28. Kat

Chapter 28

T he house is quiet with Addison in the bath and most everyone else gone. Alex, Desmond, and Vince had some kind of meeting they flew out to earlier today in a bit of a rush, leaving Oliver, Nathan, Addison, and me for dinner. It was strange. Most of the meal was quiet, minus Addison’s chatter about her day. Even after just a short time, I’d grown used to Alex and Desmond being here and their constant teasing, along with the feeling of their eyes on me.

Addison needed a bath, which Nathan moved to handle before I could, but she made sure to let me know she wanted me to read her bedtime story with him tonight. It had become somewhat of a routine. No matter who else read to her, she almost always wanted me there. It was sweet, and damn it if it didn’t make them more appealing watching them all dote over her.

While Nathan handled her bath, I cleaned up the table and the food from our meal. No matter how much they told me not to worry about it, I just couldn’t help myself. Besides, what else did I really have to do? Read another book that would only fuel my very inappropriate dreams…

No, that’s probably a bad idea. I should honestly pick up a Bible or something at this point.

Tonight, Addison was asleep not even five minutes into the story, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. She was always so sure she would be able to make it to the end that she would pick two books. So far, she has yet to make it halfway through one.

“Kat.”

I’ve only made it a few steps down the hall toward my room when Nathan’s voice stops me in my tracks. Turning back around, I find him standing just outside of Addison’s door that’s now closed behind him.

“If you could pack an overnight bag and meet me down by the front door, I’d like to take you somewhere for the night.”

It’s not exactly a request, but there’s still enough wiggle room in his words that I feel I could decline should I want to. Not that I do, but it’s nice to know it’s an option.

“What about Addison?” I ask instead of the hundreds of other questions swirling in my mind. Of all of them, that seems the most important, considering my job is as her nanny, and he’s her father.

“Oliver’s here and happy to spend the time with her.” His answer makes sense. I can’t imagine any of them would ever mind having her around, not with the way she has them wrapped around her finger.

Yet I still can’t help but feel bad.

He hired me to look after her. Not to mention, how will she feel when she wakes up and I’m not here? Will she think I abandoned her?

“It’s only for the night,” Nathan says as if he can read my mind, and I nod, biting my lip when I look up and see the way his eyes all but bore into me. How is it that he’s down the hall, but it feels like he’s right here? “Addison is more than used to us having to leave. She’ll be fine. Oliver will ensure she hardly has time to miss us.”

I bite back the urge to assure him that’s not my issue because it feels kind of silly to remind him of what he hired me for.

“Thirty minutes,” he tells me when I remain quiet. His voice is deep, almost that same authoritative tone I’ve heard him use with Addison, yet somehow sexier.

With that, he turns and makes his way down the hall opposite of me, toward his study, and I’m left staring after him, trying to convince myself to turn around and go to my room like I’d been before.

The faster we get ready, the faster we get to see him again and apparently spend the night with him somewhere that’s not here.

Shit, I probably should have asked him where we were going…

Shaking myself from my little trance, I quickly turn around and head toward my room instead of standing around wasting more time.

It takes me longer than it should to pack for a single night. Mostly because I have no idea what I should be packing. My brain goes through about a million different scenarios before I finally get frustrated with myself and just settle on a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, as well as a nicer bra and panties. I might have also changed out the set I’m wearing now for a nicer set because a girl can dream, damn it.

So far, Nathan hasn’t really touched me like that, at least not while I’m awake, but something in his eyes tells me he wants to, and damn it if I don’t want him to as well.

Only problem is the man makes me weak. I’m like a girl with her first crush around him, unable to do anything but drool and babble and hope for the best.

You’d think I’d be able to tell him what I want and how I feel after he watched Alex fuck me over his desk. I saw the way he watched us together and felt his eyes as they lingered over every inch of my skin.

He wants me the same way I want him; I know it.

I just don’t know what’s holding him back.

I grab a few basic necessities from the bathroom and shove them in my bag before heading out. That took me way longer than it should have, but thankfully, not the whole thirty minutes. I’m not sure why, but I get the feeling Nathan wouldn’t appreciate me being late. The thought almost has me turning around as I come to a stop on the steps, debating what to do.

I might not mind him coming up to my room after me…

No!

What the hell, Kat? Get it together.

