He rubbed the tears from his flushed cheeks. “Promise?”
“I promise.” The doubt clouding Finn’s piercing green eyes broke my heart, so I endeavored to ease his worries with lighter conversation. We talked about how we were going to decorate his new room, how fun it would be living close to his cousin, and the West Coast swimming competition he was bound to dominate, until his smile returned.
“Happy Birthday, Finny,” I rasped out. I could only mask my devastation with smiles and laughter for so long. “I love you so much.”
He smiled. “I love you, too, Mom.”
After ending the call, I could no longer contain my emotion. Tears streamed from my eyes until I was gasping for air. I hated seeing my baby in pain, and not being able to touch him and soothe his worries was torture. It wasn’t natural for a mother to be away from her child this long, and for the next few hours, I wallowed in the misery it induced.
Once my tears had dried and the pain in my heart moved to a dull ache, I changed into my swimsuit and robe and crept down to the indoor pool. The room was too humid for my pounding head, so I opted for the outside pool. The cool air smacked my face as I stepped into the garden, but it was the shock I needed. Tension fell off my body as I maneuvered through the darkness toward the glowing pool in the center of the vast lawn. The steam floating above the warm water drew my gaze up to the star-filled sky, and it took my breath away.
As I approached the water’s edge, I dropped my robe to the ground and didn’t hesitate before diving in and swimming underwater to the other end of the pool. It was freezing out, and the warmth of the water instantly soothed my anxiety and cleansed my soul as it rushed over my body.
Once I’d swum a few laps, I let my body rise to the water’s surface while gazing at the twinkling sky above, searching for the one that shined brighter than the rest. My Dominic.
As tears crept out of the corners of my eyes and fell into the pool below, a surge of water rocked me off balance. With a gasp, I waded to the side of the pool as a dark mass shot through the water toward me. Bracing myself for the wild animal to attack, I closed my eyes moments before it stopped short and broke the surface. Grimacing, I opened one eye to find Adam flicking his wet hair back.
“Fuck, Adam.” I paddled away from him. I would’ve preferred a wild animal.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, chuckling at my reaction.
“Isn’t it obvious? What areyoudoing out here?”
His sly grin widened. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“Not really, no.”
“Well, Iwasreading,” he said, lifting his head up to the mansion before us. “But the view from my window became entirely too distracting. So, I needed a swim to cool down.”
“Oh…”
“I haven’t had a night swim in years.” He spun through the water to get closer to me. “Grayson and I used to sneak out all the time when we were kids.”
I gazed back up at the night sky. “That must’ve been fun.”
“Hey, are you okay?”
I blinked myself out of my daze. “Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind today.”
His eyes searched mine. “Want to talk about it?”
“With you?” I almost laughed, but there was no humor in his face.
“I’m mean…there are other things we could do…” he said, sabotaging his own sincerity.
“Adam…” I looked away from his suggestive smirk. “You need to stop flirting with me.”
“Why?”
I gnashed my teeth as beads of water sashayed down his stubbled jawline. “Because it’s distracting…and I have a job to do here.”
“You’re not on the clock now,” he said, circling like a hungry shark.
I turned for the ladder. My escape route. “Goodnight, Adam,” I said, clutching the handrail.
“You regret it, don’t you? That night in New York?”
My grip loosened as I sunk back into the pool, but I didn’t face him. “Look at the situation we’re in now.”