Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 16707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Thomas hesitates. Just for a second. Then, his free hand balls into a fist, and he shakes his head hard. “No, you’re not.”
And then he runs. Straight to me.
My breath catches as his little arms wrap around my legs, holding on with everything he has. His cheek presses against me. My heart stops, stumbles, and soars.
“She is,” he says.
I blink rapidly, my throat burning. I don’t move. I don’t breathe. Despite the tears welling in my eyes, I will myself not to cry because this moment isn’t about me. It’s about Thomas trusting me enough to call me his mom.
I look up, meeting the woman’s stunned, angry gaze, but I can’t focus on her. Because right now, this little boy is choosing me.
Adrian’s eyes glisten, and his neck flexes as he swallows hard. His voice cracks when he finally addresses her. “You need to leave or I’m calling the cops.”
She mumbles a response, but I don’t hear it. I don’t give a damn because Adrian closes the gap between us with a few long strides. Then, he pulls us both to him in a tight hug.
It’s only been a few days, and yet, I have found my home.
My family. My boys. The loves of my life.
EPILOGUE
ADRIAN
The soft click of my son’s bedroom door closing makes me glance up from where I’m leaning against the hallway wall. Noelle steps out carefully.
She turns, sees me watching, and smiles. “He’s out like a light,” she whispers.
“Not surprised. You have a magic voice.”
“Okay, but it was after the fourth story.”
“Fourth?”
“He negotiated for six, and we settled for four. Your son’s good at this. I wonder who he got it from.”
I chuckle and extend my hand to her. Bedtime storytelling is now her thing after Thomas complained how I read the lines robotically and without a hint of emotion. He’s not wrong.
Noelle rolls her eyes but takes my hand, letting me lead her through the house toward the porch. We’ve fallen into a natural rhythm for the past few days, and it’s like she’s been living here with us for years. She’s the part I didn’t know was missing until she came here. With her beside me, all the noise settles.
Everything suddenly made sense.
“Ow!”
I freeze as she stumbles, clutching her foot.
“What the—”
She growls under her breath, glaring down at the piece of plastic. Another stray LEGO sticking under her foot. It’s not even the regular kind. It’s a T-rex LEGO. “These things … God, I swear, they multiply like evil little demons in the night.” She takes it between her fingers and tosses it to the nearby wicker basket, already half-full from all the random LEGOs we found around the house. “One of these days, I’m going to sue this company for injuries.”
I laugh softly. “You’re not alone. But I think I’ve just gotten adept at dodging those little shits. You good?”
“Physically? Sure. Mentally? The LEGO may have won this round. I’m already half-convinced whoever invented this wants the parents to suffer.”
Parents.
She just called herself a parent. Jesus Christ. I’m already about to burst from the seams—from that incident a few days ago to now. I’m not normally an emotional man, but my God, when I saw Tomtom run to her and claim her as his mom, I was about to break down on my front lawn and cry.
Shaking my head, I guide Noelle outside, where the night air is warm, thick with the scent of freshly cut grass. She sinks onto the porch steps beside me, stretching her legs out with a sigh.
“Do you ever just sit here and reflect on your life choices?” she asks, leaning back on her palms, her face glowing.
I smirk. “Every time I step on a LEGO. They tend to give you epiphanies every now and then.”
She nudges my knee with hers. “I was actually talking about us. This whole situation. Me, you, and Thomas.”
I watch her, the way the porch light casts a glow over her skin, how the night air lifts strands of her hair. My God, I have never seen a more beautiful woman.
“Regretting it already?” I ask, only half-teasing.
“Not a chance.” She takes her bottom lip between her teeth and smiles. “I love that boy, and him calling me Mom? I thought I’d die from happiness.”
Something inside me curls in on itself. Because I don’t think she realizes just how much she’s changed everything. She doesn’t see it, but I do. How her presence rewrote the way our house feels. Tomtom laughs louder. My chest isn’t as heavy anymore.
I reach for her hand, lacing our fingers, feeling the warmth of her skin. She glances at me, brows raised. “What?”
I swallow and shake my head. I can’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now. “Just thinking about my life choices.”
She grins. “And?”
I squeeze her hand. “Best damn ones I’ve ever made.”