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“Like a date?” Nick frowned, but she knew it wasn’t because he was upset. She recognized that expression – it was one he made when he was trying to work things out. She saw it all the time when he was doing his math homework.
“Sort of.” She nodded. “Is that okay with you?”
Nick tipped his head to the side and pondered her question. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “I’m good with that.”
She ruffled his hair with her outstretched fingers. “So am I.”
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Do you love Uncle Aiden?”
The question hit her like a bullet to the chest. Her head lifted so she could look right into Nick’s eyes. The frown was still lingering as he stared at her, but more than anything she saw complete trust there. Whatever she told him he’d believe, because she was his mom and therefore his world. The same way she’d believed her parents when they’d told her why Aiden and his family had skipped town. All along she’d felt powerless in the face of her family, her choices, her life, but right now the burden of power overwhelmed her. She had the power to shape her son’s reality, and it was both a burden and an honor.
“Yes, sweetie,” she said, her voice soft. “I love him a lot.”
“So do I.”
That was all he said, and she was relieved. She and Aiden would tell him more when this damn gala was over. But for now, he seemed content with what she’d said.
Circling her arms around him, she pulled him close, breathing in the scent of his soap and shampoo, and the hint of milk lingering on him. How long would he smell like this? Her little boy. How long did she have to make him be the kind of man she wanted him to be?
Not long enough.
“I’m going to see Grandma and Grandpa tonight,” she told Nick, leaning back to glance at his face.
He looked surprised at her mention of them. “You are?”
“Yes. And I’m going to speak to them and tell them about everything I’ve told you. That Aiden’s your uncle and that we love him.”
A smile burst out on Nick’s face. “They’ll love him too, won’t they? Maybe we can bring him the next time we go to dinner.”
“I don’t know how they’ll take it,” she told him. “But it’s always good to tell the truth, no matter how hard that is sometimes.”
He hugged her again tightly, and she didn’t give a damn how much he was crushing her dress, or whether her make up was smudging as she dropped her face to his hair to breathe him in one last time before she left.
And when he released her and ran back into the kitchen to Cora, she found herself standing up and not even bothering to glance at herself in the mirror. She didn’t care how she looked, because she was finally in control of her life. And it felt absolutely amazing.
* * *
“Everybody’s staring.”
Aiden followed her gaze. They were standing at the double wide entrance to the ballroom, looking in to where the tables were already filled with guests. She was right, most people were staring, but not with malice on their faces. The expressions they wore were intrigued and interested, and from the way they turned to talk to each other, Aiden and Brooke were going to be the main gossip point of the gala.
“Let them.” He turned to smile at her. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“About ten times.” A smile played at her lips. “And as I told you before, you’re the beautiful one. Have you noticed it’s mostly women staring at us?”
He could never get enough of her. Everything about her was luminous. From her silver evening dress that skimmed every cu
rve, to the glow of her exposed skin, from her chest right up to her long, elegant neck. When he’d picked her up from her apartment, he’d felt every nerve ending in his body come alive. The need to touch her, feel her, and breathe her in was almost overwhelming. He was counting down the hours until they could get out of this place and be alone again.
“They’re staring because they like to gossip.”
“You know them too well.”
He took her hand, sliding her fingers between his, and held her tightly. “It’s going to be okay,” he told her. “By this time next week we’ll be old news. Things move fast in Angel Sands.”
