I was bogged down in the new club project with Bri, the one in Paris, and other work at the business, so I wasn’t able to follow up on my revelations with Serena at that time. On Friday I closed on my new place and on Saturday, I had furniture and other home goods delivered. I had to admit, having money was a Godsend during a move. I ordered what I needed and paid to have it delivered and put away. On Saturday evening, I showed up with my bags of clothes, and once they were hung in the closet, I was moved in.
On Sunday I finally had time to start wooing Serena again. Because she could be elusive, I decided it would be better to see her in person than try to reach her by phone.
She’d indicated she was busy over the weekend which I suspected was an event. But when I discreetly researched what event she was working I was told she wasn’t working at all. Had she just been giving me a line to keep me away? Or had I misunderstood?
The day was nice and relatively warm for the end of February, so I decided to drive myself to her place. Maybe I could convince her to go for a ride with me. I put the top down in the Cabriolet and headed to her neighborhood.
The Gods were with me, I thought, as there was a parking spot just a few doors down from her building. At the door, I found two Moores listed. I selected S. Moore hoping it was her apartment. I buzzed and waited, buzzed and waited more. Fuck. She wasn’t home. She really was busy.
A middle-aged woman came through the door. “Can I help you?”
“I was looking for Serena Moore.”
The woman smiled in a way that told me she knew and liked Serena. “It’s such a nice day, she’s probably having a picnic at the park with Andrew.”
Andrew? Who the fuck was Andrew?
“What park?” I asked. It was caveman-ish of me, but if I had to fight for her affection, I would.
“Tompkins Square.” She pointed up the street toward the park.
I smiled, even though inside I was preparing to battle whoever this Andrew man was. “Thank you.”
The park wasn’t far so I walked. I entered the park and began my search. Many people were taking advantage of the nice day, so my search was slow as I took in each person. As I approached the playground, I found her. She was sitting on a bench with a notebook in her lap.
My heart rate sped to a million miles a minute as I took her in. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her cheeks were flushed probably from the cool air. The yearning for her nearly brought me to my knees.
“What is it about you?” I said to myself. I didn’t know why I felt how I did, but I knew I wanted to indulge my desire for her.
I approached her. “Serena?”
She looked up, and immediately her eyes widened, darted toward the playground and then back at me. I’d expected surprise, but her expression looked more like panic.
“Devin. What are you doing here?” She swallowed and I noted that her hands shook as she put her notebook in her bag.
“I’m looking for you. I’ve had an epiphany.” Not sure what to make of her reaction, I sat on the bench next to her.
“Ah…now?”
I frowned. “Is now a problem?”
“I just…ah…”
I cocked my head to the side. “What’s going on?”
“Mommy look at me!”
Her head turned toward the voice of the child standing at the top of a slide.
“Watch how fast I go,” he called out.
“I’m watching,” she said to him.
It took me a minute to make sense of what was going on.
Her eyes glanced at me before focusing on the boy. He sat on the slide and whooshed down with his arms out wide like an airplane.
“Did you see me, Mommy?” He ran toward her.
“I did, honey. You were so fast.”
He ran to her. “Can you come with me?”
“In a minute, baby.”
The boy looked up at me. “Who are you?”
“This is Mr. Roarke. I work for him. Go play and I’ll be there in a minute.”
I turned to her, my mind in a whirl. She was a mom? And why was she introducing me as someone she worked with? Was there a dad somewhere around here?
“You’ve got a son.” My voice sounded distant to my ears.
She nodded. “Andrew.”
Well, that answered the question about who Andrew was.
I studied her. “You didn’t tell me.”
She shook her head, her eyes held a mix of worry and strength.
“Why? Why wouldn’t you want me to know you have a child?” At least now it made sense why she thought we couldn’t overcome limits. I’d told her I didn’t want kids and she had one. I felt a little set-up and duped by that.
“You said you didn’t want a family.”
My brain felt like it was wading through muck as I tried to sort out what was going on. “That was the other night. What about all the weeks before? You could have said something about being a mom.”
She simply shrugged.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t buy it.”
She flinched.
“If you kept your child from me because you didn’t think I’d approve, that would mean you were interested in me, but hiding him. But you’ve been pretty clear that you don’t want me.”
She huffed out a breath. “That’s not true. I told you my life was complicated.” She nodded toward Andrew. “What I want takes a backseat to what is best for him.”
“And I’m bad for him?” How was it she could always make me feel like pond scum?
“No. I just…you have your own family responsibilities and duties.”
I laughed derisively. “Which I was ready to shirk for you.”
She bit her lip. “Don’t. You can’t change yourself for me.”
“That’s just it, Serena. I was still trying to conform to what my family expected, and
