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His head whipped around so fast, his whole body went with it. He slipped off the seat and my heart stopped when there was nothing beneath him but air. I ran forward, batting the wildly flying swing out of my way, and caught Gabriel before he hit the ground.
He beamed up at me while I struggled to catch my breath. “You know how to fly?” Those blue eyes were luminous with wonder.
“Yes,” I croaked as I set him on his feet.
He hopped right back on the swing as if nothing had happened. “Push me again, please.”
I would . . . when my heart made it back into my chest cavity. Fuck . . .
After he enjoyeda few more lift-offs, I thought it was time for our treat.
“So what do you think? Strawberry? Chocolate?”
I loaded Gabriel into the car seat in back and tucked his backpack on the floorboard at his feet. The cowboy I'd given him was poking out the top. My throat tightened, and my vision got a little clouded. He'd taken his buddy to school.
“Cookies 'n cream?” he asked hopefully.
“Whatever you want.”
We didn’t havetime to enjoy our milkshakes at the shop, so we got back in the car and drank them on the way to pick up Holly. She might get irritated about our adventure, but I was banking on her son and the chocolate milkshake mitigating that.
“What do you think of the city, Gabriel?” I asked, glancing in the rearview mirror at him.
“I like it better here,” he stated firmly, sucking on his milkshake.
“Really?”
“Mama's happier here.”
“And that makes you happy?” I probed.
Gabriel nodded. “She's not as stressed here.” Holly did an incredible job of disguising her worries from her son, but he was intuitive enough to pick up on that. “Mama's most relaxed around you.” He casually sipped on his drink as if he hadn't dropped a bomb on me.
“Your mom’s a special lady.”
Gabriel beamed. “Thespecialest,” he confirmed with emphasis, depositing his empty drink in the cup holder.
“Bet she can't wait to see you,” I said. I sure as hell was excited to see her.
“Can we play soccer when we get home?”
“Sure. As long as it's okay with your mom.”
We were quiet for a few blocks. “Are you going to marry my mom?”
I tightened my hands on the steering wheel. “What would you think if I did?”
The smile on his face told me everything I needed to know. He had cookie crumbs on his mouth and a few between his teeth. “I'd like it. Then we could build Lego stuff all the time.”
“That would be pretty great,” I confirmed.
“And you could be my dad.”
Fuck me. As nervous as that made me, when I looked at him, I realized I wanted him to be mine.
When we pulled up in front of Holly’s building, she pushed through the door. Her dress was slightly wrinkled, one strap of her bag fell off her shoulder, and her hair was held up by a pen stabbed through a knot in the back, one chunk falling in her face. She looked exhausted, like the day had been tough, but I'd never seen anyone more beautiful.
“There she is.”