I make it the rest of the way down the stairs just as Nathan enters the foyer as well. Unlike me, he has no bag and, as always, has yet to dress down. I swear it’s like he sleeps in a suit; only on rare occasions do I see him in anything else, but even that is still somewhat formal.

With the exception of his bathing suit.

No, that’s not formal; if anything, it’s dangerous. Boss, father, important billionaire businessman, I don’t really care what label you pick. He’s still in shape, that’s for sure.

Oliver walks in behind him as I reach the foot of the stairs, and his presence shakes me from my less-than-savory thoughts.

“We’ll be just down the road.”

Oliver nods, waving Nathan off toward the door. “I’ve got it, just like always.”

I look between them, unwilling to interpret and glimpse one of Nathan’s rare smirks before he turns to me.

I’m not sure what he’s looking for—maybe my bag or maybe something else—but he must find it as he quickly turns to the door, pulling it open and holding out his arm to me.

“Ladies first,” he offers, every bit the gentleman.

As if his good looks aren’t enough to make me weak.

In order to make it to the door, I have to pass Oliver. Usually, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but right now, I can feel his gaze on me, his eyes damn near boring into me as if he intends to look through me.

I’m not sure why, but I want to run. I know Oliver doesn’t seem to care much for me, though he doesn’t seem to dislike me exactly, either. I tend to try to stay out of his way, but lately, that seems as if it’s becoming harder to do, and I’m not sure if that’s on me or him.

Before I can think too much about it, I stop walking and turn to face him. Even with his glasses, his green eyes are so intense that I damn near lose my nerve. Instead, I force a smile to my lips and stand up straighter.

“Thank you for watching Addison for the night. Please let her know I’ll be back soon and not to worry. I don’t want her to think I left her.” I say in a rush before I can chicken out.

Oliver’s brows pull together slightly, but he nods, and I let out a sigh of relief. I hadn’t even realized how worried I was about her being upset, but knowing Oliver is with her makes me feel much better.

With the weight off my shoulders, I turn and head out the front door and down the stairs to the car that waits in the driveway.

It’s not the same car that Vince usually drives when we’re not in the limo, but I’d bet it’s just as expensive; it has the same kind of style. It's a style I’ve never seen before, but that’s not crazy; I don’t know much about cars, and I never really cared to. Carter had a Lamborghini he loved more than himself; it was like his baby, but these cars look nothing like that. This one’s a deep purple color that I’d mistake for black in the darkness, if not for the lights that illuminate the driveway and front of the house.

“Don’t you dare.”

I snatch my hand back a moment before I grab the door handle, whipping around to watch Nathan as he descends the stairs toward me, his brow raised and his jaw tight.

Clearly, this is another situation like Carter, and this is his baby.

Nathan moves past me to pull the door open before gesturing for me to get in, and I almost laugh. This isn’t like Carter at all; if anything, it’s more like Vince, only this is far from Nathan’s job.

Shaking my head, I climb in, and he closes the door behind me before making his way around to the driver’s side. He’d caught me off guard this time, but now I know better. Just like with Vince, I won’t be allowing this.

The drive doesn’t take more than five minutes. After leaving, we head down the road and turn left before turning onto the street that I imagine sits right behind the mansion. The houses are still big—huge, really—but not quite the same as the Lawson mansion. Big enough that I’m sure they’re owned by some very important people nonetheless.

“We own every house on this street. We had them built for staff a few years back. It used to be a part of the original property that the house sits on, but it was easy enough to do without it.” Nathan says, breaking the silence for the first time since we got in the car, and I’m glad I’m looking out the window and not at him because I’m sure my eyes are cartoonishly big right now.

When he originally mentioned me working as Addison’s nanny, he said they had housing for the chef, groundskeepers, and other staff. However, this…

This isn’t at all what I expected. No, I pictured a house a lot like the one I grew up in—enough space to live, with necessities and maybe some fun extras like a pool or something. But this feels like overkill. Each house could easily fit ten or more people, and while I guess these people could have families, I find it hard to believe they can afford these houses, even knowing how well Nathan pays.

We pass five houses before pulling into the driveway of the sixth. It’s not the last house on the street. I can see at least two more past it, but they’re all dark. I assume the first few are occupied, and these ones aren’t.

Holy shit.

It’s beautiful, not that I should be surprised given everything else the Lawson’s own. I mean, hell, they’re beautiful.

