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“Mmhmm. I spent the morning with my manager and lawyer. There are videos out and you've been identified. It makes me sick, but there’s nothin’ we can do to stop it. Fortunately, I’m not Iris, so my private life isn’t interesting to most people.”
My nose wrinkled. “They found out my name?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe. I won’t let any of that touch you.” He squeezed my arm, then slid down to my hand, lifting it to his mouth to press his lips to my wrist and palm.
I inhaled, then let it out slowly. “Okay. What else?”
He held my hand against his cheek and closed his eyes. “I had to talk to the cops. The guy isn’t pressin’ charges, so it was only routine. I asked my lawyer to start the process for you to obtain a restraining order. I don’t want that guy thinkin’ he can ever come near you again.”
The idea made me shiver. I’d never been afraid of Edwin, at least not until last night. A restraining order, though? It seemed so outlandish, but I wasn’t going to argue either.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Not fightin’ me?” He sounded bemused.
“No. I’ve seen what kind of fighter you are. I don't stand a chance.”
“That’s right. You don’t.” His mouth captured mine, tongue licking my lips then inside. It wasn’t the kind of kiss I ever thought I’d have with my son right upstairs, asleep, but here I was, and I couldn’t think of a single thing wrong with it.
“I had to talk to a couple reporters, give a statement.” He nipped my bottom lip. “Told them I was lookin’ out for my girl and that was all there was to it. I think they were more interested in Krav Maga than my life.”
I giggled. “It is pretty badass.”
He stilled with a curve at the corners of his lips and light in his icy blues. “I’ve been missin’ out all this time.”
“What do you mean?”
He shook his head like he was in a daze. “Being with you is a balm. I’ve been missin’ out on this all these years. I didn’t know what this would be like.”
“We’ve both been missing out.” I looped my arms around his neck. “Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t meet you until now, though. I was too much of a mess before.”
He sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Because you had a kid?”
“Well, yes and no.”
Okay, we were doing this. The talk I’d been putting off for as long as I could.
“When I got pregnant, I kind of dove off the deep end mentally. My pregnancy was a surprise, and at the time, I thought it was pretty much a horror show. My parents kicked me out when I wouldn’t have an abortion, and then I was so, so sick. I had hyperemesis...basically morning sickness times a million. I had to be hospitalized, it got so bad.”
Callum tensed up, long fingers wrapping around my arm like a steel band. “I didn’t know.”
“How could you have?” I laid my hand on his and rubbed. After a few seconds, his hold eased enough that it didn't hurt. “Anyway, I started feeling better for a couple months, then my blood pressure spiked. I had him seven weeks early. He was so small, and I was so afraid. I didn’t want to be a mom, but I knew if I lost him, I’d die. Luckily, he was fiercer than he looked. He came home after only a month in the NICU.”
That NICU stay would have ruined Jenny and me financially, but we got lucky. A charity some philanthropist ran picked my name out of a hat and paid off my entire bill. I still thought about how different my life might have looked if I had that bill looming over my head.
“What’s his name?” he asked.
I chewed on the corner of my lip as my stomach twisted uncomfortably. “His name is Ezra.”
Callum’s gaze held steady on mine. “Why’d you pick that name?”
My nose tingled. I never pictured myself telling Callum why I’d chosen Ezra’s name. “Because of the song you told me about. The one that reminded you of me.”
He nodded once. “‘Hold My Girl’ by George Ezra.”
“That’s the one.”
His brow lowered. “You named your son after a song that meant something to me, but he’s not my kid. You got pregnant by someone else.”
