whisper. I kneel down and hug him so tight, he probably can’t breathe.
“Did you bring Atticus?” he asks before I let go.
“No, he’s at home. I heard you were at my house and just started running around to look for you.”
A woman and her two children step around us to get into the aisle, so I take Ryder’s hand and lead him to a seating area. I sit down and pull him onto my lap. I wouldn’t normally do this, but I don’t want to let go of him.
“Ryder. You can’t run away like that. Your parents are so worried.”
He slow blinks at me, pouting. “You have another boyfriend?”
“No. No!” I whisper, louder than I probably should. “He used to be my boyfriend, before I moved to Los Angeles. He was not supposed to be at my house, and I told him to leave. I’m so sorry he said that to you. I promise it’s not true.”
Ryder lifts the book to his nose and sniffs the cover. “I guess it makes me feel better.”
I muss up his hair. “How did you find your way to my house?”
He inhales the pages of the book before answering. “Cheyenne found your address because her mom had your phone number. We looked it up on Google Maps on her mom’s computer, and she told me which way to go.”
“Well, that is very impressive, but you can’t do this again. Do you understand? You can’t go places without telling your parents, and you can’t go places without them. What if something had happened to you?”
He shrugs, his lower lip quivering. “Everything’s changing, and everyone’s busy. It’s my fault you can’t be with my dad, and I wish we could all just watch movies and eat pizza again.”
I kiss his cheek. “I have missed hanging out with you too. It’s not your fault at all, Ryder. It’s my fault. I should have thought about how it would affect you. And you need to understand that we all love you. Your parents and me. That’s never changed, and it’s not going to. Even when your mom has a new husband and you have a new brother or sister. Okay?”
He nods.
“And if you’re ever sad or angry or confused, you can just talk to us. Anytime. About any of it.” I hug him again and then look around. “You know what—I have to call your dad and tell him I found you.”
I take Ryder’s hand again and lead him to the front desk. Just as I’m about to ask a lady if I can use a phone, I hear Ryder say, “Hi, Dad.”
I spin around to find Alex Vega, looking more stressed out than I could ever imagine, his hair all messed up. But still hot.
“Ryder.” I hear him swear under his breath as he grabs him and picks him up. “Don’t ever do this again. Ever, ever.”
“How’d you find me?”
“I remembered what Emilia told you about going to the library when she was a kid.” He looks over at me. “I probably shouldn’t have left the house, but I just had a feeling you’d be here.”
The lady at the front desk puts her index finger to her lips and shushes us, smiling. I take the old Dr. Seuss book from Ryder and place it on the counter in front of her. Alex takes my hand and carries Ryder out the front doors.
“You can’t run off like that, Ryder. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Miss Stiles told me.”
“You know what, I think you can call me Emilia when we’re not at school. As long as you remember to call me Miss Stiles when we’re in school. Okay?”
“Okay.” I think he’s attempting to wink at me, but he just scrunches up his face while blinking.
I put my hand on his face, and I can’t stop myself from saying, “I love you.” I say it to Ryder and to Alex.
Ryder blushes and looks away, grinning. But I have no regrets.
Alex lets Ryder slide down the side of him, but we both take one of his hands. This little bugger isn’t getting away from us anytime soon.
All the stress has disappeared from Alex’s face. He is smiling and clearly as relieved as I am. He leans over his son to give me a kiss. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Can we get Atticus and then get gelato and then go to the dog park and then go home and have pizza and watch movies?”
“Yes,” Alex and I answer at the same time.
He nods toward his parked car. “Shall