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There’s some laughter.
“Not only do I…” I have to pause to get a hold of my tearfulness, giving my attention back to Isabella.
Her emotionality mirrors mine. Fuck, one of us has to stay strong.
“…love her.”
Isabella’s shoulders rise with excitement. And Leo points at her as if to say, “He’s talking about you!”
I watch her laugh and kiss him.
“With all my heart. And soul and mind and body and… with everything I got, I love her.”
A place like Madison Square Garden is hard to silence when it’s filled to the brim. But you could hear a single footstep, it’s so quiet.
“And as if she could make me love her any more than I already do, she gave me another human to love.” I can see the splashy tabloid headlines now and for once, I don’t care. Because I’m getting to tell my story. My truth.
I want the world to know.
“My son.”
There’s gasping and cheering and clapping.
I smile, wicking away a tear before it falls. “They’re here tonight. And I’d like to introduce you to them. If that’s –” I do a doubletake to Isabella. “If that’s alright.”
She nods. Her face is sheeny even in the low light.
“Give them a warm welcome, guys,” I say to the band.
Holden starts a swooning melody on the piano that Apollo and Blaise back in mere seconds.
The rest of the world disappears as Leo wiggles to the floor and sprints out onstage. I open my arms wide for him. To come home.
He leaps up against my chest, and I swing him around into the air and kiss his temple fiercely. I inhale his scent and relish in how his little body feels against me.
I only had him for a week of my life, but it’s evident that week wasn’t long enough.
Leo nuzzles himself against me. “I missed you, Papa.”
I swoon, my head falling back. Fuck, this is the best. “I missed you ten times more. I promise.”
The crowd is going berserk. Music can make people wild, but the love of a father and a son? Apparently, that’s crack to them.
I return to look over at Isabella. She’s tentatively stepping toward the edge of the wing, still shrouded in darkness.
I hold out a hand. “Come on, baby.”
She takes a couple of steps onto the stage, tucking her hand over her eyes so she can see.
The crowd goes wild again.
Isabella laughs. “This is ridiculous!” she says over the din.
I laugh too, say nothing, my hand still extended.
She crosses the stage all the way to me. “You’re crazy,” she admonishes me.
“You know I am,” I reply.
