Page 13 of Single Mom's Undoing

“Have you considered our job offer?” Jace asks me.

I nod slowly. “I assume you’ll agree to a temporary contract.”

“For starters, yes,” Carter says. “We’ll leave the door open for something more permanent, if you decide to stay.”

“I won’t.”

“But it’s there if you do.”

“But I won’t.”

Damon laughs. “Ever the wily spirit. God, Clara, you haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

“I have. In more than one way.”

Nobody responds, but what troubles me the most is the calmness I feel while watching Carter and Matty interact. They have a natural chemistry, and it brings equal amounts of joy and dread to my heart. Who’d have thought that the one night we’d surrendered to one another would create my sweet little boy?

“He’s very proper,” Carter remarks, watching Matty as he works hard to eat his scone without making a mess.

“We work every day to develop our manners,” I reply. “He’s a good boy.”

“I am a good boy,” Matty confirms with a mouthful.

“That you definitely are,” Damon confirms, then looks at me.

Matty wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, grinning when I hand him a napkin instead. Damon chuckles. “You’ve got him trained better than I’ve managed with my own.”

I glance at him, curious. “Your own?”

His eyes soften for just a second. “Yeah. Single dad life will do that to you.”

My brows lift, but before I can ask more, he’s already changing the subject.

“It must’ve been hard, raising him on your own.”

I nod slowly. “We managed. Up to a point, anyway.”

I try to keep my naughty thoughts under control while I steal glances at each of these men. They were like gods to me growing up. Now, they’re within my reach, a desire left burningbetween us, unspoken and never truly expressed.

“Given his heart condition, I’d say you did more than manage,” Jace says.

“Thank you.”

“I wish you’d reached out,” Carter states, giving me a dark look. “I wish you’d said something.”

“I solve my own problems,” I say, raising my chin in a weak attempt at defiance.

“Until you couldn’t anymore and you had to come back here.”

Damon interjects. “Stephan had your best interest in mind when he set up that trust fund,” he says to me. “But I doubt it’ll be enough to cover Matty’s post-op care and your living expenses, Clara. No one here is saying that you can’t handle things on your own, but it’s time you accept that you don’t have to. Take the job. It’ll help.”

It’s a hard but true pill to swallow.

I lost a great job because Matty needed me. His episodes have been getting worse, and his state-appointed medical insurance barely covers his medication, let alone the consultations, checkups, and tests. The surgery and post-op care are out of the question altogether. Damon is right. The money that Stephan left me isn’t enough, and Matty’s clock is ticking.

“What’s his life expectancy without the surgery?” Carter whispers while Jace and Damon ask Matty questions about his favorite things.

A knot forms in my throat. “Not good. It will only get worse.”