An Irish Affair (Heart of Hope 2)

“We’ve got a pool in the basement,” Devin said.

Andrew’s eyes widened. “In the house?”

It was stupid because I was in this situation from my own selfishness, but I wanted to lash out at Devin. He didn’t need to rub in how much more he could give Andrew than I could. But I bit my tongue.

I mustered a smile. “Andrew sweetie, I’m going to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“’Kay.” He gave me an absent hug as his eyes continued to scan the room. I tried not to take it personally.

“I’ll bring him home tomorrow,” Devin said as I reluctantly went to the door.

I nodded, swallowing the cry of pain that threatened. “He’s got cookies for you and your family. And my mother sent you the Irish stew recipe, since you seemed to like it.”

His eyes narrowed and I wasn’t sure if he was surprised or suspicious by that.

“Thank you.”

I took a last glance at Andrew, who was looking at a painting of a nineteenth-century man I suspected was an ancestor of Devin’s.

“Andrew, be a good listener,” I said.

“I will,” he said absently.

It took every ounce of strength I had to walk out that door. It was only 24 hours, but so much could change in that time. Andrew loved me, but he was a little boy. This house was going to be more fun. Devin could buy him all the things I couldn’t. His mother could poison him against me. I was terrified that the child I was dropping off, wouldn’t be the child I received back tomorrow.

“He’ll be fine, Serena.”

I nodded. “Yes. Of course. If you have any questions or—”

“If there’s a problem I’ll call.”

I’d reached the bottom of the steps when I heard Devin say, “Andrew wait just a minute. I want to ask your mom something.”

I turned as Devin came to me. “Why didn’t you take the money?”

“What?”

“When my mother offered you the money, why didn’t you take it?”

I couldn’t imagine why it mattered. “The first time it was—”

“The first time?” He set his hands on his hips and frowned.

“Yes, she offered me money to soothe the pain of losing you, I guess. It sounded like I wasn’t the first one she’d had to soothe.”

He was shaking his head, but I wasn’t sure if it was at me or at his mother.

“I didn’t take it that time because I was pissed at being dumb enough to fall for you, when I should have known you were just being a player.”

“That’s not true. I cared for you.”

I shrugged. “The second time, I was so offended by her that I vowed I’d never take anything from the Roarke family.” I worked to bite back the words I wanted to use to describe his mother. “I accept full responsibility for your pain. But she was ready to let you go through life not knowing you had a son, too. In fact, she was ready to pay money to ensure you never knew. Once she made the offer, I knew I didn’t want my child anywhere near a woman who’d do that to her own child and grandchild.” Worried I’d gone too far, I looked down and took a breath. Once I felt stable, I looked at him again. “I know you can give him more things, Devin. And I know you care for him—”

“I love him.”

“I’m glad, because he needs that more than things or stuff or a reputation in an elite family.”

He glared. “You have some nerve to judge me.”