Page 37 of Chosen Road

I didn’t want him feeling like he had to do penance for the rest of his life. The more I thought about sitting down with a therapist and spilling my guts, the less sure I felt about my ability to do it. While I did not trust my own judgement, I trusted other people even less.

Gus deserved so much more than what I gave him. He was better off with someone else. Maybe Jacqueline could give him what I never could. The thought soured my stomach and made me want to rip every last strand of hair from her head, but it still rang true.

I didn’t spend too much time debating Jacqueline’s suitability because a bomb dropped on all of our lives when Vander met Jace for the first time. Apparently, Jace was the spitting image of Vander’s older son, George. Unbelievably, Jace was Vander’s son.

What a debacle.

Vander was stiff and awkward, Ruby hadn’t clued in as to the reason why, and when Vander abruptly left once the boys were dismissed, Ruby lost the plot.

Yiayia and I were frantic when she stormed out of the house.

“This is my fault, poulaki.” Yiayia paced back and forth after I’d finally reached Ruby and talked her down.

“No, Yiayia, it’s not your fault. Ruby made her own decisions.”

It wasn’t entirely Ruby’s fault either. Healthy decisions do not come easily to broken people. Still, I mused, it was Ruby’s responsibility, just as my brokenness was mine.

“Yes, koukla, and part of that was to look after me,” Yiayia stated. She looked older in that moment than I’d ever seen her. I put my arm around her frail shoulders and squeezed her gently.

“Perhaps we both could have done more, Yiayia. But it’s not too late. We’ll do what we can to support them both now and help them find their way.”

Yiayia nodded, then smiled a sneaky smile. “That boy is not going to take no for an answer.”

I laughed and teased, “That’s no boy, Yiayia.”

She turned her sharp, dark, inquisitive eyes on me, and I braced myself. “I like to help you and Gus find your way, koritzaki mou. What I can do? Hmm? I take Alex for the weekend and you and Gus can talk. Maybe Gus no take no for an answer either?” She teased me back.

My face flushed. “Yiayia!”

She laughed. “Aw, you think Yiayia don’t know what kind of man he is?” Her smile dropped and she looked at me seriously. “He a good man, poulaki. And you a good woman. You make beautiful family. Don’t give up on you.”

“Him. You mean don’t give up on him,” I corrected. Even after so many years in Canada, Yiayia still mixed up her pronouns.

She lay her hand against the side of my face. “You. Don’t give up on you, koukla.”

Gus

When Amber dropped Alex and Jace off to me on Sunday evening, she came in to tell me about the events of the day and explain how I unexpectedly had Jace for the night, which was not all that unusual. She could have dropped them off with no explanation and I wouldn’t have questioned it.

The boys went directly downstairs to set up the Lego for us to play, giving Amber and me a chance to talk. She looked tired and shell-shocked, making my stomach tighten with concern. My first thought upon seeing her was that she was sick. It wasn’t until she told me the whole unreal story that I began to relax.

“So, Vander thinks he is Jace’s father, which means Jace has an older brother,” I summarized. “This might be hard for Alex.”

She agreed, “It will be. Gus…”

“Yes, beautiful?”

Her eyes snapped up to mine and I realized how long it had been since I’d called her that. I steadily held her questioning gaze.

“Um…”

“What were you going to say?” I took a chance and stepped closer to her.

Both heat and anxiety flared in her eyes as she sucked in a breath.

I decided not to further press my luck by moving closer. Instead, I stood my ground and held her eyes, not bothering to mask the need in mine. Of that, I was not ashamed. I would stand strong and proud and let her know she was everything I ever wanted or needed.

She leaned imperceptibly closer, and my cock leapt in my jeans. I gritted my teeth together to stop myself from saying something that might rupture this moment and balled my hands into fists to prevent myself from reaching for her. Lust flared hot in my belly and shot down my legs, screaming at me to take what was mine.

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