Page 119 of Under Water

By the time I make it downstairs, Elio and Daphne are out back, and Easton’s on the couch, also freshly showered and looking delicious as hell in a very nice pair of jeans and a polo shirt. His gaze meets mine, and he looks nervous.

“So,” he says when I walk over and sit down, “your best friend has a fat fucking mouth.”

I blow out a puff of air. “Something you need to tell me?”

“I was so going to wait until after today. There’s already a lot on your plate,” he says slowly.

“Just tell me. I’m going to lose it if I have to sit and think about secrets all day,” I beg. I’d rather handle knowing than not knowing.

He takes my hand and kisses my wrist the way he does whenever I’m anxious, and I don’t know if it’s Pavlovian at this point or not, but it soothes me instantly.

“Okay, so, before you say no, remember this offer is made out of love. But I will also not push if you want to say no.”

I bite my lip. The anxious feeling gets worse.

“I don’t know if you’re aware that my brother has…money,” he says carefully. “Like, a lot of money.”

I snort. “The house kind of tipped me off.”

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah. So, the thing is, after his husband died, he got a huge life insurance payout. And then there was a suit against the company who ran the tours that took them on that faulty trail where Leo fell and his husband died.”

My stomach clenches at the thought of losing Easton in such a horrific way, and I breathe through it. “Right.”

“Leo wants to help us pay to build a home for us. A place that we can design for Elio.”

It feels like someone ripped the earth out from under me and I’m spinning out in space. “Ah—well…”

“I’ve given it some thought,” Easton goes on. “And I think we should take him up on the offer with one stipulation.”

I hold my breath for a second, then nod. “What stipulation?”

“That if anything happens between us—and I want to believe it won’t, but I can also be logical and realistic when I want to be,” he adds with a smile. I can’t help but be hopelessly fucking charmed by this man, and I smile back. “But if things fall apart, you keep the house.”

“No.”

“Yes,” he says firmly. “We’re going to build the house to fit Elio’s needs, not mine. However you want to work that out with Leo is fine by me. And I’m fine being on the house title if that will make you feel better or whatever. And Leo isn’t asking you to decide now. Neither am I. Okay?”

I nod. Maybe I should have let him keep that to himself because I’m not sure I can hold all that in my chest while also facing Neal in court. But maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe having this reminder that I have Easton, who is a man who has embraced all of me and all of my life, will help me face him.

“We should go soon.” I speak in a hoarse rasp, and when I stand, Easton doesn’t follow.

“Did I mess this up?” he wonders. His voice is small.

Taking him by the hands, I yank him to his feet, then cup his cheeks and kiss him. “Not a chance. Not even a little bit. And I’m looking forward to the day you stop asking me that question, because you’re not a fuckup, Easton.”

He swallows thickly. “Might take a while for me to believe that.”

I kiss him again. “I’m a patient man.”

He relaxes against me and closes his eyes for a long blink. “Okay. Let’s go say bye to Daphne and Elio.”

I know I should stop thinking it’s such a fucking wonder that he actually wants to be around my son and his mother—that he’s not just putting on a performance until he can convince me to dump my kid on my parents so he can get what he wants—but it’s going to take some time. Just like it’ll take time for him to believe he’s not going to ruin anything just by existing.

God, what a pair we make.

I follow behind him as he leads the way outside, and we find Elio and Daphne having their breakfast on the deck. Daphne smiles, but Elio’s face is full of worry when I grab a chair and sit next to him.

“Is he gonna get out today?”