Page 47 of Cocky Counsel

“Yeah, that’s her name,” I said.

“Anyway, as you probably know, Graham and I haven’t been dating that long and now we’re dealing with his ex and a child that they have together. One that he didn’t know about until recently. It’s been hard sorting through everything and honestly, I’ve questioned whether I should walk away so he has one less thing to stress over.”

“You guys seem so happy together though,” I said quietly.

“We are. I’ve never been happier but there’s a child involved, and I could never stand in the way of his relationship with his daughter. I haven’t talked to him about any of this, so I would appreciate it if this stayed between us.” She blew out a heavy breath. “I don’t plan to leave him, that’s not where I was going with this. I just wanted to let you know that I can understand what you might be feeling. Your relationship with Ethan is new and now there’s the possibility of him having a child with another woman. That’s a hard thing to process, and it can leave you feeling insecure and unsure of what your role is if there’s another woman and child in the picture.”

I watched as the guys walked through the restaurant, making their way back to the table.

“You’re not alone, that’s all I wanted to say,” she rushed to get the words out before they reached us. “And if you ever need it, feel free to reach out to Ask Ida if you want to talk more.” She gave me a quick wink and looked up as Graham slid back into the booth beside her.

“Where’s the wine?” she asked, her brows pulled together.

I felt the seat shift next to me as Ethan sat down beside me. He gave me an apologetic smile without saying anything.

“I thought you were just using the wine thing as a hint for us to leave,” Graham replied.

“I did.” She nodded her head in agreement. “But I also wanted you to get more wine.”

I laughed as Graham covered his face with his hands and shook his head. Even though our talk was quick and rushed, I felt better knowing that I wasn’t alone in this after all. Here I had sat, studying them and assuming that they were the perfect couple who had everything all figured out, yet they were pretty much just like us. They were uncertain of everything other than their feelings for each other. I looked over at Ethan and met his eyes before reaching down and resting my hand on top of his. He turned his palm over and for the first time, we held hands and didn’t care who saw us.

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