It wasn’t until I got my dad alone and shitfaced drunk that the truth spilled out of him.
The baby they were expecting died during childbirth.
My brothers and sister were waiting at home for their new baby brother to arrive, so when the teenager in the bed next to my mom mentioned that she was going to put her newborn son up for adoption, my parents stepped up.
It was all handled quietly with a lawyer that my dad had gone to high school with, and a check meant to help the teenage mother start over.
She and her boyfriend did just that after they kissed me goodbye and placed me in the Wolfs’ arms.
They went to college, got married, and eventually had another son.
I look over at where Athena is asleep in the chair in my hospital room. She thought her parents fucked up. She has no idea.
“Lilac,” I call out to her, knowing that it’s cruel to wake her.
She stirs.
The hospital gown and mask are gone.
I’ve been cleared to touch the people I love. I’ll be out of the ICU by tomorrow and home by the end of the week.
“Come here.” I lean forward, but the tubes keep me in place. “I want you beside me.”
She stretches. The T-shirt she’s wearing rides up, revealing the barest hint of her smooth stomach underneath.
I can’t fucking wait until I’m given the green light to make love to her.
I’ll keep her in my bed for days when that happens.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep.” She pushes to stand. “When did you wake up?”
I have no clue. I don’t know what time it is or what day. All I know is that she hasn’t left my side.
She told me a day or two ago that her assistant has taken the reins at Wild Lilac. Leanna is her name, and she’s brought in two retired florists to help fill orders. She wanted Athena to stay here, so she’s doing what she can to make sure she has a business to go back to.
She smiles as she approaches my bed. “Your mom and dad went home a few hours ago.”
I nod. They’ve been through the wringer since I landed in this place. I’ve never doubted their love for me. I’m their son in every way that matters.
“There was a man at the nurses’ station earlier.” She tugs on the bottom of her shirt. “Gareth is his name.”
I didn’t see that coming.
Her eyes zero in on mine. With a finger over her bottom lip, she smiles. “He has the same lips as you. The same color eyes too.”
She’s spent most of her life looking for a face like hers, so I’m not surprised she found mine in Gareth’s.
“The nurse told him that only immediate family are allowed to see you.” Her gaze darts to the door of the ICU. “He knew a lot about your condition because he has it too.”
Her hand finds mine. “He’s your biological father, isn’t he?”
I nod, unable to form the words.
I knew it as soon as I locked eyes with him on the basketball court.
Gareth Quillan is my birth father. My birth mother, Deidre, died before I had a chance to thank her for gifting me with a life with the Wolf family.
“I told him I’d text him with an update.” She sits on the bed next to me. “I hope that I didn’t overstep.”