Page 53 of Unbreak My Heart

Simon looked up to see his entire family looking at him in complete shock. Heat flooded his face. He looked at Max, expecting to see disappointment and perhaps even hurt, and was surprised to see only happy encouragement staring back at him.Hope.

Simon lifted Matty and settled him properly on his hip. “You all have met Eva,” he motioned with an incline of his head to his right. “This is Matty. He’s three, and this tiny friend of his is Narnas. We really,reallydon’t want anything to happen to Narnas. Okay?”

The bananas toy was the kid’s best friend, his comfort toy. The sun and moon shone out of the darned thing. He needed to make sure they all understood that.

Several heads nodded and a smattering of, “Sure,” and, “Of course,” hit his ears.

One glance at Eva had Simon’s heart flip-flopping in his chest. The gorgeous, slow smile that widened her mouth sent shivers all over him and tightened his belly to the point of pain.

He sent her a big smile in response and leaned over to kiss her forehead, then faced his family. “I thought we were having a barbecue. Where’s the food, guys?”

Chuckles and replies bounced back, and he grinned at them all. Darby grabbed Eva by the arm and dragged her to a chair next to her own. She looked at Simon and he nodded, receiving asmile in return. A soft touch to his left shoulder had him turning to face his mother.

“Welcome back, my boy,” she whispered.

Heat stung Simon’s eyes, and his smile faded. “I’m sorry I was gone so long.”

Mary Jameson leaned up to kiss his cheek. “I always knew you would find your way home.”

He looked back to where Eva sat, then down at the little boy in his arms. His heart still ached for what could’ve been, an ache that was distant and elusive; but it also hurt in a good way. He had a feeling that his future sat in that chair beside his sister and rested in his arms.

He looked back at his mother’s kind face. “I just needed someone to point me in the right direction.”

*

Simon looked upfrom his half-drunk coffee. Empty plates lay scattered across the huge outdoor table in his parents’ screened entertainment area. Matty had wriggled down off his lap after the shortest time known to man when he’d spotted Finn and his bear, leaving Eva to watch him like a hawk until she was happy he and Finn were getting along.

He’d been right—they got on like a house on fire.

Giggles and squeals of delight had echoed around the area the whole time, only stopping when the kids had been forced to stop and eat. The noise had resumed with them chasing each other, each with their respective toy, until they’d run out of energy and fallen asleep on the huge, soft floor pillows his mother and Emma had brought out from the living room.

Max noticed his glance in the direction of the sleeping kids. He leaned closer to Simon’s side and inclined his head at them. “That’s a good sign, don’t you think?”

Simon nodded. “I was hoping this would happen. I had a feeling they’d get along.”

Max chewed on the toothpick he’d picked up off his plate. He kept his gaze on the little ones. “I know it’s early days, Si—very early days—but there’s something you might want to consider.”

Here we go.

Simon raised an eyebrow, leaned back in his seat, and took a sip of almost-cold coffee. “Which is?”

Max’s gaze slid to him, his eyes warm, but even Simon could see the seriousness deep within them. A shiver of premonition ran down his spine.

“Eva. She’s young. She has a toddler. Have you given any thought to the fact that she might want more kids one day, and maybe quite soon?”

All the breath hissed from Simon’s lungs, leaving him struggling to hide the fact from anyone nearby. His hands started to shake so hard he had to place his mug back on the table and clench them into fists. He looked down at his lap and picked at the worn patch on his jeans near his knee.

That’ll break through soon.

“Si?”

Max’s soft voice may as well have been thunder echoing around the large outdoor area. He cringed as if it were.

“Yeah. I hear you.” He finally managed to haul in enough breath. “I know. I’ve… avoided thinking about it too much yet, but yeah, I know.”

Max was quiet for a moment, then persisted. “I know it’s difficult. Heck, it must scare the living hell out of you. But it’s something you’ll need to discuss with her. She deserves your honesty.”

Simon nodded, still picking at the worn threads. “I know,” he whispered. He cleared his throat as quietly as he could. “It terrifies me. I couldn’t handle it if…”

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