Page 17 of More than Need

“He’s Mum’s new friend,” Hudson said.

Gideon’s world tilted as the words registered. “He’s—sorry, what?” What kind of friend? They didn’t have anyone named Ned in their friend circle.

“I was playing at Priya’s yesterday after school ’cause she has a new Pokémon card that I wanted to see, but her mum doesn’t let her bring them to school, and then, and then when her mum took me home, Ned was at home too, and he said, he said that he drives the garbage. The same trucks that I watch in the morning!”

The trucks he always made Gideon and Lucia get up each week at dumb o’clock in the morning to see. Old habits die hard, and even though Gideon woke alone most days now, he still got up early and sipped at coffee as he watched the trucks pick up the bins from the apartment complex every Wednesday. An undoubtedly unhealthy and bittersweet ritual.

“You said hi to the garbageman?” Gideon tried to clarify. Not all of Hudson’s stories were linear, and they often required more than just the criminology degree that Gideon held to decipher.

“Mum said he’s a new friend.”

A new… friend. That couldn’t mean what—Gideon looked up, and the look on Lucia’s face said it all. “Hey, bud, can you go show Grady your new toy? He loves garbage too.”

Hudson beamed. “Okay!”

Gideon took Lucia’s elbow, dragging her out of earshot, keeping an eye on their son as he chattered to Grady like a pigeon. To give Grady credit, he listened intently and nodded in all the right places. When Hudson turned and waved enthusiastically at them, they waved back, smiling.

“New boyfriend?” he asked. “And you introduced him to Hudson already?” Shouldn’t they talk about that first?

Lucia grimaced. “I’m sorry, Gid, it was an accident. A mix-up in schedules. I definitely didn’t mean to introduce them this early. Or at all, you know, because what if it doesn’t work out?”

What if it doesn’t work out. Lucia had a boyfriend.Dating. “It’s been six months since we officially split.” Half a year. Not even a full cycle of the Earth. And she’d started dating already? Long enough to bring someone home and meet their son?

He’d kind of, sort of lip locked with Riley in the most unsatisfying way—he really fucking wanted the real thing—but that had been the first time that he’d thought about having anyone in his space romantically again, and it was an accident he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Dating implied longevity. How long had she been seeing someone new and not said anything to him?

Lucia crossed her arms over her chest defensively. “What is that supposed to mean? How long am I supposed to wait before moving on from a relationship that’s been over longer than I think either of us want to admit?”

“I don’t know.” Gideon hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it. At the start, he’d been trying to save his marriage, and then when they’d realised that they couldn’t, because they had nothing left to salvage, he’d been trying to calibrate to a new normal that still felt foreign. They’d broken up amicably. He would always consider her one of his closest friends. They didn’t look at each other andwantanymore, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t important to him. It only meant that what they’d had hadn’t stood up against their jobs and busy lives and raising a kid. He loved her, wouldn’t ever not love her, but it didn’t mean what it used to. If she found happiness elsewhere, she deserved that. And more. “It’s not even—it’s not about that. We’re still friends, Lucia; how come you didn’t even mention this?”Why didn’t you tell me?

“I don’t understand,” Lucia said. “I don’t—Gideon, the divorce was your idea. We tried everything, remember?”

“This isn’t about us, or you, Luc. You introduced him to our son without even talking to me about it.”

“And I told you I didn’t mean to.”

“Except that you put yourself into a situation where it was possible.”

What did Hudson think of the new guy? How long did he have to stick around to get stepdad status? Would he have a right to say how Hudson was raised?

“I don’t know what you want from me, Gid. I said I’m sorry.”

Gideon ran a hand down his face. He tried to take her apology and accept it, say it was fine, but it wouldn’t come out. He’d never been a good liar, and he didn’t know if itwasokay.

A hand pressed against the small of his back, and his eyes met Riley’s blue. The simple touch grounded him, a solid pressure against him, giving him something to lean against.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Riley said insincerely. “Gideon, a word.”

Gideon nodded shakily. “Give me five minutes?” he said to Lucia. “Just five—we have time, right?”

“More than. Don’t worry, I know how easy it is for this place to distract you, and I accounted for that.”

He knew she hadn’t meant it as a jab, but that didn’t stop the ache of guilt from taking root in Gideon’s chest. He worked long, random hours, and the unpredictability of his job meant that would never change. He’d done his best to be a good dad with the tools he had at his disposal.

He’d agreed it would be best for Hudson to stay with Lucia full-time, and he would carve out time when he could. It was the best thing for Hudson, but it ate away at Gideon like a disease, how little time he got to spend with his boy. The last six months had been an adjustment period he still hadn’t gotten used to.

Riley led Gideon back to his office, and the second he closed the door behind them, he tugged Gideon into his arms, wrapping him up tightly.

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