holds out his arms, and Sam launches himself into them.
“I knew it!” Sam declares. “I knew you were my real dad!”
I squint at him curiously. “And how did you know that?”
“Because you said you both knew each other ten years ago, and I’m almost ten—and me and Mr. Raine, I mean my dad , we’re both lefties. And we both hate cream cheese and our favorite dessert is cake.”
“It looks like you put it all together pretty well then,” Raine says, amusement warming his voice.
“Plus when we were at the store,” Sam continues. “A lady said ‘your son looks exactly like you.’ And you said ‘thank you.’ So that’s when I started to think, hey, maybe this guy is my real dad.”
“We do look quite a bit alike,” Raine tells him.
“We do,” Sam agrees. “I must have gotten most of your genes because we’re both men.”
I try to hold back my amusement and cast a quick glance at Raine, who’s clearly trying to do the same thing.
For months he and I had stressed about when and how to tell Sam about Raine being his dad. Raine had relocated us to Maine quickly, and we wanted to give Sam time to adjust before dropping such a big bombshell on him. Then we’d begun to worry that he’d be angry we didn’t tell him sooner, but it looks like our fears were unwarranted.
Sam prattles on as we make our way through the rest of the Van Gogh exhibit, though his attention now seems more focused on our new family dynamic than on the art. A first for my art-obsessed son. Our art-obsessed son.
I turn to Raine and see that his attention is elsewhere, on a couple across the room. They’re a little younger than us, college students maybe. She’s lovely, with long red hair and a stylish blue dress, and he looks like a Brooklyn hipster.
Suddenly I feel plain, with my newly dyed brown hair, conservative dress and sensible shoes.
When Raine informed me about the trip to New York, he told me to buy some new clothes and anything else I’d like.
I’d needed my roots touched up, but after spending years dying my hair light blonde and wearing clothes that left nothing to the imagination, I was tired of the way I looked. Tired of dressing in clothes designed to make men want to fuck me.
So I toned down my hair by dying it chestnut brown, but with plenty of layers and some lowlights to make me look elegant rather than dowdy. And I had a shopper at Maine’s most high end boutique help me select a wardrobe that made me look classy and sophisticated.
It wasn’t until I arrived home and took out my new dresses that I began to worry that Raine wouldn’t find me sexy enough. That he’d find my brown hair and my conservative dresses boring.
Of course, I had nothing to fear. Once he saw my freshly dyed locks, it was clear I had nothing to worry about. He looked at me with love shining in his eyes and without a word, held out his hand and took me to the bedroom, where he proceeded to show me just how sexy he found me for the next three hours.
But as I look at the pretty red head who doesn’t seem to notice us, I can’t help but wonder if Raine finds me lacking. He looks back at me, notices me noticing the other girl he’s been staring at. He shakes his head.
“I knew her for a little while,” he says. “Her name is Jess. She’s a distant relation to my adoptive family, and she stayed at the Everly mansion for a short time.”
I can tell there’s more to it, but I don’t press him for details.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime if you’d like. But she seemed to be with someone at the time, a young guy named Blaze. She’s not with him now though, so I imagine they’ve both moved on. But he seemed to care for her, so I hope they find each other again someday.” His eyes cut to mine. “Like we did.”
He takes my hand in his, and suddenly I don’t feel insecure any longer. Just the opposite. “Lovely Lana,” he says as he brings my hand to his lips
“I knew it!” Sam declares. “I knew you were my real dad!”
I squint at him curiously. “And how did you know that?”
“Because you said you both knew each other ten years ago, and I’m almost ten—and me and Mr. Raine, I mean my dad , we’re both lefties. And we both hate cream cheese and our favorite dessert is cake.”
“It looks like you put it all together pretty well then,” Raine says, amusement warming his voice.
“Plus when we were at the store,” Sam continues. “A lady said ‘your son looks exactly like you.’ And you said ‘thank you.’ So that’s when I started to think, hey, maybe this guy is my real dad.”
“We do look quite a bit alike,” Raine tells him.
“We do,” Sam agrees. “I must have gotten most of your genes because we’re both men.”
I try to hold back my amusement and cast a quick glance at Raine, who’s clearly trying to do the same thing.
For months he and I had stressed about when and how to tell Sam about Raine being his dad. Raine had relocated us to Maine quickly, and we wanted to give Sam time to adjust before dropping such a big bombshell on him. Then we’d begun to worry that he’d be angry we didn’t tell him sooner, but it looks like our fears were unwarranted.
Sam prattles on as we make our way through the rest of the Van Gogh exhibit, though his attention now seems more focused on our new family dynamic than on the art. A first for my art-obsessed son. Our art-obsessed son.
I turn to Raine and see that his attention is elsewhere, on a couple across the room. They’re a little younger than us, college students maybe. She’s lovely, with long red hair and a stylish blue dress, and he looks like a Brooklyn hipster.
Suddenly I feel plain, with my newly dyed brown hair, conservative dress and sensible shoes.
When Raine informed me about the trip to New York, he told me to buy some new clothes and anything else I’d like.
I’d needed my roots touched up, but after spending years dying my hair light blonde and wearing clothes that left nothing to the imagination, I was tired of the way I looked. Tired of dressing in clothes designed to make men want to fuck me.
So I toned down my hair by dying it chestnut brown, but with plenty of layers and some lowlights to make me look elegant rather than dowdy. And I had a shopper at Maine’s most high end boutique help me select a wardrobe that made me look classy and sophisticated.
It wasn’t until I arrived home and took out my new dresses that I began to worry that Raine wouldn’t find me sexy enough. That he’d find my brown hair and my conservative dresses boring.
Of course, I had nothing to fear. Once he saw my freshly dyed locks, it was clear I had nothing to worry about. He looked at me with love shining in his eyes and without a word, held out his hand and took me to the bedroom, where he proceeded to show me just how sexy he found me for the next three hours.
But as I look at the pretty red head who doesn’t seem to notice us, I can’t help but wonder if Raine finds me lacking. He looks back at me, notices me noticing the other girl he’s been staring at. He shakes his head.
“I knew her for a little while,” he says. “Her name is Jess. She’s a distant relation to my adoptive family, and she stayed at the Everly mansion for a short time.”
I can tell there’s more to it, but I don’t press him for details.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime if you’d like. But she seemed to be with someone at the time, a young guy named Blaze. She’s not with him now though, so I imagine they’ve both moved on. But he seemed to care for her, so I hope they find each other again someday.” His eyes cut to mine. “Like we did.”
He takes my hand in his, and suddenly I don’t feel insecure any longer. Just the opposite. “Lovely Lana,” he says as he brings my hand to his lips
Similar Books
