Page 84 of Vital Blindside

Ava hums quietly. “I think if she wants to make it work as badly as you do and wants to keep her job, she’ll accept that.”

“She also thinks us dating will make me look bad.”

“Nothing could make you look bad. You’re too damn friendly,” she states confidently.

“You’ll have to tell her that the next time you see each other.”

She laughs. “I think you can handle convincing her you’ll survive the ridicule. As far as everything else goes, let her focus on her mom while you get your ducks in a row.

“Cooper likes her, and he’s old enough to understand what she means to you and what your relationship would bring to the family. He just wants to see you happy, and I’m sure once you sit down and talk about everything with him, he’ll tell you the same thing. As far as Beth goes, you don’t need her approval, if that’s what you’re after. Your personal life is just that when it comes to her. Personal.”

I sit back and rest my head on the couch back. Staring at the ceiling, I ask, “What would my relationship bring to the family, though? Would Cooper be okay with a sibling one day? What would it mean if we got married? Cooper thinks he knows what would happen and what it would mean, but until it’s a reality, I’m not sure he could ever properly understand. They barely know each other.”

Ava grabs my shoulder and squeezes. “It would only mean that there is one more person in his life who loves him and his dad. They might not be close now, but give it time. They’ve never had the time to really get to know each other. I know I bugged you about it, but you should take your time with this if that’s what you feel you need.”

“He’s everything to me, O. I just want him to be happy.”

“I am happy, Dad.”

My head turns at the sound of Cooper’s voice. Panic has words escaping me.

“You worry too much,” he adds, entering the office and flopping down on the chair across the room.

Ava squeezes my shoulder again before getting up. “I’ll go grab us a couple drinks.”

I nod and watch her scurry out of the room, closing the door behind her. Looking at my son, I find him examining the room.

“How much of that did you hear?” I ask.

The part where I mentioned someday marrying a woman or having another damn kid? They’re both premature possibilities, things Scarlett and I haven’t talked about yet, amongst a thousand other things. Having Cooper in the conversation already was not my intention.

He looks at me timidly. “Pretty much everything. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, though. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Coop.” Maybe this is for the best.

“Do you really love her?” he asks, catching me off guard, but despite that, I don’t hesitate to answer.

“I do.”

“And she loves you back?”

“She does.”

He smiles. “I told her she would learn to love you. Just like she will learn to love her nickname.”

I huff a laugh, remembering the day I heard him tell her that. Granted, I was half-lucid, but I remember her whispered “maybe” like she had said it against my lips.

“You’re okay with us loving each other?”

“If it makes you happy, then yes,” he says. “I want to spend more time with her to make sure she’s cool enough for us, but yeah. I’m okay with it.”

“You’re a great kid, you know that?”

He grins and lifts his chin. “I know.”

“Now, come give your old man a hug before he starts crying.”

Cooper starts laughing, and I smile, shaking my head as he crosses the room. My son is everything I could have asked for.

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