Page 16 of Perfect for Her

The abrupt change of subject is like a slap to the face and he must notice because he leans in and kisses me softly.

“I just want to hold you since I couldn’t back then.”

God, I wish everything was simpler and we could just be together without anything interfering, but there is, and he’s sleeping upstairs in his dinosaur pajamas.

“I need to talk to Ethan first. I don’t want him to wake up and you’re here. He’ll have questions and I need to make sure I ask him what he wants first. Okay?”

Mark reluctantly agrees as I take his hand and lead him to the front door, kissing him once more before we say our goodbyes and wondering what the hell my life will look like tomorrow because right now it’s a bit blurry.

Mark

“You look beat,” I tell Max as we head outside into his backyard with beers in our hands.

Max peers over his shoulder, probably looking for his wife who is currently putting their toddler down for a nap. “You would look this way too if you only get a few hours of sleep a night.”

I grimace, wondering how he and Addison are doing it all. “It’s that bad? I thought Luna was finally sleeping through the night?”

Max rolls his eyes, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. “She did for about a week. And then decided there were monsters under her bed and so now we’re back to square one.”

Damn, that must be rough.

“Where did she learn about monsters? You didn’t make her watch Monsters Inc, did you? I told you she was too young,” I tease, knowing that was his favorite movie growing up even though we all knew that it paled in comparison to Toy Story.

“Apparently one of the kids at day care told her a story of a monster that lived under her bed and how it tickles her feet at night.”

I furrow my brow, wondering how kids come up with this shit. “How old was this kid? I mean, what toddler knows how to tell stories that make sense,” I joke because listening to Luna babble on about things is hard enough and she’s not even two yet.

“Harlow said this kid was five or six, they are only there after school but obviously enough time to scare the shit out of my kid.”

I smile, warmth filling my chest at the fact that Max doesn’t hesitate to call Luna his, even though she’s not biologically his.

“Well, that kid’s an asshole,” I joke just as Addison comes outside, sighing as she sits in Max’s lap. “You know there are other chairs out here, right?” I wink while she gives me the finger, her face hiding in the crook of my brother’s neck.

“Leave my girl alone, asshole.” I chuckle softly, taking in the scene before me, knowing the happiness he feels with Addison sitting on his lap is what I want with Harlow.

It’s scary how similar our stories have turned out to be, and the longer I sit here and stare at the two of them, the more I know I will do just about anything to make this happen for me. I might not know my son the way Max will know Luna, but I will make sure he knows I’m here no matter what happens in the future.

“So, what’s happening between you and Harlow?” Addison asks, Max’s hushed voice telling me they’ve talked about this between the two of them at length and I don’t blame them. Our group loves a good gossip story.

“I didn’t know that was something I had to share with the class,” I tease, Max’s eyes sympathetic as Addison sits up and looks me right in the eyes.

“That woman has been through a lot, so please don’t be yourself around her.” Max’s laugh fills the space around me and I narrow my eyes, wondering what the hell that means. “Mark, come on. You always had a woman on your arm or in your bed. You’ve never been in a serious relationship that I know of, and you certainly haven’t made many attempts over the last few years. So, forgive me if I want to protect my friend.”

I shake my head, taking a sip of my beer and counting to ten before answering because I know if I say what’s on my mind right now, I will only make the situation worse.

“Baby, that’s not who he is anymore. You know that,” Max says in a hushed tone, his eyes pleading with mine to go easy on her.

“I’m not going to go easy on him just because he’s your brother. I want him to think about what he’s doing. Think about that little boy that’s missed out on his life with his father for four years.” I slam my bottle down on the table beside me, the bottle shattering as I stand.

“That’s it. Addison, I love you like a sister and I know you’re just looking out for Harlow but you need to step away from this. You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”

Addison flinches, Max sitting quietly with his arms around her, waiting to see where this goes before he intervenes.

“I know you think you know what happened between Harlow and me. I know you think you know the details of my relationship with my son, but you have no fucking clue. You have no idea how many months I spent trying to find Harlow after she left me in that hut in the Caribbean. I tried calling every fashion agency in France trying to find her, but I came up empty.” Addison’s eyes widen as she opens her mouth to say something but I hold up my hand to stop her.

“Do you really think that low of me that you think I would stay away from her knowing I had a son? Do you really think I wouldn’t try and find her the second I found out?”

The silence that stretches between us is infinite and I walk toward the back door.

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