Page 37 of Say You'll Stay

The knots are back, but they’re in my chest now.

“I had you pegged for the guy on the football team who slept around and wouldn’t care enough to be around. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no,” I sit beside her. My hand goes to her back. This robe is soft. “Don’t think like that, Allie. We can’t change it.”

“It’s just that I could have said something and you would have,” she wipes those eyes and mutters something about fucking up her makeup. Maybe she’ll stay. “You would have been there. I just... I should have.” She sobs, and I know she feels horrible, but I don’t blame her.

“Listen,” I test a hand around her shoulder. When she doesn’t fight that one off, I pull her in close. She leans into my chest and those curlers hit my face, but they don’t hurt.

But, damn, does her hair smell good. Just like I remembered from that one night.

“You did what you had to do. I know the circumstances were shit, but we’re going to figure this out. We’re friends now and aside from the jokes, I’m happy we get to know one another now and have this family dynamic. It’s important to me, and you’re part of that. Okay?”

“Okay.”

We sit together for a few minutes before Allie forces herself back up with a sigh. “Guess I’ll finish getting ready.”

I’m ashamed to admit this to myself, but I just don’t want her to go. Jadon is fine, but I’m not. I want her with me when I tell my dad and when I take Jadon to meet him, but that’s selfish. I swallow every word I want to say, and instead watch her walk back to her room and shut the door.

There’s a knock on the door while I make my way to the stairs, and Jadon screams out Ted’s arrival.

“Right. Guess I’ll go meet Ted.”

Downstairs, Jadon leaps into his arms. “I met my daddy! The real one.”

He’s a tall blond with sparkling eyes and a perfect smile. At Jadon’s words, that smile disappears and is replaced with some sort of skepticism. “Is that so?” he asks Jadon. “Who did she say was your daddy?”

“Hi,” I tell him, and Ted’s blond head whips in my direction. His eyes crinkle around the sides while he takes me in.

“Who are you?”

In the spirit of not wanting to piss Allie off after we had a day of real interactions, I hold my hand out to him. He takes it and his lips wrinkle when Jadon leans over for me to hold him instead. “Lucas. I’m Jadon’s father. You must be Ted.”

Chapter20

Lucas

Ted stands just a few inches above me and now that we’re in person, face-to-face, I know I’ve seen him before, I just can’t place him. He watches Jadon in my arms, and I study him. I understand he’s known Jadon since he was born, but there’s a strong feeling that something is off.

He looks between Jadon and me as he assesses the subtle differences and similarities between us. He’s calculating and putting it together.

I know he has an opinion of me, and I don’t blame him, but Allie and I are moving past that. Hell, Tom is getting over it too, a little each day. But there’s something else going on here withlifelong buddyTed.

“You’re Jadon’s father,” he says.

Again, I hold a hand out to introduce myself. “Lucas.”

He takes my hand and shakes it. Slowly. “The eyes,” he looks between both of them. “The same ones.”

“Weird family trait on my mother’s side.”

“Uh huh...” he breaks the handshake and turns to Jadon. “Hey, bud, why don’t you go see if Mommy is ready?”

Jadon runs upstairs shouting for Allie.

With a thumb over my shoulder, pointed up the stairs, I cockily inform him of Allie’s current status. “She’s getting dressed right now.” His eyes crinkle in the middle with a possessive glare. “She’ll be down in a minute.”

“She’s getting dressed...”

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