Font Size:  

“Sure. Of course.” Lila rose and clasped her iPad to her chest, facing Chloe over the back of the sofa.

He still hadn’t looked yet. He couldn’t.

“Whatever you think you heard, you didn’t.” Michael shut his eyes. Chloe’s expression must have been every bit as stricken as he’d feared. “He’s my son.”

Chloe didn’t reply for so long that he pressed his fist into his forehead. If the whole Lila thing raised its head again—

“I know that.” Chloe’s soft, certain voice made him drop his fist. “He explained how things are between you, and I believe him.”

Michael shifted to face her, but she wasn’t gazing his way. Her focus was solely on Lila.

“I also know you’re not happy about us being together, and as a mother myself, I understand why you’d be concerned. You think I’m a gold digger.”

Lila squared her shoulders. “No, I do not. I had my doubts, yes. I worried he wouldn’t make a good choice. Now I see in you a maturity I didn’t have at your age, and probably not even two years ago.” She let out a huff of laughter. “You don’t need my interference. You’re both doing just fine.”

Chloe didn’t say anything. She’d probably been struck mute, just like Michael.

“I’ll make sure the band doesn’t come back in until you’re through. Take your time.” Lila squeezed Michael’s shoulder, then left them alone.

The door closing behind her was like a starting gun going off. Both he and Chloe tried to speak at once.

And then they both fell silent.

“Where’s Axl?” Michael asked.

At the root, that was most important. More than his feelings, or what he wanted or needed. That baby won every contest.

“He’s with my dad.” She twisted the strap of her purse between her fingers. “I wanted to watch you rehearse, but I hoped I’d get to do it sneakily.”

Somehow his lips curved. “Why sneakily?”

“You’ve been off ever since we had our big talk the other day. I wanted to see if it had to do with me or the music. You can’t be yourself when I’m around.”

“You’re so wrong, Red. I’m more myself with you than I’ve ever been any other time in my life.”

She glanced down and he

wanted nothing more than to go to her and brush back her hair. To tell her how much he loved her and loved Axl. But he couldn’t say anything that might affect the reality of their situation. She should have every opportunity to make the best choice for her and her son.

Here we fucking go, Oprah. You better not let me down.

“You’re right that I’ve been off since then. It doesn’t have a thing to do with the band. My brother doesn’t want to deal with me. Nothing new there. Before he didn’t want to deal with me just by myself, now I’ve got a band full of baggage he’s avoiding. But at some point, we’re going to have it out. He can’t just go into hermit mode. I’ve given him his space, and if he thinks I’m an asshole and wants nothing to do with me, well, he’s going to say that to my face and make it stick. You know why? Because if I love someone, I’ll wait for eternity for them to decide to love me back.” He laughed and raked his fingers through his hair. “Christ, I sound pathetic.”

“No, you sound loyal. You sound like a man who might not trust easily, but once he makes up his mind, he refuses to be dissuaded no matter what.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “That’s better than pathetic.”

“It has to be a weight, caring so much.” She stepped forward to grip the back of the couch. “You’re an insanely wealthy man, and that makes it hard to trust.”

“Yeah, my hardships have been epic.” He set aside the coffee he’d been holding like a prop. “You know what’s hard? Seeing something you want so much, and not knowing if you’re worth it. Not that you couldn’t be worth it with work, but you’re not there yet. And what you need to do to get there might be exactly what makes you lose your chance.”

“I don’t understand.”

“No. You don’t. I’ve left you in the dark. No longer. If you decide you want to be with me, that will be your choice. I won’t influence you with artificial constraints.”

“Michael, just spit it out before I dump that coffee over your head.”

He chuckled and marveled that he could right before he told her the truth. That was one more thing she’d given him. Not just a family, not just a chance to see that sex could mean more. She’d given him laughter without expectation. Appreciation for the moment, even when it was more fucked up than he could’ve ever imagined.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like