The door opens, and I’m confused for a moment until I see Nathan’s no longer in the car. He’d clearly taken advantage of the fact that I was distracted.

Pursing my lips, I huff in annoyance that he got to open my door again, but I quickly swallow it down and grab my bag before climbing out. I’ll just need to do better, it seems.

I follow Nathan to the front door and can’t help but hear the sound of shock that leaves my lips when he simply turns the handle and opens the door.

No way they don’t lock the door!

We’re totally going to be murdered in this house tonight.

I watch Nathan walk in, flipping on lights as he goes, and I can’t take my eyes off him, watching, waiting. It takes him a minute, but eventually, he seems to notice I’ve yet to follow.

“I called ahead and had the house prepared for us,” he says, as if that means something to me. Maybe it should, but honestly, all I can think about is all the places a crazed murderer could be hiding.

Apparently, my face gives my fear away because he’s back in front of me in just a few strides of his long legs. His fingers grip my chin, forcing my head up so that our eyes meet.

“I had them leave the door unlocked because they messaged me to say they were finished right before we left. I also have cameras on the grounds and up and down the street, not only here but by the house, so you can breathe easily. Nobody is going to hurt you here.”

“O–okay,” I manage to stutter out with a nod that doesn’t feel convincing, but he seems to accept it. I expect him to release me and us to move into the house; instead, his fingers remain where they are as his eyes continue to bore into mine, and I’m trapped, completely and utterly at his mercy.

I damn near go cross-eyed as he slowly moves forward, leaning in until his lips press against my own, and I swear to god my knees almost give out. It’s not long, just enough to totally and completely erase every thought from my head.

“In the house, Kat,” he says, his lips moving against my own before he pulls away, and this time, I don’t hesitate to follow him, pushing the door closed behind me.

My fear is quickly replaced by wonder as I look around the house, admiring the high vaulted ceilings and dark wood that appears to run throughout.

“I designed these homes around our groundsman's property. His was the first home we built, and he had the full ability to customize it. It ended up having a nice homey feeling, so we just kept up the same style for the rest with minor changes here and there,” he explains as he continues through the house. And while it’s cool to know, I don’t really understand why he’s telling me or why we’re even here.

The whole house is pretty open; there are no walls separating the rooms like they do at the mansion, and because of that, each step seems to echo back to us. Nathan stops near the back wall, near a fireplace that I’m shocked to find already has a beautiful glowing fire.

It shouldn’t surprise me. Honestly, nothing with him should anymore, but somehow, it keeps happening. I guess this was part of the ‘getting the house ready’ that he was talking about earlier.

The whole wall around the fireplace is glass, from the floor to the ceiling, though it’s hard to see much because of the darkness outside.

A place like this would be amazing in the woods, somewhere with less light pollution, where you could really see the stars.

“Yes, New York is good for a great many things. Seeing the stars isn’t one of them.”

Nathan steps up beside me, looking out the window at the few stars that are visible, and I realize I must have said that out loud.

At least it wasn’t something worse, I suppose.

We stand in silence, looking out the window, and as beautiful as this place is, and how much I don’t mind being with him, I still don’t understand why we’re here.

“So…” I start to say before trailing off. Crap, I should have figured out what I was going to say before I opened my mouth.

Nathan turns away from the window to look at me, and I sink my teeth into my lower lip under his gaze.

Me and my big mouth.

“So, I thought you might like to see the house that is usually reserved for Addison’s nanny.”

I’m not sure if he just happened to decide to tell me that or if he somehow knew what I was trying to ask, but either way, it doesn’t matter. He answered my question whether he knew that was it or not, and now I’m left with about fifty more…

“I’m sorry, what?” I say because I’m not sure I heard him correctly. If this is where the nanny usually lives, why am I staying in his house?

Maybe my being there was temporary? I did move in pretty quickly because of the break-in at my apartment. Maybe something here wasn’t ready? Does he want me to move here now?

Why does the thought make me sad?

It’s silly. I’d be only a few minutes away, but for some reason, the thought of waking up without Addison tugs at my heartstrings. Not to mention, the idea of them not being here somehow makes the whole house feel less like a home despite how cozy it might have seemed only moments ago. And it’s not just Desmond and Alex but Nathan and even Oliver. I’ve grown used to having all of them around; to have a whole house to myself sounds lonely.

