Page 17 of Conveniently Yours

"Good, then welcome to the family."

My chest fills with warmth. Fuck, that feels good to hear. Family. Something I've never had, and now I do. I'll never jeopardize that. Not fucking ever.

TEN

SCARLETT

My heart is pounding, and I'm clutching Axel's hand painfully tight. He hasn't mentioned it, he's just smiling and reassuring me. But as Noah gets closer, my fear ratchets up. "What if he's angry?"

Axel shakes his head. "He's not, I promise you, baby, he's not. He just wants to apologize."

I nod, but still the fear doesn't fade. Why am I so afraid? I don't understand.

As soon as Noah is standing in front of me, he reaches for my arm, pulls me from the bench and into his arms and into a bear hug. "God," he whispers, a shudder wracking through his body. "Scarlett," he murmurs. "I'm so fucking sorry. So damn sorry. I wish I could take it back. I didn't mean it."

My heart melts at his words and the sincerity of them. I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight. It's hard to believe that in the space of two days, I have both Noah and Axel back in my life. Something I never thought possible.

When Noah releases me, Axel pulls me back to him, keeping me close by. I know he’s been worried; he's scared that Noah could lash out again, but I know Axel would never repeatwhat happened five years ago. That fear has gone. He's more than proven that he wants me and Brandon. What happened all those years ago was a case of lack of communication and stubbornness.

"I'm so very sorry, Scarlett," Noah says as he takes a seat on the grass in front of us. "Truly I am. The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. I was falling apart, you were leaving, and I felt I was losing my family again. No matter how hard I tried to think rationally, I couldn't. Then the party came, and I couldn't stop drinking, I ruined everything. I'm sorry."

"You got yourself together," I say softly. "Have you stopped drinking?"

He nods, pushing his hand into his pocket and pulling out a chip. "Four years sober," he tells me. "I'm not going to lie, it was hard, I relapsed a few times that first year, but Axel was always there, always at my side. He helped me a lot. I was able to get sober. I've seen a therapist too. I've worked through my fears, and I've wanted to make amends for years."

"I'm glad you’re sober and have worked through your fears, that's amazing, and I'm proud of you."

My gaze moves to the climbing frame that Brandon's currently making his way down, and no doubt, will be running over to us any moment.

"What do you do for work?" I ask, knowing I have no idea about his life now.

He gives me a sheepish grin. "I went back to school," he tells me. "After you left and I sought help, I knew I wanted to help others like me. I work with children and young adults that have lost family members. I help them work through their grief."

Holy shit. "That's wonderful. I truly am proud of you, Noah." He truly turned his life around, and that's just awesome to see.

"Axel said you have a son," he begins. "How old is he?"

I can't help but smile. "Brandon is four, he's just amazing."

Axel nods. "I'm not just saying that because he's my kid, but he truly is."

Noah bows his head. "I hate that you lost time with your family because of me."

"Don't," I tell him. "We're all here now, and that's all that matters." I know it’s going to take a while to get to a place where we're both able to forgive and forget the past, but we're starting, and that's the main thing.

"I'd like to meet him," Noah says. "Whenever you're up to it and you're ready."

I love that he's put that on me, that he's willing to wait.

I beam at him. "Well, that's good, because he's on his way now." I nod as my little boy walks toward us; his eyes wide as he takes everything in.

The second he reaches us; he gets close to Noah. "Brandon, honey, this is your uncle Noah."

Brandon reaches out and touches Noah's face, and my brother beams at him.

God, I never thought this would be possible, but it is. Now I have all my family together. My son is going to have so many people around that love him.

One week later

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