After she tucked Finn into bed, she started packing for the trip back to Seattle while Simon worked on some of his ideas on a laptop on the living room. There was something so peaceful and tranquil about working together in silence. Even though their vacation was coming to an end, her heart felt lighter. Because the vacation wasn’t the end of their time together. They were still getting to know each other, and maybe that meant there was a chance that their happiness could last.
THE FLIGHT BACK TO Seattle was long but uneventful. Simon drove Heather and Finn to Heather’s place.
When Simon leaned down to gently kiss her goodbye, Finn let out loud, frustrated sigh.
He chuckled as he pulled away from her. “Guess I’ll be going now. See you later, buddy.”
Finn smiled. “Are we going to hang out some more soon?”
Simon glanced at Heather. “If it’s okay with your mom.”
She nodded. “It’s definitely okay. How about we invite Simon to have dinner with us and your grandparents?”
“That would be awesome,” Finn said. “Did you hear that, Simon? We’re having a family dinner! Maybe we can play board games.”
Simon smiled and patted Finn’s head. “Sounds like a plan.”
Finn cheered and raced into the house.
Heather laughed. “Where does he get the energy?”
“I guess the prospect of us spending more time together has gotten him all worked up,” he said with a smile. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”
“It’s a good chance for you and my parents to catch up,” she said.
“I’d like that,” he said. “I’ve missed your parents.”
“And they’ve missed you.”
He leaned closer to give her another quick kiss. “Thank you for coming on this trip, Heather. I’ll never forget it. And thank you for letting me get to know Finn. He’s a terrific kid.”
She smiled. “I guess this is goodbye.”
Simon nodded. “You need a chance to rest from the flight. But I’ll message you as soon as I get home.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Simon.” She paused. “I love you.”
“And I love you.” He watched her as she slowly closed her front door, missing her already.
When she shut the door he got back into his car and started the ignition. A vibration of his phone interrupted him and he reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve it, hoping that Heather had already sent him a message.
He frowned when he realized the message was from Gary.
“We need to talk. It’s obvious Heather isn’t going to listen to reason, so it’s up to you and me to settle this disagreement. Let’s meet today.”
The cryptic text was making him uneasy, but if there was a chance for Simon to help Heather get past her issues with Gary then he was willing to hear the guy out. He quickly sent off a text instructing Gary to meet him in an hour at his apartment, then headed home.
An hour later, Simon opened his front door for Gary.
“Glad you could make it,” Simon said tightly.
Gary’s eyes narrowed. “You gonna let me in or what?”
His tone was already pissing Simon off, but he reminded himself that he was doing this to help Heather and Finn. Simon motioned for Gary to come in and led him to the living room.
“What’s this about?” Simon said warily as he took a seat on the sofa.
Gary sat opposite him. “I hear you and Heather went on a trip with my son.”
Simon nodded. “Your lawyer was made aware of that. Heather is perfectly within her rights to take a short vacation with Finn.”
“Yeah, but she went with you,” Gary muttered. “Doesn’t seem fair. You aren’t the boy’s father.”
“I’m not. But Heather and I are together now,” Simon said. “We’ve all been trying to get to know each other.”
“The only reason I know you’re together is because I found out through my attorney,” Gary muttered.
“Look, Heather respected you enough to inform your lawyer,” Simon said. “I think she deserves credit for telling you about us even though it puts her at risk.”
“Yeah, well, it won’t look good if the press finds out about this,” Gary said.