Page 69 of Reed

I love you, I mouth to him, and his breath hitches.

“It’s like my dad gave us him. Isn’t it?” Bryce muses and smiles down at his baby brother in awe.

“He did. He gave us all the best gift ever,” Reed agrees, and strokes Jax’s hair while he places a kiss on top of Bryce’s head.

Bryce tilts his head back to fix his gaze on Reed. “He gave us you too. I know it.”

Reed’s eyes fill with tears, an outpouring of gratitude to the man I once loved most in the world. Then he turns and stares deep into my soul. “I think he did too, buddy. He gave me everything.”

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

GIA

FIVE WEEKS LATER…

We’ve been homefor a week now, and it’s official. I want to move to a new house.

This little home was ideal for me. It was mine and Jaxon’s dream, but it’s no longer a fit for us.

It’s a dream that never fully transpired, and it’s also too far from the city center; Reed has had to spend the occasional night away from us and at his apartment because of late meetings and early morning starts, and to say he was beside himself was an understatement.

He hates being away from us, and as much as I try to remain strong, I can admit I want him here. I miss his heavy arms wrapped around me, the way he looks longingly at me when he places Jax on his chest and gently strokes over his dark head of hair. The way he insists on waking Bryce up for breakfast and feeding him a concoction of the organic shit he keeps attempting to persuade him with, only to then give in and offer him the Chunky Chips Cookie cereal my son is obsessed with, and the way he calls Bubbles every swear name possible but then smiles affectionately at the connection Bryce has with her.

The birth of Jax has been difficult, due to me also recovering from a C-section, and throw in my emotions being all over the place, I miss Reed terribly while he’s at work.

I swear I have some sort of dependency on him, something I swore to myself after losing Jaxon I would never let happen again, yet here I am, counting down the minutes to his return.

The girls have become an extension of my own little family. Their support has been incredible, and again, another reason I want to move closer to the city, somewhere halfway, maybe. That way, Bryce can remain in his current school, and give us the security of our found family. I can also commute to the community center and continue to fulfill my ambition of helping those within the community I so desperately want to support. My little way of giving back something from the way they welcomed me.

My mind floods with ideas about towns within close proximity to the city while I stir the pasta sauce, and I smile at how excited Reed will be at the prospect of us having a house together, one we choose and build our future in.

He’s not mentioned another word about moving since the day we had an argument, but something tells me he’s itching to make his original plans a reality.

The doorbell rings, snapping me from my thoughts, and I move the sauce off the heat, glance at Jax asleep in his travel crib, then head toward the door.

I make a male silhouette out from behind the glass, and when I open the door, anger flashes through me at the sight of Kevan staring back at me, shifting from side to side.

Great. Now is not the time to be dealing with this shit, especially with my emotions all over the place. I grit my teeth. “You can’t be serious!” I snap and step back to close the door in his face.

“Gia. Please wait. It’s important.” He wedges his foot in the door, and I still, but when I glance up, looking for a sign of a threat, I find none. Instead, all I find is remorse. “Please, just a few minutes of your time.” His eyes implore mine. I’m not sure what it is in his tone that has my body on high alert, but something about the way he speaks, almost a plea, has my body stilling and my mind complying. I take a deep breath and hope I’m not about to regret my decision. “Okay,” I whisper, and open the door farther to let him inside.

He stops in the hallway, and I motion toward the living room. When we walk inside, I wince when I consider him witnessing the mess of a newborn and young boy in such a small space.

“How are you feeling?” he asks pensively.

I clear my throat. “I’m getting there.” Casting my eyes over him again, I take in the envelope in his hand, but he’s unable to meet my eyes. Something he’s never struggled with before. I swallow back the nervousness in my throat. “What are you doing here, Kevan?” I gesture toward the cryptic envelope.

He takes a deep breath, and I know whatever he’s about to say I’m not going to like. Scrap that, I’m going to hate it. It’s going to destroy me.

I know it.

For weeks, my life has been incredible, and that envelope holds something that will obliterate it.

He clears his throat, and the guilt rolls off him in waves. “I’m doing this for the right reasons, Gia. Once upon a time, me and Jaxon were friends.”

“Before you tried it on with me in a bid to break us up, you mean?” I snap.

He blows out a breath and swallows. “Yes. It was wrong of me. I’ve been controlled by your father for a long time.”

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