Chapter 9: A Week Together First Then We'll Talk

Toby, understandably, wasn't having it.

Lily had been the one raising him since he was two years old.

Jonathan had died when Toby was only three.

His memories of his father barely existed at all.

For the last two years, Lily had been Toby's entire world.

As far as he was concerned, she wasn't just the woman raising him.

She was his mother. Full stop.

He shook his head. "Mom, don't you want me anymore?"

She pulled him close at once. "Of course I do, sweetheart. But your uncle is family too, and he wants to take care of you the same way. Look how big this house is and it's just him in it, all alone. Doesn't that seem kind of lonely?"

Adrian said nothing.

Toby glanced at him sideways, considering. "Yeah. Kind of sad, actually."

Then his face lit up with an idea. "Mom, we could both stay here with Uncle! It's so big, we could just get our own little room."

Lily fought back the sting of tears building behind her eyes. "But Mommy's been really busy with work. Remember those beautiful fireworks last night? Lots of people saw them I might get to work with some really big clients now."

Trevor jumped in smoothly. "Toby, you wouldn't want to be the reason your mom has to slow down on all that exciting work, would you? Besides your favorite Doberman's right out back."

Toby chewed his lip, torn.

He wrapped his arms around Lily's waist. "Mom, you'll come get me, right?"

She nodded firmly, without hesitation.

That settled it for him. "Okay. I'll stay here with Uncle for a while, then."

Lily cupped his face and kissed him.

He went pink.

She adjusted his hearing aid gently. "Mommy's going to head out now."

He nodded, brave and obedient.

"Be good for your uncle," she added. "Tell him what you need, just like you would at home. He... likes you a lot too, you know."

"Okay, Mommy," he said in his small voice.

Lily stood to leave. Trevor walked her out to the living room.

Once they were alone, he spoke quietly. "Miss Ashford, I know you probably don't think much of our employer right now. But between us his grandfather originally wanted to take Toby without any transition at all."

"It took a lot of convincing from Mr. Sterling to get the old man to agree to a month of adjustment time for Toby first."

Lily went still.

Trevor sighed. "Years ago, Jonathan cut ties with his grandfather over something personal. The old man never got over it he's been waiting all this time for a reason to reconcile."

"Then Jonathan died, out of nowhere, before that reconciliation ever happened. All that's left of him now is this little boy. The Sterling family treasures him more than you probably realize."

Lily's slender fingers curled slowly into a fist.

She understood exactly what that meant. If Toby went back to the Sterlings, he'd have a more comfortable life, a better education, resources most children never got close to.

She wanted all of that for him.

She was on the verge of letting go of his hand entirely.

Lily closed her eyes and nodded. "I understand. Thank you for telling me, Trevor. I know what I need to do."

By the time Lily got home, the weight of it had settled fully over her.

Mrs. Collins spotted her walking in alone and rushed over. "Where's Toby?"

"Winter camp," Lily said evenly.

Mrs. Collins frowned. "Can a child that young really manage on his own?"

Lily's throat tightened. "Someone's looking after him."

"Still not the same as having his own mother close by," Mrs. Collins said, shaking her head.

Lily said nothing.

Mrs. Collins pressed on, oblivious. "Speaking of which Toby's over five now. You and Mr. Pierce should really think about having one of your own."

Lily managed a small smile. "No plans for that yet. Let's get things settled first."

Mrs. Collins almost asked *settled how*, but something in Lily's expression made her think better of it. She swallowed the question.

Deep in the night, Lily jolted awake to the sharp ring of her phone.

She bolted upright, heart clenching, and grabbed for it instantly.

"Hello?"

A man's voice came through hoarse, uncharacteristically rattled. "Toby's running a fever. We're at the hospital. He's crying, asking for you. If it's difficult to get here, I can send someone."

"It's not difficult. I'm driving over now," Lily said without a beat of hesitation.

She was already rolling out of bed, pulling on clothes as she called back, "I'll be right there."