“I thought it would be a nice place to get a little bit of time alone to discuss everything. A lot has changed in the last few weeks, and I wanted to ensure we’re on the same page.” He turns away from the window toward one of the two couches that sit in the middle of this back room and beckons me toward it.

I move away from the window, dropping down onto the surprisingly plush couch, and he follows me. I watch him as he unbuttons his suit jacket and slips it off, gently laying it over the arm of the couch before he sits beside me. Instead of his usual stiff posture, he sinks into the couch, his arm thrown over the back of the couch behind me.

“I can get my stuff out pretty quickly. I don’t have a lot,” I say in a rush before I quickly press my lips together, unsure why I said anything.

He doesn’t say anything, instead looking at me with a slight tilt to his head as if he’s unsure how to respond.

Apparently, I’ve said the wrong thing, though, because, after a second, he shakes his head, his lip quirking up a bit.

“Do you want to move out?”

“No!” I shout in a rush to try to assure him, only to cringe when the sound of my voice bounces off the high ceilings around us and echoes back.

“This is why I thought this would be a good idea.”

Yeah, he might be right about that. I’m clearly lost as far as just about everything goes.

“First, I think you should quit your job at the school.” I’m not sure what I expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t that.

“I can’t quit my job!” I say in shocked disbelief. “It’s been my dream to be a teacher since I was a little girl, and this has been my dream school to teach at for years.” I try and fail to keep my voice level, but I can hear the almost harsh jump in pitch.

Apparently, he hears it, too, because he chuckles, and I kind of want to smack him. How can he be laughing right now? This is serious.

I’m serious!

“Dreams are wonderful, and I’m happy you got to work there, but it’s not like you won’t still be teaching. Hell, I’ll let you homeschool Addison if you really want, but it seems as though you might have a stalker, and that school clearly isn’t secure the way I thought it was.” His tone drops, making his already deep voice sound almost dangerous, and if this wasn’t such a serious conversation, I’d be seriously turned on by it.

Okay, I’m still turned on by it, but I’m going to ignore that for now.

I open my mouth to argue my point, but he cuts me off.

“When Alex asked you if you were interested in being more than just Addison’s nanny, you said yes, correct?” His gaze burns into mine, daring me to say he’s wrong, but I can’t.

I had agreed to that, and it’s still what I want. I nod, and he nods back; he knew as well as I did what I agreed to, maybe even more so since I was still in the dark on so much.

Nathan sits forward, invading my space, once again towering over me so that I have to crane my neck back to continue to meet his gaze.

“That makes you ours, Katherine. You might not understand this yet, but after tonight, you will.” He leans in closer so that I can feel the warmth of his body so close to my own, and I fight back a shiver at how nice it feels to have him this close. “You are ours . Ours to protect, ours to spoil, ours to fuck, and I’ll be damned if I keep letting you go back to that fucking school where someone might be putting your safety at risk,” he growls, and between the sound of that and what he just said, I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming.

Men don’t do this kind of thing. Possessive men are a red flag, but this isn’t what I think of when I think of possessive men. No, the toxic possessive is like Carter, where he used to make me change because he didn’t like how much skin I was showing in damn near modest clothes. Somehow, I can’t see Nathan or any of the rest of them being like that.

No, if anything, they would handle any man who might look too long. Much the same way Desmond and Alex handled the asshole at the bar the night we met.

Why does that make me feel warm and fuzzy? I shouldn’t be excited by the thought of violence, but here I am excited by not only that but by him being concerned as a whole.

When was the last time someone was worried about me, really?

I can’t remember.

“But why?” The question is out of my mouth before I can really think about it, but Nathan doesn’t seem put off by it; if anything, he looks like he might have been expecting that question.

“This is where part two comes in. I was taken with you from the moment I saw you. You’re beautiful, and despite my disbelief at the beginning, you didn’t treat my daughter in any special way because of her last name or how it might help you get closer to me.”

It’s my turn to growl. The thought of women trying to use Addison to get close to Nathan really pisses me off.

Nathan chuckles, and the sound catches me off guard. It’s not as if I’ve never heard it; Addison often has the guys smiling and laughing, but Nathan is usually a bit more reserved.

