—managing to make it there in nineteen minutes.
“Ready?” he asks, shutting the truck off.
I shake my head, panic seizing my chest. “I can’t do this. I can’t face him. I … I abandoned him. I just gave him up.”
“Shh,” he hushes me. “No. Don’t say that. Don’t do that to yourself. You were fifteen. You did what you had to do. You giving up that baby might’ve been the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but I promise you it was the best thing for him. That right there proves to me that you’re a good mom—because you cared more about his wellbeing than your own happiness.”
My chin quivers. “You’re going to make me cry.”
“Fuck,” he chokes. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
I take a couple of deep breaths and nod. “Okay, let’s go in. I can do this.”
He gets out of the truck, and I follow a moment later. He comes around to me and takes my hand. I instantly feel better.
We head inside together and rent some skates.
Sarah says Greyson loves to ice-skate and he says he’s going to be a professional hockey player one day. I love that he’s only four and already dreaming so big.
Jace and I head into the rink and sit down to put our skates on.
“Do you see them?” I ask, scanning the people there.
He shakes his head. “No. I don’t think they’re here yet.”
I breath
e out, the breath shaky. I’ve never felt this nervous in my whole life, not even when I was waiting for the pregnancy test to turn positive.
Jace rubs his hand over my back, trying his best to calm me.
“What if they don’t come?” I glance sideways at him.
That’s when I see him.
“Oh, my God,” I gasp, tears springing to my eyes.
“Hello—Novalee, right?” Sarah and her husband appear with a little boy between them.