She grabbed her coat and ran downstairs, disheveled and half-dressed, out to her car.

She peeled out of the driveway.

In her rush, she didn't notice she'd sped straight past Nathan's car pulling into the neighborhood.

He slammed on the brakes, turning to watch her taillights vanish.

Where's she going this late?

After a moment's hesitation, he turned the car around and followed her.

At the hospital, Lily pushed open the door to the ward.

Inside, Adrian was pacing the floor with Toby in his arms, the boy still crying softly, his small body trembling.

Something in her chest cracked at the sight.

She reached out and took him.

The instant Toby saw her, his tears surged fresh, his little hand reaching for her before he clung to her arm with everything he had.

Eyes stinging, Lily pulled him close and patted his back gently.

Wrapped in her familiar scent, Toby let out a small, exhausted yawn and finally let his eyes fall shut.

Adrian watched, brow furrowed, as the boy calmed almost instantly the moment he was back in her arms.

"His fever's already down," he said quietly. "He was just working himself up looking for you. Has he never spent a night away from home before?"

"He's been staying with old Mrs. Pierce fairly often lately," Lily admitted. "But the first time, I stayed with him a full week before he'd go on his own with just the driver. The longest stretch he's managed alone since is about a week."

Adrian rose to his feet.

Light spilled from above, his tall frame casting a long shadow that fell over her smaller one, shielding her without either of them acknowledging it.

It didn't last.

He crossed to the window instead, looking out over the sprawl of city lights below and the distant glow of streetlamps tracing the overpass like scattered stars.

"Lily."

"Hm?" She turned toward him, Toby still cradled in her arms.

"Here's what I'm proposing," Adrian said. "Toby stays with me during the day. At night, I bring him to you, so the transition isn't so abrupt. Once he's settled into the daytime routine, you set aside a full week to stay at my place with him. Would that work?"

Lily blinked.

The first part, fine.

But the second part?

Even divorced, a woman didn't just move into a single man's house. And she wasn't even divorced yet.

Reading her hesitation, Adrian added, "I'll cover whatever costs are involved."

She steadied herself. "Mr. Sterling, it isn't about the money, it's"

A knock at the door cut her off.

Her shoulders jumped.

Her eyes snapped to the doorway.

A beat later, Nathan's voice came through, uncertain. "Lily? Are you in there?"

He knocked again, waited, heard nothing, and finally pushed the door open himself.

The room was lit low. Lily lay curled on her side on the hospital bed, back to the door, propped on one elbow, gently patting Toby while humming a broken snatch of a lullaby.

"Lily?" Nathan called softly.

She didn't react at all.

He stepped closer and rested a hand on her shoulder not too light, not too firm.

She flinched violently, shoulders curling inward, and shoved his arm off on reflex. "Who's there?!"

Nathan rubbed his arm where she'd knocked it away. "It's me."

She turned, eyes landing on him, and quickly grabbed her hearing aid off the nightstand, fitting it into place. "How did you even know Toby was sick?"

Nathan blinked, caught off guard by the question, then answered once he saw the hearing aid settle. "I got home, you weren't there, so I asked Mrs. Collins."

Something in Lily went very still.

Mrs. Collins?

How would Mrs. Collins know I'd left let alone why?

He followed me.

Her mouth tightened. "Toby has a fever. If there's nothing else, you should head back."

Nathan let out a tired breath.

He pulled a chair over, sat at the edge of the bed, and leaned in just enough to catch her eye. "Lily, are you still upset with me? I promise once things calm down at work, I'll find Melissa her own place and get her moved out. Okay?"

Lily's smile turned razor-thin. "The house is yours. Melissa's yours. It's always been entirely up to you, hasn't it?"

Nathan studied her for a long moment, disappointment settling over his face.

He reached out and gave her ear a light pinch. "Didn't you say the hearing aid bothers you? We agreed when I'm around, you don't need it. I'll just sign. It's no trouble for me."

He reached for it, meaning to remove it for her.

Just then

A soft sound drifted out from the bathroom.