“That right there, you're not like other women, Kat, and something about you draws me in. I tried to keep it professional with you. You were Addison’s teacher, and it only took me a time or two to see you with her to know I wanted you to be her nanny, which would make you an employee. Everyone knows you don’t have those kinds of relationships at work. It’s bad for business and often ends poorly.” He can say that again. There are whole sayings about not mixing business and pleasure because it is so well known. It’s something I was afraid of in the beginning with my crush on him and why I thought for sure he would fire me when he found out about me sleeping with Alex and Desmond.

“You weren’t supposed to be in the house. I’d offered you housing the right way, despite how much I hadn’t wanted to. But then your apartment was broken into, and suddenly, no matter how safe I knew you would be here, I couldn’t bring myself to have you stay here. Not when the other option was with me.”

My mind is going about a million miles an hour, but somehow, I can’t seem to make anything come out of my mouth.

“Then I found out you’re Alex and Desmond’s lost fling. They were so torn up about you disappearing. At first, I thought it was because you got away and gave them the slip instead of vice versa. But even months later, they were still caught up on you, and I knew you had to be something special. My son and brother aren’t known to settle. They’re a little more loose, a little more okay with drowning their sorrows under someone else.”

I’d thought the same thing since I left them. I was sure I was just a distant memory to them. I would have been shocked if they had remembered my name. I might not have known who they were exactly, but I have eyes, and it’s not as if I was able to forget my night with them. No, I was sure women were lining up to be with them; I’d never for a moment let myself believe that I’d made an impression, not even in my wildest dreams.

Nathan stands, once again making his way back to the fireplace, his eyes fixed on the darkened windows.

“Alex and I built the Lawson name from nothing. Desmond was the product of a one-night stand many years ago. His mother didn’t want a baby. It didn’t fit her lifestyle. So she brought him to my doorstep and left him, and I’ve never seen her again. And Oliver’s mother died in a car crash when he was young.”

I gasp aloud, before quickly pressing a hand to my mouth, but I know he heard me. Turning away from the window, his eyes meet mine as I watch him, unable to look away. I don’t know much about these Lawson men, but I want to, and I’ll gladly eat up every crumb he gives me.

He nods me toward the window, inviting me to come and stand with him, and I’m up and off the couch the next second, unable and unwilling to ignore the chance to be closer to him.

I stop just short of being right next to him, trying to give him some space to breathe while he talks, but apparently, that’s not what he has in mind.

Reaching out, he grabs my hand, interlocking our fingers before he pulls me into his side. We stand like that for a moment, his thumb stroking against my knuckles as I relax against him, enjoying the warmth his body offers before he continues.

“Alex and Riley weren’t in love. Hell, they spent most of their time at each other’s throats, but she was a good mother, and before she passed, they’d split time between the two of them. Of course, after she passed, Alex took Oliver full time, and as such, Oliver and Desmond grew up much closer than most cousins. At this point they really are more like brothers, even Addison is more like a little sister to Oliver.”

Nathan’s not looking at me, but I nod, knowing he will feel it. I’ve seen firsthand how close they all are; if I wasn’t told they were cousins in the beginning, I would have believed they were siblings.

“With Oliver and Desmond, we split time working and raising them. The company grew overnight, and before long, they were old enough to start taking an interest in it. Alex never really wanted more kids. He said Des and Oli were enough, but I knew I did. I’d always wanted a large family, and in the last few years, I’ve found there’s no time like the present. Business is booming, but I’m not getting any younger.” He chuckles, and I shake my head at his joke. I know he’s older; Trevor had said he was old enough to be my father, and I’m pretty sure he’s right, but honestly, aside from the streaks of gray in his hair, it’s not really super easy to tell that.

Is it obvious he’s older? Yes, of course. I’m pretty sure Desmond and Oliver are right around my age, but I think it would be harder to guess Nathan and Alex's. They don’t exactly fit into the usual categories for men their age.

“I had Addison through a surrogate. Originally, I’d planned to adopt, but surrogacy seemed like a nice choice as well, that way she still got to have the Lawson bloodline.”

It sounds fine, logical even, but at the same time a little too much like a business transaction.

“You never had a woman you wanted to marry and have children with instead?” I ask before I realize how intrusive that question is. “Shit, sorry, I wasn’t trying to pry.” I pull back to look up at him. Nathan’s a much more reserved person than most. I can’t imagine he wants to talk about that kind of thing with me, and if he did, it’s something he can decide on, not something for me to bring up.

