Page 18 of Perfect for Her

Her eyes soften and when her eyes flick to the ground I take a breath.

“Look, Addi, I know you didn’t mean what you said earlier, and I know you were just protecting your friend. But my relationship with Ethan and Harlow is more complicated than I can ever explain to you. So please just let me figure it out before you go around throwing accusations my way. Okay?”

She nods, tears filling her eyes before I pull her into my chest and wrap my arms around her.

“I’m sorry. Max was pissed at me when you left and I know you’re not a bad guy, Mark, I know that.”

“But you’re afraid that what happened to you will happen to Harlow?” I ask as her face hides in my chest, her head nodding at my admission.

I knew the second she said what she said outside that her trauma from her ex was spilling over to me. His leaving her while she was eight months pregnant had us all pissed, but then my brother stepped up and the rest is history.

“I don’t want what happened to me to happen to someone else. I know that Ethan is four and that it’s a bit different but I don’t want that kid to get to know you only for you to run scared when shit gets tough.”

Ouch. The fact that she thinks that about me makes me realize that maybe I haven’t been the best person.

“I promise that will never happen. That little boy is my kid, I will never leave him. Not now that I know he exists. I just need to convince his mother that I’m here to stay,” I joke, Addison pulling away as our eyes meet.

“You like her, don’t you?”

I nod, taking her hand and heading downstairs. “I’ve spent the last four years chasing the memory of her. So yes, having her back in my life is something I’m not willing to let go of.”

She smirks as Max makes his way toward us. “I’m happy for you,” Addison admits before walking toward her husband and sighing when his arms wrap around her.

I know that these people are my family and that family will get their noses into everyone’s business, but right now I need to get my shit together before they ruin everything.

Harlow

“Mommy, can I go into the pool?” Ethan asks while jumping up and down and flailing his arms as if this is the most important question he’s ever asked before. “Please, Mom, Mark said it was okay.”

My eyes peer up and catch Mark’s, who dares to smile in my direction while shrugging his shoulders. I roll my eyes while he chuckles as I peer down at my son. With every passing second, I see Mark in him more and more, and the more time they spend together, it becomes more apparent. I know Ethan isn’t comfortable calling Mark “dad,” and to be honest, I don’t blame him. Even though Ethan has known about Mark his entire life, even seen some of the very few photos I took on our trip four years ago, that doesn’t mean my son is ready for that step, and that’s perfectly okay with me. Mark knows to let it be for now, and I know he wants to hear that one word cross our son’s lips more than anything and I know it will come, but it’s only been a week, and I have to remind Mark of this fact all the time.

My eyes look around the backyard and see every chair filled with people that I’ve grown to love these past few months I’ve been here and so I smile down at Ethan, nodding. He goes running toward Max who is holding Luna in the cutest swimsuit I have ever seen. Pink ruffles circle her chubby legs and a small bikini top that looks both ridiculous and adorable all at the same time.

I open my mouth to remind him to wear his floaties since he still doesn’t know how to swim on his own yet, but before I can do that, Mark is up and putting them on his little arms. My heart skips a few times at the sight before me, basking in the way Mark is kneeling on his heels as he struggles to get the tight plastic around Ethan’s arms, both of them laughing.

“Fatherhood suits him,” Drew says from beside me. I was so enthralled with watching them I didn’t even realize he was there. “You know, when he first told us about you and Ethan, I thought he was joking. But then the past four years made so much more sense.”

I quirk an eyebrow, wondering what he means.

“He hasn’t been the same since he came home from that trip. He might have hidden it well enough but I saw right through it and so did Max. You changed him.”

I shake my head, taking a sip from the cider I’m clutching in my hand. This is not the conversation I was expecting to have at a summer pool gathering.

“That’s ridiculous. I appreciate the sentiment, Drew, but I’m not naive enough to think that that man waited for me.” I nod toward Mark who is now in the water and holding out his arms for Ethan to jump into. I smile when my son runs at full speed, crashing into the water and laughing hysterically as his head pops up out of the water.

“I wouldn’t be too sure.”

My head spins so fast I almost get whiplash.

“That man had a different woman on his arm every weekend, brought them to every Sunday dinner even when Addison made fun of him relentlessly. But that all stopped four years ago and I have a feeling you had something to do with it.”

My eyes widen, my head snapping back to the pool where Mark is now looking my way, a questioning look in his eyes.

When he mouths, “are you okay?” I smile and nod, taking a sip of my cider once more just as something to distract me from the way my body is reacting to the fact that Mark changed after he met me.

“That makes no sense,” I mutter, thinking back to our time together and while it was life changing for me, and gave me the best gift I could ever ask for, it was also just a week, and the idea of him feeling that strongly for me after such a short time is causing a whole new set of butterflies to form.

“I just hope you’re here for the right reasons.”

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