Chapter Thirty-Nine
Adam
This fucking sucks.
There was really no other way to describe it.
Had Lainey and I met in a different life, under different circumstances, I would have wifed her up so fast, so hard, it wouldn’t have been funny.
Maybe that’s what Shawn had been trying to do when he bought her the ring.
I knew my friend had been a smart man.
But the reality was, she had been my best friend’s girl.
And they’d had a baby together. Even though he was gone, I owed him more than getting with his almost-fiancée.
It was bad enough we’d had a secret affair.
So, I had to come to grips that it wasn’t in the stars for Lainey and me, no matter how much I wished it was.
The best I could do was be a kickass “uncle” to Conor. And die a little inside when the right man came along and swept her off her feet, then became my little man’s stepdad, while I watched from the sidelines.
Me: You got a working treadmill in this place?
Brian: Yeah, in the gym in the basement. Why?
Me: I need to burn off some energy.
Brian: I totally get it. I’d be pacing the floor, too. I’ll fill you in on what’s going on when I get home. It’s gonna be a while though.
I was glad he’d come to his own conclusions why I was crawling out of my skin when all I really wanted was to crawl on top of Lainey.
I mean, yeah, I wanted to lead the charge on finding the fucker who’d threatened Lainey, but I trusted Brian and Angus were on top of it.
Me: I’ll be here.
~~~~
I slipped into Lainey’s room and checked on Conor while I fought the urge to crawl under the covers and wrap my arms around her.
The closest I came to her bed was stealing the baby monitor’s receiver from the dresser. I knew my time with the little guy was limited so I planned on giving him his bottle tonight. At least, if I got to him before she woke up.