Page 70 of Rule Breakers Fall Hardest

She laughs softly. “Yes. I’ll text you the address. I’ll be there. A social worker will be in attendance too.”

“Okay, okay,” I chant, on the verge of hysterical laughter. Fuck, my emotions are thrown all out of whack. I finally get to meet him. Hold him.

I don’t want to fuck this up.

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing.” She clears her throat. “Bring your… wife.”

Nina was disgusted after she saw the video of my drunken tirade, but she expertly handled all damage control, and she has been working with me to figure out the best way to explain it if it comes up in court. So far, our best defense is that it was a massive lapse in judgment, mixed with too much alcohol, because I was coping with the unexpected news of finding out I had a son. It’s mostly true. And the court doesn’t need to know that I knew about it before that day.

As far as my comments about Rosie, we’re blaming that on the alcohol as well. They won’t likely view me in the best light. They’ll probably see me as a dumb college kid, and they’d be right, but it’s the best excuse I’ve got. Now I have to prove in other ways that I’m serious about this. I don’t want to take Sammy away from Danielle out of spite. I simply want the right to know and help raise my son.

“I’ll ask her.”

“Bring her,” she reiterates, and with that, she ends the call.

Rosie returns from putting the cart away and climbs in. When she turns the ignition, the dash lights up with a pink hue that amused me the first time I saw it.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, putting the SUV in reverse.

Woodenly, I turn to her. “I get to meet him tomorrow.”

She stomps on the brake, forcing my head to hit the seat behind me. Behind us, a horn blares. “What?”

“I know.” I rub at the back of my head. “I’m surprised too. My lawyer…” I pull in a deep breath and let it out. “She wants you there.”

With a nod, she murmurs, “Okay.”

My stomach does a damn somersault in response. I was sure she’d argue. “Okay?”

Laughing, she navigates the oversized SUV into the Starbucks drive-thru. “Well, yeah. That’s why we did this whole thing, right?” She flashes me her ring, the movement making it glitter in the sunlight. “The whole point is to help you get custody.”

“Right.”

So why do I keep forgetting that?

If I’d even hadthe forethought to imagine the moment I’d get to meet my son, my vision wouldn’t have been anything like this. The room they put us in is fitted with dark paneling and dingy linoleum floors. It smells of antiseptic, and the chairs and table look to be relics from the eighties.

Rosie looks around, trying not to frown. The iced coffee she picked up on the way leaves a ring of condensation on the particle board table.

There’s a scattering of toys in the corner, but they look like they’re meant for toddlers or older kids.

My heart is racing. It has been all morning. There are dark shadows under Rosie’s eyes, and her face is pale, like she didn’t sleep at all. I certainly didn’t.

Nina paces on the other side of the room. Her fingers fly aggressively across the screen of her phone, making it look like she’s chewing someone out.

“Take a breath.”

At the sound of Rosie’s voice, I turn to her and exhale loudly, only then realizing that my lungs are burning.

We’ve been here for twenty minutes already. I wanted to arrive early. But Sammy was supposed to be here five minutes ago.

Are they in the building? Or are they not coming at all?

Stupidly, that thought hasn’t occurred to me until now.

When Nina’s fingers slow and she holds her phone at her side, I clear my throat for her attention. “What happens if Danielle doesn’t show up with him?”

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