Mitch and told him to take the job offer? What was he waiting for? What was he hoping for?
He didn’t belong here. He should go back to Australia. Become a talking head on the TV.
So why did the mere thought of it make his chest tight?
Finn chose that moment to look over at him. He grinned that little-boy grin, then waved excitedly, and Cole smiled despite the knife slicing through his heart. He waved him over, and Finn didn’t hesitate, running at his usual breakneck speed. Cole braced for the impact to his legs, laughing as two little arms went around his thighs.
Jane was still in his line of vision, and he glanced up. She was smiling affectionately at her son. It faded as she raised her gaze and connected with Cole’s, her expression way more guarded.
“Thank you,” she mouthed. “Much appreciated.”
Cole’s heart banged like a funeral march in his chest as those two words—much appreciated—took him back to the beginning. He’d thought they’d moved past all that. She was withdrawing. Hitting rewind.
Pushing him away.
“This your boy?”
Cole dragged his attention from Jane, momentarily disoriented by Ronan and his question as Finn beamed up at them. No. He stroked Finn’s head. Not his boy.
“No. That’s my daddy over there,” Finn piped up, one skinny little index finger pointed to Tad. “This is my Cole.” He grinned up at Cole again, and Cole’s heart squeezed like a broken old piano accordion in his chest, wheezing and out of tune.
“This is Finn,” Cole said, pulling himself together to perform the introductions. “He’s my little mate, aren’t you?”
Cole wouldn’t have thought Finn’s grin could get any bigger. But it did. The little blond head nodded vigorously. “Like on Bluey.”
Ronan smiled but was obviously puzzled by the reference. “Don’t worry,” Cole said. “I have a feeling you’re going to know an awful lot about Bluey in the coming years.”
If Ronan moved to Australia, it’d be hard to escape the Bluey obsession.
“Okay then,” Ronan said cheerfully and held out his hand for Finn to shake, which he did with much solemnity. “How old are you, Finn?”
“Four.”
“You like rugby?”
Finn gave another vigorous nod. “Yes. Cole showed me how to play.”
“Well, you’re one lucky kid. Cole’s very famous.”
Cole cringed a little at the over-the-top statement as Finn gaped up at him. “You are?” He was obviously surprised at the news. “I thought you lived in Australia, not Hollywood.”
He laughed then, loving the mental leaps of a four-year-old mind. “I do. And I’m not famous.”
Ronan shrugged. “He is to me.”
Finn’s arm tightened around Cole’s legs. “Me, too.”
Ronan ruffled Finn’s hair this time. What was it with children’s hair that just made people want to ruffle it? “You want to be in the Cole Hauser fan club with me?”
“Yes please.” Finn’s eyes lit up, and when Ronan presented his fist, Finn automatically gave it a bump. Like he’d been fist-bumping rugby players for decades. “You were really good,” Finn said.
“Yeah?” Ronan grinned, clearly enjoying the boy’s admiration.
“Yup.” Finn nodded like he was a professional rugby pundit. “Cole said you were a bloody natural.”
Ronan laughed, and Cole almost choked as his words were parroted back. By a four-year-old. He really needed to be careful what he said around the kid. Tad probably already knew that.
“Ronan!”
“Sorry.” Ronan tipped his chin at the Barbarians coach who’d done the hollering. “I gotta go.”
“No worries,” Cole said, shaking his hand once again.
“If you’re sticking around Denver, give me a call. I’d love to shoot the breeze with you, man.”
“Ah…sure.”
Cole didn’t think Ronan was trying to curry favor or even take advantage; he seemed genuinely interested in chatting rugby, and Cole totally understood. If the positions had been reversed, he’d want to hear all the old war stories, too. But the truth was, he had no idea what he was going to do next.
He had planned on going back to Credence tomorrow with Jane. Finn was going back to California with his father. They’d be alone. No small boy or Houdini reptile to distract them. But now…he wasn’t sure. He glanced at Jane, still deep in conversation with the Barbarian’s fly half, and wished there wasn’t so much noise going on in his head when he looked at her. How was he supposed to decide anything about his future when just looking at her caused his head to fill and his chest to cramp and his groin to tighten?
His concentration was shot around Jane Spencer.
Ronan tapped the phone in Cole’s hand. “Call me. You have my