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“They do,” I say, looking at her, and she looks at me.
“I’m happy you helped Jacob, but I don’t want you to get into trouble either. Hurting other people physically is wrong. Do you understand?”
His smile loses some of its shine. “I understand. My mom and dad had a long talk with me. A loooong one,” he says making us chuckle.
“Can I ask you something?” he says to her, turning serious.
“Sure.”
“Why does my Daddy have your name on his skin?”
“Jackson,” I groan. If he asked me, I would have told him.
“It’s okay, Landon,” she says with a nod, giving her full attention to my son. “A long time ago, before your daddy had you and before I had Jacob, and before he knew your mommy, we were friends.”
“Like me and Jacob?”
“Almost.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Why did you stop being friends?”
“Life happened. We changed and grew apart. He moved away.”
“Like my mommy and daddy?”
“Not exactly.”
“I thought my dad was going to move away and leave us too.”
“Jacob, listen to me. Your daddy loves you more than anything in this whole world. He would never leave you. I’m sure of it, just as I’m sure of how much I love Jacob. I would never, ever leave him. You’re the most important thing to him and your mother. You will always come first in their lives, no matter how many new people come in and out of it.”
He looks up at me with questioning eyes. “Really?”
“Really,” I say, voice shaky at what was revealed from a seemingly innocent conversation.
“Really,” Lacey says, hand on his back, the other on her chest. “Cross my heart, never to tell a lie.” He nods, smiling, and she asks, “Can I have a hug?” He nods again, and she squeezes him. “Thank you for being such a good friend to Jacob. Can we be friends too?”
“Yes! I like you.”
“Thank you.” She lets him go and tells him she’s going to order him a cheeseburger with fries, and chocolate cake if he wants. Of course, he says yes. We sit until his food arrives, then move to the next both to talk.
I hold my hands out to her on the table asking her to hold on to me. She looks at them. Scattered emotions blowing over her face, I say, “Please. Take a chance on me and step out on faith that I would never hurt you intentionally. Faith that my love for you runs deep as the love for my son. Please.”
She places her hands in mine, and I hold on. “You said you needed someone who was going to stand up for you and your son, without being divided. Whose loyalties aren’t split between two families. Maybe I wasn’t ready to give you that completely before, but I am now. Give us another chance. I promise to put you first above all others. I will never leave your side, no matter how turbulent and disastrous this life gets. We will weather the storm together, ride it out hand in hand, as a united front of love. That is my promise to you. You, Jacob, and Jackson will be my world.”
I hold on to her hands with all the hope and expectation of a man on death row, about to find out the verdict of his last appeal. The one that will determine if he will have an extended stay of life, a second chance to breathe, live.
I wait and wait. And wait. To the point, I feel as if I’m going to burst out of my skin until I hear the word she made me suffer for.
“Yes.”
Holy shit. The relief of one word propels me out of my seat, pulling her into my arms. “I love you. I never stopped loving you.”
“I love you,” she says in my ear, arms around my neck.
I hold her face in my hands, so she knows the rest. Knows I mean every word I said. “I moved out of the house. I filed for divorce two days ago. Bree has already agreed to joint custody, and if all goes well, in about five months our divorce will officially be final.”
A breathtaking smile spreads across her face, and it’s damn beautiful. “Are you all right with this? Is Jackson?” Doubt threatens to clouds her smile.
“We talked to him. We are all good.”
“Yes, we are.” She holds my face, bestowing the most heart-stopping kiss on me, blocking out everything around us, so much so we didn’t realize the little gathering around us until the applause and cheers started.
Reluctantly I pull away, and she shyly tucks her head against my neck. “I’m sorry about them.”
“I don’t mind. Every time we kiss, it’s like our first time, and we deserve a round of applause.”
