Page 91 of Deception & Daylight
“Goldie?” I mouth the word and Cade just shrugs.
“Hundred bucks says they’re banging by the end of the year,” Maggie says as the opening notes to a ballad start to play and I tug her along with me onto the dance floor.
“What do you know, Wildcat?”
“Nothing concrete, but I have my suspicions.”
She rests her head onmy chest and sighs, a wave of contentment washing over me. There was a time when I thought I’d never have this; never haveher. It’s more than I could’ve ever hoped for, and I find myself falling a little harder every day.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks, her fingers playing with the hair at the nap of my neck.
Smiling, I say, “Daylight.”
Bonus Epilogue
Liam
? When You Love Someone - Lukas Graham
4 years ago, Aiden 4 years old
The doorbell rings for the third time in less than two minutes, and I’m rushing to dry off from my shower. I damn near fall flat on my ass as I hop into a pair of grey sweatpants on my way to the door. Another ring and I’m muttering expletives under my breath as I swing the door open. When I see who’s on the other side, my anger gets the better of me, “What the fuck are you doing here, Breanna?”
Her gaze slowly rakes over my body, stopping on the tattoos covering my chest, and it sends an unwelcome chill up my spine. I haven’t seen my ex in almost five years and nothing good can come of her showing up out of the blue. “Nice to see you too, Liam. Really nice.”
“I’ll ask again, Bree. What the fuck do you want?”
“I have someone you need to meet. Can you at least keep an open mind?”
My brows draw together in confusion as she glances over her shoulder at the small green car parked in my driveway. I follow her line of sight to the rear passenger door and stumble back when I see a little boy in the backseat. He can’t be more than three or four years old, and I’d recognize those green eyes anywhere. This little boy is mine — I know it in my bones. Closing my eyes, I suck in a lungful of air and try to gentle my tone, but the anger is apparent in every word. “I have a son?”
“We were never right for each other, Liam. You know that. I didn’t want to bring a child into a broken relationship.” To her credit, she doesn’t break eye contact when she spews her bullshit excuses, but that’s all it is…bullshit. Breanna and I were never going to work out, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have loved my son.
“So you thought it was a good idea to keep him from me?” My nostrils flare against my barely contained anger. I want to head into my gym and pummel all of my frustrations into the heavy bag, but now isn’t the time.
“Like I said, two broken people would’ve only made a broken home for him. I didn't want that.”
“And what about whatIwanted, huh? Did you think about that before you took off with my kid?”
“I have a lot of regrets, Liam, but that’s not going to change the situation I’m in now. I need you to take him.”
I stumble back a step, trying to wrap my head around what she’s saying. “What the fuck? You can’t just re-home a child like a fucking pair of shoes that no longer fit, Breanna.”
“I can’t take him with me, Liam. You should get to know each other. He’s a good kid. I’ve raised him well, despite what you might think of me. He needs you.”
“He doesn’t know me, Bree. He needs his mom. He needs stability. I work in a bar. I don’t know the first thing about raising a kid.”
“I didn’t know the first thing about being a mother, but I managed. Besides, you practically raised Connor.”
My younger brother and I grew up moving from one foster home to the next. By the time I aged out of the system, I was able to take him with me, but he was already well into his teens by then. I know next to nothing about little kids, and I don't even have friends to lean on for help.
“You had nine fucking months to prepare for that. You’re dropping a four-year-old off with a man he’s never met. You don't even know me anymore. What about your parents? Wouldn’t they take him?”
“I haven’t spoken to them in five years. They disowned me when I told them I was going to be a single mom. Just meet him. Please.”
The little boy stares out the window, watching our interaction, and something in his green eyes compels me to give this a chance. “Ok. I’ll meet him.”
She nods and I watch as she walks back to the car and helps him out of his car seat — another thing I know nothing about. He’s clutching a well-worn fleece blanket in one hand, and a stuffed dinosaur in the other. He’s radiating nervous energy as his eyes dart around the yard. When he finally looks at me, I muster up a soft smile for the little dude who looks so much like me when I was younger, only now realizing I don’t know his name.