“Stop doing that,” he says with a chuckle, easily pulling me back into his side and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “I want you to ask questions, Kat. I want you to understand, that’s the whole point of this little trip.” I can’t see his face, but I can hear the smile on his lips, and it makes me smile as well. “Or most of it, at least,” he says almost more to himself, and I can’t help but giggle at how dirty it sounded.

“To answer your question, no, there was never a woman I wanted to marry and have children with. Alex and I had worked hard to make our business what it is today, and one of our bigger concerns was splitting it as it passed through the years. We couldn’t stop Oliver and Desmond from marrying, and we didn’t want to, but we both knew it wasn’t for us. Instead, we enjoyed women like fine wine but kept no strings, and somewhere along the way, I think Desmond picked up the same habit. Oliver very rarely even took interest in women, and when he did, it tended to be with Desmond. It was something we weren’t really aware we were doing until later, sharing women. It was fun, and it made things much easier, to the point that we discussed the possibility of sharing a woman long term.”

His voice loses all hint of his earlier humor, and I get the feeling whatever he’s about to share is serious. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him he doesn’t have to share with me, but he said he wanted to, so instead, I press my lips together and wrap my arms around him, nuzzling into his chest.

Nathan doesn’t strike me as the type to need reassurance or affection, but it’s nice to have regardless, I’m sure.

His fingers run through my hair from the back of my head down my back, and I sink even further into him.

Fuck, that feels good.

“One woman seemed to fit everything we wanted and needed in a woman. Natasha was young and beautiful, and Desmond brought her home from the club a few times before she seemed to realize how our dynamic worked. She, like most women, didn’t have a problem with it, and before long, she was always around for one of us. Addison was young then, only a year or so old, and she was great with her, or she pretended to be. It wasn’t until she realized Oliver was a part of our shared lifestyle that we saw the issues with her. She never liked Oliver, but he didn’t say a word until one night, Desmond brought up the idea of us making her a Lawson, having one of us marry her and make her ours forever. Thankfully, Oliver couldn’t keep quiet anymore and brought his issues to me. I didn’t want to believe it. I’d grown fond of her and the idea of having a woman not only for myself but for Addison, but I always knew this was why Alex and I hadn’t looked for women.”

He continues to stroke his hand down my back as if the action is comforting him, and I hope it does because I really don’t know what to say about this. I’m sorry they went through that and that she turned out not to be the one for them, but I’m also kind of grateful.

Which I’m aware sounds horrible and is the reason I’ve kept my mouth shut so far.

“We’d almost made a terrible mistake tying ourselves to her. Desmond was upset about it for a long time. He loved her, and he thought she loved him too, but even if she did, it wasn’t the right way, not the way we wanted. She didn’t like Oliver, and she only pretended to enjoy time with Addison because she knew it made us happy. Like so many before her, she was using us. She was just much better at hiding it.”

“I’m so sorry.” I finally say, unable to keep quiet anymore. Grateful for the chance to be here or not, I can’t make myself enjoy their pain. Nobody should feel unwanted the way Oliver did, no child should be used for someone else’s gain, and the pain of a broken heart isn’t something I’d wish on my worst enemy.

“Don’t be sorry. Natasha is the one who ruined that. And because of her, I was sure our bid to share a woman would never be more than just the occasional fling. Addison didn’t need a mother, no matter how much she might want one, and I could adopt or get another surrogate…” his hand pauses as his words trail off, and I chance a peek up at him through my lashes to find him looking down at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

“And then you came along and changed everything I thought I knew and made me want something I never dared to dream was a possibility.”

“What is it you want?” I ask, my voice hardly more than a whisper, afraid to hear his answer but almost just as desperate for it.

“You, Katherine.” His words crash over me, and I’m struck silent, sure I’ve heard him wrong or I’ve imagined this. There’s no way of all the women he could have, that any of them could have, that he, they, would want me…Right?

“I want you in every way I can have you. Be it only as Addison’s nanny or with benefits if that’s all you want, but know it will never be enough. I’ve never felt for anyone the way I do for you, and it’s not just me.”

I open my mouth to tell him he’s wrong, to argue that Oliver hates me, but he cuts me off before I can.

“If I get my way, I won’t need a surrogate. I won’t need to adopt, because one day I’ll have a beautiful wife who will carry my children and theirs as well.”