He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “We’re going to get through this. Finn has you to fight for him, and that means a hell of a lot, Heather.”
“Thank you for telling me the truth,” she said. “I know it must have been hard for you to come clean about what Gary did. You could have taken him up on his offer, given him the money, and I wouldn’t have known.”
“But I would have known,” he said. “I’d never be able forgive myself if I kept something like that from you. You have the right to make the decision. Even if I might not completely agree with the decision, you’re Finn’s mother. A decision this big should be yours, not mine.”
Even though his revelation had led to an argument, she was so grateful that he had told her the truth. After all the obstacles they had faced he was still ready to trust her, and she was ready to trust him. Somehow, it was like every challenge they faced made them stronger—as long as they remembered to face it together. He was the most generous, selfless man she had ever known, and right now her heart swelled with gratitude.
“And,” he said, grinning, “we both know Gary would blow through the money and be back for more. Or something stupid like that.” He reached for his phone in his pocket. “When do you want to meet with the lawyer?”
“I’ll be heading back to work next week, but I think I can make time to talk before then,” she said.
He nodded. “I’m heading back this week, so I can arrange for you to meet. I’ve never met him but he comes highly recommended by my own lawyer, so I’m absolutely certain that you and Finn will be in good hands.”
She bit her lip.
Simon must have noticed the unease on her face because he captured her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t feel guilty about the money.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are,” he said gruffly. “You don’t fool me, sweetie. I can practically see you freaking out about the cost.”
She sighed. “You know me way too well.”
“This is what’s best for Finn,” he said.
“I know.” She frowned. “What will you tell Gary?”
“I’ll obviously have to turn down the offer, but I think stalling him for a while is a good strategy,” Simon replied. “If he thinks there’s a chance he could get his hands on a lot of money, he might be willing to back off a bit. That could be helpful.”
“That makes sense,” she said. “Ordinarily I’d feel guilty about deceiving him, but this horrible scheme was his idea. Let him deal with the consequences of his actions.”
“And I’m guessing you want to keep this a secret from Finn, right?” His hands drifted down to gently grip her waist. “Finding out that his father is thinking about abandoning him would hurt him.”
She nodded, suddenly too choked up to say anything. Telling Finn was something she would never, ever do. Heather vowed to take this knowledge to the grave if she had to. “Finn can never know,” she said finally.
He pulled his hands away from her slowly, as if reluctant to let her go. “I’ll call you when I make it home.”
“Okay.” She waved goodbye as she watched him head to his car and drive off.
THE MONDAY SHE WAS expected to return to work came faster than she expected and she woke up extra early, too jittery about her new promotion to stay in bed. After packing Finn’s lunch, she dropped him off at school and drove to work.
As she walked through Dover’s lobby, her phone vibrated and she retrieved it from her bag. A message from Agnes Morton, the senior board member who had agreed to her promotion in the first place.
Agnes wanted Heather to come into her office first thing in the morning, so she took the elevator. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Getting summoned to a board member’s office usually meant the news was either extremely good or extremely bad. No in between.
By the time she announced herself to Agnes’ assistant and stepped into the huge office, her stomach was in knots.
She blinked in surprise when she spotted Simon sitting beside Agnes on the sofa. “Simon, I didn’t know you were going to be here. Is this some kind of meeting or something?”