The Do-Over (The Miles High Club #4)(137)

“I’m taking him home with me.”

“What do you mean?” I frown. He’s making decisions about his long-term future without consulting me?

Because we’re over.

“He’s going to come and live with me in London.” He shrugs. “That’s if I can get him out of the country.”

I stare at him, my mind a clusterfuck of confusion.

“He doesn’t have a passport or a birth certificate. I’ve got my friend Sebastian Garcia helping me. You know, the one you met?”

I stare at him, so thrown by what he’s telling me I can’t even make a coherent sentence. “No?”

“He was on the yacht in Greece with Julian Masters.”

Oh . . . the good-looking one.

“The one with the dark hair?” I ask as I act dumb.

“That’s him. He’s a politician in London and of Spanish descent. He’s helping me with the red tape.”

“Christopher . . .” I pause as I try to collect my thoughts. “You can’t take him out of Spain. It’s his home.”

“Is it?” he replies with an annoyed tone. “He slept on a stained mattress on the floor, all alone in a deserted house. No plumbing, no electricity. Nothing. He had my postcards pinned to the wall with a photograph of you in the center. We are literally all he has, Hayden, and I can’t leave him here. I won’t.”

I look over to Eddie serving a group of men at the bar, and I’m overcome with emotion. The lump in my throat hurts as I try to swallow.

Poor Eddie.

“Even if it’s just until he’s eighteen or nineteen and old enough to get a rental on his own,” he says softly. “I can get him schooled to read and write so he at least stands a chance.”

I nod as I listen, remaining silent.

There are no words for this situation. I’m completely shell shocked.

Christopher’s eyes hold mine. “What are you thinking?”

I sip my drink and shrug. “Have you really thought about what this means for your future? A child is a lot to take on, Christopher.”

“I know.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “But what am I supposed to do, Grumps?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper.

We sit in silence for a while.

“What does he think about all this?” I ask.

He shrugs. “He seems excited to come with me. I mean . . . what are his other options? Be scared every day that some fucker is going to steal his phone while he sleeps on the floor?”

Fuck.

I can’t imagine being all alone. How frightening it must be for him. Christopher’s silhouette blurs, and I quickly wipe my tears out of my eyes.

Christopher stares straight ahead. He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders . . . and now I know that he does.

“You’re such a good man, Christopher.”

His eyes hold mine, and the air crackles between us. He slowly reaches over and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. “It’s so good to see you, Grumps.”

I’ve never needed to hug someone so badly in my life.

And I can’t.

My heart beats faster, and I’m in information overload. Everything is different, but nothing has changed. Our fucked-up situation is still the same and yet now even messier.

There’s a child.

I stand abruptly. “I should get going.”

“What, where to?” He seems surprised.

“Bed. I’m . . . exhausted.”

“Are you staying here?” He frowns.

“Yes.”

“Me too.” He gives me a soft smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Okay, bye,” I blurt out in a rush. I need to get away from him right now.

This is all just too fucking much.

I catch Eddie’s eye and blow him a kiss and make my way up to my room. I burst through the door and begin to pace.

What now?





CHRISTOPHER

I lie on the sand in the darkness. The distant thrill of partying sounds in the distance. The beach is quiet and deserted. There are a million things running through my mind.

Seeing her tonight . . .

It’s unnatural not to touch Hayden . . . to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I need her.

I never believed in love. I thought it was a fantasy that only lonely people talked themselves into needing. I didn’t think that it was possible to care for someone as much as I do her. And I know that we can’t be together, and I know that it will never work out between us, but seeing her in the flesh has opened a wound . . . my heart aches for what it can’t have.

Another moment in her arms.

I get a vision of her at the bar earlier tonight, so detached, so unlike the warm and gentle Hayden I know.

Seven weeks have dragged so slowly, and yet seeing her tonight, it’s like she never left.

Everything feels the same, perhaps even stronger.

I’m completely and utterly fucked.

I stare up at the moon. So many nights Hayden and I would lie on this beach and dream about the future. But looking back now, it was her doing all the dreaming while I listened. I already knew my fate . . . I just never let on at the time. If only I was honest with myself and her, then I could have saved us both a lot of heartache.