As evening came, the lawyer showed up for the drop-off. They all headed outside to the front porch, with Simon placing his arm around Heather. Her body was shaking, and her face had a haunted expression on it. His heart squeezed in pained sympathy for her. Heather’s suffering was destroying him, and more than anything he wanted her nightmare to end.
A silver sedan pulled up and Gary stepped out of the driver’s seat. There was a scowl on his face but her ex trudged over to the backseat, opened the door, and pulled out his son. With Finn fast asleep in his arms, Gary headed over to them, silently handed Finn over to the lawyer, and made his way back to his car.
When the sedan pulled away, Heather exhaled loudly and gathered Finn in her arms. Finn was sleeping peacefully, and Heather kissed the top of his head tenderly.
“Thank you for everything,” she said to the lawyer. “I’m so grateful for all your help. I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“My pleasure,” the lawyer said with a smile. “Don’t worry about anything right now. Just focus on being back with your son.”
“I’ll just go put Finn to bed then,” she informed them.
“No problem. I’ll be out here waiting,” Simon murmured.
Simon turned his focus back to the lawyer, and they hashed out some financial details. Once everything was settled, the lawyer headed out and Simon returned to crash on the sofa in the living room. As drained as he felt, he was grateful that Finn was safely back home. Relief washed over him. They were lucky things hadn’t turned out worse. To his mind, Gary seemed crazy and controlling enough to try to take Finn out of the state. Or worse, out of the country entirely.
He made a mental note to keep the lawyer on speed dial. Gary was bound to give Heather more trouble, and Simon refused to let the guy torment her. It didn’t matter if he had to pay a whole team of lawyers to protect her and her son from her lunatic ex. Especially since it looked like they were going to take a chance and actually date for real.
When she stepped back into the living room, his chest tightened at the sight of her beautifully familiar face. Simon could never ever get tired of looking at her. Every time he saw her she seemed more beautiful than the last time he saw her.
“I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” she said. “I couldn’t have survived today without you.”
“I’m happy to help.” He stood up and crossed the room to take her hands in his. “But don’t focus on me right now. You look exhausted. I can stay if you want. But I can leave, too. Whichever will make things easier for you. Just say the word.”
“You should go home and get some rest, Simon. You’re probably burned out, too. I’m sorry for dragging you into my drama.” She started to head for the door and he fell in step beside her.
He shook his head. “You haven’t dragged me into anything. All I want to do is take care of you the way you deserve.”
“I know. And I appreciate that.” She flashed him a faltering smile. “We were supposed to have a talk about our future.”
He stopped at the door and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “That can wait. We’ll talk about it when you feel stronger.”
Heather opened the door for him and he stepped outside. “We should talk about it now, Simon.”
“Really?” He frowned. “After the long day you’ve had? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I’m sure,” she said, standing on the threshold. “We have to talk about us. Right now.”
“Okay.” Hope flared in his heart. If she was this eager to give them a chance, then he was more than ready to hear her out. They clearly couldn’t just work together. There was something more between them and he wanted to take the next step. Being with Heather was worth whatever came their way. Let the world think they were causing a scandal. Having Heather felt so right that it was worth the risk to him. “Where do things stand between us?”
“Nowhere,” she said before she slammed the door in his face.
THE END