Page 82 of More than Need

“I need to talk to your dad for a second,” Lucia said, keeping her smile in place even though Gideon could see her eviscerating him with her eyes. “How about you and Ned go to the store across the road there and pick out a treat to take to your dad’s, so you can bounce off the walls all night?”

Hudson’s head bobbed rapidly. “Okay!”

“Thanks,” Gideon said dryly. Getting him to stay in bed wasn’t a nightmare already. His heart clenched when Hudson’s hand slipped into Ned’s to walk across the street. While Gideon appreciated the care Ned put into keeping his son safe, the fact of the matter was that the guy had no right to insert himself into Gideon’s family. The key component of that sentence beinghis son.

“Stop glaring at him.”

“We’re not married anymore; you can’t boss me around.”

“Is this still about me dating him?”

“I don’t care who you date.” Not in the way she thought. He could admit to a twinge of loss from that part of his life being well and truly over. They’d spent a lot of great years together, and they would always have the incredible son they’d created together. He only wanted her to be happy.

“Then what’s the problem? Hudson told me about thetwomen at your place.”

“You have absolutely no right to lecture me, Lucia. When did you start seeing Ned? Twominutesafter we officially broke up? Or before that?”

Lucia scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you’re upset right now, but don’t youdaretry to insinuate that I did anything like that.”

Gideon deflated, and he closed his eyes on a wave of shame. That had been uncalled for. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“If we’re going to start pointing fingers, the fact thatyou’redating your boss, the same one you’ve been working for through quite a few years of our marriage, looks a fucking hell of a lot worse than my situation.”

Gideon blanched. How did she—oh. If Hudson had mentioned Riley’s name, it wouldn’t have been hard to put two and two together. Fucking hell, he and Riley were terrible at keeping this a secret. Whodidn’tknow at this point? Well, no one higher up, at least, or they’d have been called into someone’s office for a dressing down, possibly a demotion or a firing. “I said I was sorry; there’s no need to keep digging the claws in.”

Lucia crossed her arms over her chest. “What is going on with you? If you have a problem, you need totellme. We may not be married anymore, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work through things together. Especially if it involves us and our son.”

Gideon gathered her close and kissed her temple, forcing her to unfold her arms. He hadn’t liked when she did that when they were married, and that hadn’t changed. It closed her off and made it harder to communicate with her. “I’m not unhappy for you, Lucia. It’s not the dating thing that bothers me.”

“Then what is it? I can’t help fix it if you don’t tell me what it is.”

Short of throwing Ned off a cliff or locking him up for life, there wasn’t anything she could do to fix it. He had to sort through it on his own. The second idea had merit, though. Riley might even help him.

“Gid?”

“I don’t want to be replaced, Lucia.”

“I hate to break it to you, but the place he wants to be isn’t the same place you want to be.”

“What? Not in your bed, Luc!”

Her face softened. “You meanHudson?” She shoved his shoulder playfully. “I can’t believe you would even think that.” She cupped his face, squeezing his cheeks. “Gideon Clark, you are an idiot. He loves you. I’m pretty sure more than me, which is why I buy him cake. Whenever he gets to spend time with you, he comes home with aglowon his face that nothing else can top. The same one I see on yours. I never want you to miss out on any of his moments, and if you want him more often, you know that I’d love that.”

Gideon wished that he could. The risk of getting called out in the middle of the night hadn’t gone anywhere. If it happened while he had Hudson, then he’d have to bundle him up and take him back to Lucia, regardless of the time. When they’d lived together, he at least hadn’t had to involve his son in that. He couldn’t do that to any of them.

“How did you meet him?” Gideon asked begrudgingly. It was only polite to show interest as much as he didn’t really care.

“I met him two weeks after you moved out,” Lucia said. “It hasn’t been half as long as you seem to think.”

“You look pretty cosy.”

“I knew that you and I were going to get married after our first date, Gideon. Where you spilled Coke all over both of us, and we had to go to a laundromat to clean our clothes so neither of our parents knew we were out together.”

“The crack in the sidewalk came out of nowhere,” Gideon protested. None of that had been his fault. “Where do you find a guy like that? A computer store? No. A comic book store.”

“Stop it, you’re being very judgemental.”

Gideon rolled his eyes. “Fine. Continue with your story.” They could be here a while. Hudson had always been terrible at choosing a treat. Ten bucks said he came out with a dozen, and Ned had a dazed look on his face. That kid was going places.

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