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“Mama!” he cries, voice cracking as he throws himself at her. He wraps his arms around Blaire’s legs burying his face in her pants. “I don’t wanna stay. I wan’ Mama.”

My chest tightens as I drop to one knee and rub slow circles on his back. His little body shakes with quiet sobs, and I glance at Blaire over his head. She looks just as gutted as I feel.

Blaire strokes his hair gently, her voice soft but steady. “Hey, buddy. It’s okay. You’re gonna stay here tonight and hang out more with Papa. He’ll let you have more Halloween candy and stay up late. You’ll have the best time.”

Theo sniffles, pulling back just enough to look up at her with watery eyes. “I wan’ Mama.”

“I know, sweetheart,” she says, ruffling his hair. “But tomorrow morning me and Daddy will both come pick you up. How does that sound?”

Theo’s lower lip trembles harder. He turns those big, tear-filled eyes on me next. “Daddy too?”

I nod, my throat tight as I reach out and wipe a tear from his cheek with my thumb. “Yeah, buddy. Both of us. We’ll be here first thing, okay? You’re gonna have so much fun with Papa tonight you won’t even miss us.”

He shakes his head, burying his face against Blaire’s shirt again. “I don’t wanna. I wan’ go home with you.”

Richard steps forward quietly, his voice gentle as he crouches down beside us. “Hey, Teddy. How about we go inside and you can pick out a movie for us to watch on the big tv tonight?”

Theo hesitates, glancing between Blaire and me one last time.

Blaire gives him a soft smile and crouches to kiss his forehead. “Go on, baby. We love you so much, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

He lets out one more shaky breath, then nods and wraps his arms around both of us in a final, fierce hug before letting Richard take his hand. As they head back toward the porch, Theo looks over his shoulder and gives us a small, watery wave. I wave back, forcing a smile even as my chest aches.

We walk out to my truck in the cooling evening air, the gravel crunching under our shoes. I glance back at the house one last time, the weight of leaving Theo behind settling heavy in my chest.

“I feel bad leaving him another night,” Blaire says quietly, her voice tight. “And then tomorrow everything changes even more when we have to tell him we’re all going to be living together.”

I open the passenger door for her and make sure she’s buckled in before leaning against the frame, the metal cool under my palms. “Does this mean you’ve decided to move in with me?”

“No offense,” she says, arms folding across her chest, “but I’d rather not move into your fuck shack of a bachelor pad.”

My eyebrows shoot up, a startled laugh escaping before I can stop it. “Fuck shack?” I repeat, equal parts amused and offended. “That’s a new one.”

Blaire gives me a flat look, her mouth set in a thin line. “I’ve heard about your… extracurriculars on your child-free nights all these years, Simon.”

The amusement drains from my face in an instant. My hands flex against the truck as I stare at her, genuinely taken aback. I’d been so careful after that one summer—after she found out about the girl I’d been seeing through some random mutual connection. I made sure every single woman since then lived an hour away, or more, just so Blaire wouldn’t find out how stupid I was being. “You… knew about the others?” I ask quietly.

Blaire’s mouth twists, not quite a smile. “Yeah. Small towns talk. I’ve been sent screenshots of your Tinder profile a million times.”

I swallow hard, the guilt twisting deeper in my gut. “Blaire, I—”

She cuts me off with a raised hand, her expression guarded but not angry. “It’s whatever, Simon. You were entitled to do whatever you wanted with your free time.”

I nod, unsure what to say next. The silence stretches for a beat until she exhales and glances out the windshield, her voice softening into something more thoughtful.

“But I guess your house is bigger. Would be nice to have more space with three of us.” She pauses, thinking aloud. “I guess I could overlook the fuck shack history if we could do some redecorating or something.”

The playful tone has crept back into her voice, but I’m not stupid enough to believe it doesn’t bother her. I know her too well. The idea of me sleeping around all these years still stings, no matter how casual she tries to sound.

“Whatever you want,” I tell her, meaning it. “I’ll burn the place down and rebuild it with my own hands if that’s what it takes.”

She laughs, the sound light and genuine. “Maybe we just start with a new mattress.”

Her laughter eases some of the tension in my gut. My hand finds the side of her face, thumb brushing her cheek as I angle closer, pausing to give her time to say no. She closes the gap instead. The kiss starts soft, but it deepens fast—hungry, urgent. Her lips part under mine and I taste the artificial cherry from the Halloween candy she was eating after dinner, feel the warmth of her breath mingling with mine. One of my hands stays braced on the doorframe while the other slides down to her waist, fingers gripping lightly through her shirt, pulling her toward me as far as the seatbelt allows. The truck’s interior feels suddenly too small, the air thick with heat as her fingers curl into my shirt, dragging me in until our chests brush and I can feel the rapid beat of her heart against mine.

Her other hand slips up to the back of my neck, nails grazing my skin, and I groan against her mouth, the sound low and rough. The kiss turns wetter—tongues sliding, teeth nipping, her soft sigh swallowed between us. Memories flash behind my eyes: the way she used to moan my name, the heat of her body arching under mine, the taste of her skin when I’d kiss down her throat. My thumb strokes along her jaw, then I curl my hand gently around the back of her neck, my grip tightening when she moans into my mouth. Heat floods through me and my cock stirs hard in my jeans, pressing painfully against the zipper. Her fingers sneak under the hem of my shirt and trace the bare skin of my stomach. I lean in deeper, my tongue stroking hers slow and deliberate as her nails scrape lightly down my abs. The feel of her floods my senses, and I feel like I could cum just from this, from the way she shifts in the seat, pressing her thighs together, her breath coming quicker against my lips.

Then she pulls back, breathing uneven, her palm resting firmly on my chest to keep the distance. “Simon…” “Yeah?” I ask, my voice husky and tight. “I’m just… I don’t think I’m ready to go further yet. I want to figure us out without sex confusing things.”