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Chapter One
Spencer
"Mr. Whitley, we’llbe landing soon," the business-class flight attendant said. "Would you like another drink?"
"No, I'm good. Thank you."
He picked up my empty glass, and I closed the tray in front of me. Finally, after a four-hour delay, I was going back to Boston. I always made fun of my brother Jake for having a chauffeur and a private plane. But at times like this, I was starting to understand the need for the latter, at least. Until recently, I wouldn't have been bothered by a delay. I could simply work from one of the many airport lounges. As CEO of a publishing company, all I needed was a phone and my laptop. I could work from anywhere. But things were different now. I was a father. Some days I still couldn't believe it.
The second we landed, I turned on my phone and then immediately called my grandmother. She'd offered to watch my son today. I’d flown to New York in the morning and was supposed to return shortly after lunch. It was dinnertime.
I trusted Grandmother with my son, but she was ninety and had her limitations. I didn't want her to push it. Once I found out about the delayed flight, I’d asked my brother Cade to help her. Thankfully, she answered after two rings.
"Everything's under control," she whispered.
"Great. Thanks. Why are you whispering?"
"Because he's sleeping. I don't want to wake him up."
I could barely hear her over the passengers moving about, taking their luggage from the overhead compartments. I had an aisle seat, and my neighbor at the window was already fidgeting impatiently. A private plane sounded better and better. Why was everyone already picking at their luggage? The plane hadn't even parked at the gate.
After the plane finally stopped, I rose too. "I'll call you as soon as I'm off the plane."
"There's no need. We’re good."
My son was only two months old, and I already knew I wasn't going to plan another work trip soon. Not until he was a bit older. I missed the little bugger. Fortunately, Grandmother agreed to stay at my place with him today where all of his things were so that I didn’t need to cart everything back and forth. I was still having a hard time figuring out what I needed to pack for outings with Ben. The little dude needed more diapers than I could’ve imagined.
I didn't have a carry-on with me, so I gathered my laptop bag and headed straight out of the plane and called my grandmother again.
"Spencer, darling!" She spoke slowly. "I told you there's no need to call. Everything's under control. Are you sure you and Ben don't want to sleep at our house tonight? This entire place is full of boxes."
"We're moving tomorrow, Grandmother. We're going to be fine for one night," I assured her. "I’ll be at home in about an hour."
"Don’t you need to stop by the office first?"
"No.”
“All right. We’ll be here.” She sounded regretful. I had a feeling that she almost enjoyed my four-hour delay because she could spend more time with Ben. Grandmother had been longing for great-grandbabies, and I was the first to deliver her wish.
"Meredith and Cade are still here.”
“Great. I’ll see you at home.”
Ending the call, I noticed a message from my assistant.
Anissa: Spencer, the movers will be at your place in the morning. They'll handle everything. All you have to do is head out to your new house in the evening. I've checked it myself. All the furniture and everything is already there.
Spencer: Thank you.
Moving into a new house was part of giving my son the best of everything in life. I only found out he existed a month ago. Almost eleven months ago, I broke up with my then-girlfriend Naomi. She was seeing someone else behind my back. After I broke up with her, she immediately left town with her new guy, and I didn’t see her again until she showed up to tell me she’d had my son. I'd been furious, demanding to know why she hadn't told me before. It turned out she thought the baby was the other guy's. But after Ben was born, her boyfriend demanded a paternity test.
Ben was mine.
And I was going to be the best damn father I could be.
I headed out of the airport and waited ten minutes for an Uber. I wanted to get home. I was lucky that my grandparents wanted to be involved in Ben's life. Then again, they'd stepped up to the plate after our good-for-nothing father was caught with having a second family and made sure that my four brothers and I didn't go completely off the rails.
Once I got in my Uber, the driver turned to me. "Sorry I took so long to get to the airport. There's been a massive accident on the freeway."
