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“She loves you.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure it is. We were in an impossible situation. You reached out to me but thought I didn’t want anything to do with you or the baby. You did what you had to do.”
“How are you so calm about all of this? I lied to them, Hudson. They’re not going to be so forgiving.”
“You did what you felt you needed to do. You didn’t do it to hurt them. And I’m calm because I love you. I love our son, and I know that everything will work out.”
“What about Raven?”
“What about her?”
“She’s your best friend, and you have a baby with her sister.”
“You and Hayes will always come first. I think Raven will understand, and once the dust settles, she’ll forget all about it.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“My wife and child come first. That’s just how it is.”
“I’m not your wife,” I remind him. What I don’t say is that I’ve pictured that exact scenario many times over the years. More so since our night together. And after I found out I was pregnant. I told myself once I didn’t hear from him that it was a fantasy that would never come to fruition.
“Not yet, but you will be.”
“Hudson,” I groan.
“Let’s call them. Call our friends and get them over here. Tonight. We do this together. Then if you’re feeling up to it, we can take a little ride to see Grandma and Grandpa.”
“Oh, God.” My hand covers my mouth. “I almost denied him his only living grandparents. I’m a horrible mother,” I say, my voice cracking.
“You are not a horrible mother. Come here.” He motions for me to come to him.
“You’re busy.”
“Riley, come sit with us. I can feed him and hold you at the same time.”
“You only have two hands the last time I checked.”
“I’ll hold our boy. You sit on my lap, and I’ll hold you. You can hold the bottle.”
“He’s almost done,” I counter. My heart is doing somersaults in my chest.
“Riley, baby, please come here.”
I can’t deny him, not when I’ve longed for him to look at me and talk to me just like he is now for so many years. I never thought it would actually happen. Slowly, I make my way to where he sits in the recliner. He shifts and makes room for me, and I take a seat on his lap. I take the bottle he’s holding, and he wraps his arm around my waist.
“My whole world,” he whispers. I feel his lips press to my temple, and I lean into him.
“I dreamed about this,” I confess.
“Me too.”
“Come on now. You don’t have to keep waxing poetic. You’ve got me where you want me.”
“No, that would be in a church, or city council, or somewhere in front of someone who has the authority to name us husband and wife.”
I ignore that comment outward, but inside, my heart is fluttering. “Will you really tell them with me?”
“Baby, there is nowhere else I’d rather be. In fact, I’m staying here with you tonight and the rest of the week. We can tell them we don’t need them unless they want to drop off food.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to be with my family. I wasn’t expecting to be back this soon anyway. Mom and Dad have me covered, and when they find out he’s mine, they’ll insist I take some time to be with you and Hayes.”
“Okay,” I concede because I don’t have the energy to fight with him, and if I’m being honest, I want him here with us.
We sit together while our baby boy finishes his bottle. I move a little so that Hudson can transfer him to his shoulder, and then I lean back against him. I softly pat his back until we get a burp out of him.
“You gave him my initials,” Hudson says, long after Hayes has burped and fallen back asleep on his daddy’s shoulder.
“You caught that, did you?”
“Yeah, beautiful. I caught that. When can we change his name?”
“I’ll call tomorrow and see what I have to do. It’s going to have to go through the courts, I’m sure, but maybe since he was just born, we can make an adjustment. I don’t know all the legalities of that, but I’ll find out.”
“Hayes David Fleming. I love it.”
“Me too.”
“You know what else I love?”
“What’s that?”
“Riley Jane Fleming.”
“You’re not going to stop, are you?”
“Not until you understand that all of this was one big misconception. It happened, and it all worked out in the end. You were always meant to be mine, and I’ve always been yours. Now, we get to tell the world. And this little guy? Well, he’s just icing on the cake.”
CHAPTER 22
Hudson
I watch as Riley paces the living room floor. She’s been doing this nonstop for the past half hour. It started when I sent a group message asking our friends to meet us at her place. They all agreed and are coming right after work, which is any minute now. I took it one step further and texted my mom. I told her I was bringing Riley to dinner, and of course, my mom was all over that. It’s going to be a long night, but in the end, the secret will be out, and we can move on.
