Page 81 of Everlasting Promises

I swear my heart crashes to a halt and the air in my lungs thins. “Wh-what?”

“Our hearts. He said we can love himandDad. He doesn’t expect you or me to stop loving Dad because he knows we have enough room in our hearts to love both of them,” he tells me with wide eyes.

“When was this?”

“At the giant bake sale.” He pulls away from me and looks down at the floor between us. “I-I got a bit jealous when I thought he liked you more than he liked me. He was my friend first, you know?” My head is spinning with this new information, but I nod for him to continue. “But he told me he liked us bothfor different reasons—that if I didn’t mind, he’d like to ask you on a date someday.” He shakes his head. “I told him how you still love Dad, and that’s when he told me it was okay for you to still love Dad. He said he didn’t mind because our hearts are elastic. He said he would never expect you to stop loving Dad.”

I’m rendered speechless as blood rushes through my ears, and my head becomes filled with cotton. I had no idea such a conversation had taken place, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Ben’s made his intention clear to me, but I’m uncertain how I feel about Evan knowing Ben’s intentions before I did.

“He sorta asked me if I thought it’d be okay if he asked you out some day,” he tells me quietly.

I finally find my composure and look at Evan. “And … what did you say?”

“I told him it would be okay with me.” His eyes widen and he swallows. “You’re not mad, are you?”

How can I be mad? My son just gave me the okay to move forward and date. My in-laws have given me the go-ahead. At this point, I’m the only one holding myself back. I force a smile. “I’m not mad. You’re quite something, Evan. You know that, right?”

His body sags as he blows out a long breath. “Phew.” He looks down at the dishes, then back to me with a hopeful grin. “Do you think you’ll date Ben?”

I shrug and dip my hands back into the soapy water, washing a plate. “Maybe.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Evan smile. “Cool.”

38

BEN

I palmmy cock as it thickens. My mind has constantly wandered back to the events of this morning all day, and it’s been a constant struggle to keep my focus on my job—something I never had a problem doing before.

Hope was so damn stunning as she fell apart in my lap. The flush to her cheeks and the way her pulse hammered. The way she took what she wanted.

So damn sexy.

It took everything in me not to fall into oblivion until she got what she needed. It took a hell of a lot of control on my part as my orgasm burned and clawed to be released. Once she came, I couldn’t hold it back—even if a gun was being held to my head. It rammed through me like a bullet. And nothing had ever felt better because she showed me a level of trust I wasn’t sure she’d ever give me.

My heart soared as we shared something so intimate, and then within moments, it shattered into a million bloody pieces when her distress and pain filled the room like a swirling storm.I just wanted to hold her … to reassure her that everything would be okay.

That we did nothing wrong.

Then it was time to get ready for work … and Evan came home … and I hated leaving Hope when she was so vulnerable and raw. I’m gutted something so natural, so beautiful, ended in such sorrow.

What I wouldn’t give to make her pain mine and give her the freedom to feel peace. If I could swap places with Wyatt, I would in a heartbeat—if it took away her pain and gave her the happiness she deserves.

I glance across at my phone sitting on the bedside table. Rex raises his head from his prone position on his dog bed and whines at me.

“I know. I should just message her to check she’s okay.” His golden eyebrows rise and fall as he watches me. “I’m trying to give her some space. I don’t want to lose her by pushing too hard.”

He adjusts his position, tilts his head to the side as though he understands what I’m saying, and barks at me as my phone lights up with a message.

Snatching the phone like a teenage girl, my eyes greedily scan the screen. A long, relieved breath peels out of my lungs at the name that’s lit up like a beacon.

Cookie

Hey

I hope it’s not too late

Are you free?

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