“It's okay. I should have called first,” I said.
Letting go of my hand, she opened the front door, motioning for me to come inside. As soon as we stepped into the foyer, Grayson was rushing down the hall toward me again, giggling like a maniac. I bent down and scooped him up into my arms, hugging him close.
“Are you sleeping over?” he asked.
I looked at Hadley who shrugged. “It's up to you. We have a guest room, if you'd like.”
“Sure, I'd love to,” I said.
“And we go to the zoo tomorrow?”
I waited for Hadley to respond. I wasn't about to get into trouble again. I'd learned my lesson.
She nodded. “Yes, you and Gabe can go to the zoo tomorrow. But, Mommy has to work.”
“Sound good, little man?” I asked, ruffling his hair.
He nodded, grinning from ear-to-ear. How I could have cared for that little boy so much, so soon, I wasn't sure, but his smile warmed my heart. Just like Hadley's had all those years ago, and often, still did.
***
“He's finally asleep,” she laughed, coming down the stairs in gray yoga pants and a pink tank top. “I don't know about you, but I'm pretty wiped out myself.”
I'd been walking around her living room, staring at the photos on the walls. The photos of her and Chris and Grayson, once a happy family. It broke my heart that Chris was gone, and that his son would never witness what a great man he'd been. Chris was genuinely the best man I'd ever known.
“I'm pretty tired,” I admitted.
What I didn't admit is that I was also incredibly turned on. Watching her come down the stairs in her skintight yoga pants and the tank that showed off her ample cleavage had made the blood to flow south to my cock.
Hadley walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine, making me think she wasn't heading straight to bed.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” I said. “Whatever you're having.”
She came back with two wine glasses in hand. “The guest room is made up and ready,” she said. “I just need to get you some towels for the bathroom. If you need any more pillows or – ”
“I'm sure it's perfect,” I said, taking a sip from the glass. “Don't worry about a thing, Hadley. Thank you for letting me stay here tonight, given what's been going on
and all.”
“Of course,” she said and gave me a weak smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. “I'm sorry things have been weird. I really didn't intend for that to happen.”
“Me either,” I said.
I watched her closely for a minute, hoping she'd elaborate on her comment, but when she didn't, I finally asked her the question that had been on my mind for days.
“Why did you leave so quickly? Without letting any of us know before you blew town?”
She shrugged and turned away from me, walking over to the patio door and stared out at the moon. She sipped her wine but didn't say anything. I walked over and stood close by, staring at her instead of the scene outside.
She sighed. “I just felt horrible, to be honest,” she said. “What kind of woman sleeps with three men in one night? And being drunk isn't an excuse. I was tipsy, sure, but I was still fully aware of everything I was doing. I just – somehow, I convinced myself it would be okay. That we are all adults and could have some kind of arrangement like that without consequences. But, then I woke up and had my son – and my mom – asking questions, it hit me how wrong it really was. I guess I kind of freaked out.”
Her hair fell in front of her face, blocking her from my view. I reached out and gently pushed the hair back behind her ear, drawing her attention to me.
“It wasn't wrong,” I said.
It was hard for me to say those words, to tell her it was okay that she slept with my brothers. But, I also didn't want her beating herself up over it. It was something we'd all agreed to and she shouldn't bear the brunt of the blame for it.