Page 136 of Billion Dollar Dispute

My eyes prick with tears, and I go to speak, but a throat clears behind him. It’s my mom.

As we pull apart, he says, “I’m going to check on Chad and make sure he doesn’t need a drink.”

Harvey slips away, and I tear my gaze from his navy sweater to my mom’s gleaming eyes. She knows. I walk over to her.

“What do you think?” I ask her, nibbling my lip as I gaze over at Harvey talking with Chad.

“He’s handsome,” she says, a little too loudly for my liking, but I am too eager to hear what else she thinks.

“What about him being good enough for me and Chad?”

Her warm smile makes my heart beat out of my chest. “He’s absolutely wonderful! Watching him fuss over Chad today makes me forget he’s not actually his father. Honestly darling, it’s like he’s already part of the family.”

“Do you think Dad would’ve approved?”

“No question. The brains, the family, the heart. God, what's not to love?”

“How was his family?” I ask, still needing to talk to them more, but the bundle of nerves in my stomach holds me back.

“Wonderful. I can see why he’s such a gem. They’ve raised him right, with all the love and care a person could ask for.”

“Thanks, Mom,” I say, hugging her.

“What will you do about your living situation?”

“He wants to live together. But I want to make sure Chad is okay with every step.”

She nods knowingly. “He will be. If he didn’t like Harvey, you’d know by now.”

I hope so.

“I just want him to know he can always come to me and that he’ll always be my baby.”

She gives me a warm smile, her eyes soft with affection. “He knows, sweetheart. And how lucky is he to have two people who love and care about him so much”

“True. I’ll go mingle before the food is served.”

I swallow the lump in my throat and start with his family.

“His brothers are hot,” Molly whisper-shouts, leaning closer to me at Chad’s party.

“I know, and they’re nice,” I say as I glance toward Harvey’s brothers, who are chatting across the room.

“And of course, they’re all taken,” she says with a dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes.

“Oliver is single.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “No, I don’t think so. They were all whispering about a girl.”

I wince, my smile faltering. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault. The good ones are always taken,” she says shrugging.

“Did you go out with that one guy from the app again?”

“Yeah,” she says with a wrinkle of her nose. “He was alright, but not husband or father figure material.”

I nod, understanding what she means. Not all men can be good stepparents; it takes a special kind of person.

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