had never occurred to me that she’d ask that. “He’s my son, Thea. I have to fight for him.”
Her smile was sweet. “Right answer.”
I blinked, and then irritation filled me. How could she do that to me? Every fucking time. Something about her made me vulnerable, and I fucking hated it.
I’d been no saint in the years since she’d gone to Stanford and I’d made a different life for myself. Just as she had.
But that life had been waiting on this turning point.
I ground my teeth for a second before I challenged, “Was that fair?”
“What? To question you? I barely know you anymore, Adam. The man I knew before would have never left his son behind. You just confirmed that you haven’t changed that much.”
Despite myself, I was irritated. “And since when were you the judge on whether a man is good or not?”
“You’re my man, aren’t you? Who else can judge you? Who else can judge me but you?”
My jaw flexed because she was right. Still… “Not fair, Thea.”
“Who said I played fair?” She hiked her bag higher up on her shoulder. “Who said anything in this life was fair?”
“I sure as fuck didn’t,” I snapped, and when I was certain she was going to carry on walking, evading me to the last, I grabbed her arm, slipped my hand down to her wrist, and questioned, “Where are you going?”
“Back to my hotel. I still have things I need to pack.”
“I’m coming with you.”
It was an order, a command, one I uttered without knowing if she’d agree to it, but my heart soared when she murmured, “Yes, I think you should.”
Even though I was relieved, her acquiescence surprised me. I’d expected her to argue, and when she didn’t, I just stood there, gaping at her a little.
“Cat got your tongue?” she sniped, her eyes flashing.
“Something has,” I retorted, and with a defiance that made me feel about six, I dropped my grasp on her wrist and grabbed her hand instead.
She didn’t fight the connection, didn’t avoid my touch. Instead, she peered up at me with those eyes of hers that seemed to see into my fucking soul and muttered, “This is a bad idea.”
“Is it? I think it’s the best idea we’ve ever had.”
“You don’t know why I—”
“Why you’ve been avoiding me? For years? No, you’re right. I fucking don’t.” I hated that I was snarling at her, snarling and criticizing when I was, essentially, getting my own way at long last. I was a fool, a moron, but I was also hurt. I’d never been able to pin her down on her reasons why. Even when she’d relented and let me inside her, she’d never given me a clue as to why she’d torn us apart. “But you’re going to explain it to me, aren’t you? When we go wherever it is we’re going.”
“You don’t know?” Her lips twitched, and my heart soared at the small smile. “And you still want to come? What if I wanted to visit Outer Mongolia?”
“Then I’d need some time to prep for the trip. I’ve only packed shorts and tees.”
That lip twitch morphed into a full, outright grin. “It’s going to be chilly, but not that chilly. I want to go to the Gold Coast.”
“Australia?” My brows sank, and I thought about the last time I’d visited on business. “My visa should still be valid.”
“You’ve already visited it?”
Her pout enchanted me, so much so that I reached up and rubbed her bottom lip. “Early last year. I went to Adelaide to speak with Justin Weave.”
Her brows rose. “The artist?”
I dipped my chin. “Yes.”
“What did you want painted?”
It was my turn for my lips to twitch. “When you come to my place in London, you can see for yourself.”
I’d had him do her portrait when she’d taken part in the World Championships in China three years ago. The moment when she’d whipped off her Lycra swim cap, dunked her head under the water, then surged above the surface with triumph lining her features and glass-like droplets slipping down over the curves of her face.
But she didn’t need to know that.
Her brows arched like she thought I was being arrogant and getting ahead of myself. Then, deep in her eyes, I saw exactly what I needed to see.
Want.
Deep, pervasive.
Enough to make me sigh.
Enough to make me thank God that nothing had changed where her feelings were concerned.
As much as I wanted to be a part of her life, she wanted to be a part