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“Are you okay?”
Nathan dipped his head. “I’m fine.”
I sat on the floor and moved closer, bracketing his narrow hips with my thighs. Winding my arms around his waist, I blanketed his back and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck.
“Try again. The truth this time.”
He leaned back, relaxing against me with a quiet sigh. “I guess I’m just scared.”
“Of your mom?”
He turned his head to whisper his lips along the underside of my jaw. “I’ve never been this happy, Gage, and I’m scared she’s going to take it away.”
I held him a little tighter. “That’s not going to happen.”
He hummed noncommittally under his breath, clearly unconvinced. Understandable since he had been given every reason to associate promises with manipulation and emotional blackmail.
Words were easy. They cost the giver nothing. But without actions to back them up, they were just noise. Nathan deserved better than noise.
The doorbell rang, and I untwined myself to go answer it. I couldn’t have been gone for more than thirty seconds, but when I returned with our pizza, Nathan had already returned to his studies. Hunched over a textbook, his nose only a few inches from the page, he scribbled frantically on a sheet of unlined paper.
I sighed. It would take an act of the universe to pull him away now.
Carrying the pizza to the kitchen, I left it on the island counter while I retrieved a plate and utensils. Then, I selected two of the largest slices from the box and cut them into bite-sized pieces. When I finished, I added another two for myself, grabbed bottled waters from the fridge, and returned to the living room.
I found Nathan exactly how I had left him, and he didn’t react at all when I lowered myself to the floor beside him. Nor did he look up when I placed the pizza and water on the table beside his books and notes.
With a grin, I selected one of the small squares and held it to his lips. Though distracted, he opened his mouth to accept the morsel and chewed obediently. When he swallowed, I offered another bite.
After he had consumed the last piece, I twisted the cap off one of the waters and pressed the bottle into his hand. “Drink.”
He mumbled something that might have been gratitude and tilted it to his lips.
Returning to the kitchen, I had just placed the dirty plate in the dishwasher when my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number on the screen, which gave me a pretty good idea of who was calling. I answered it anyway.
“Mr. Ramsey, this is Heather McBride from Senator Fairfax’s office.”
“Okay.”
“The senator has been unable to reach her son for a few days now. Have you seen Nathan?”
I glanced into the living room. “Yeah, I’ve seen him.”
“Wonderful. Would you please ask him to contact his mother?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“No,” I repeated. “You can give me the message, and I’ll pass it on to him.”
“One moment, please.” The line went eerily quiet, but she must have been given the green light because she returned only a few seconds later. “Senator Fairfax would like to remind both of you about the campaign rally tomorrow evening.”
“Yeah, no.” I didn’t mean to laugh at her, but the whole thing was just so ridiculous. It amazed me that anyone could be that clueless. “We won’t be there.”
“Your obligations—”
“No longer exist,” I interrupted. “The contract was terminated, and the retainer refunded.”
