Page 72 of To Hate Adam Connor

“And I’m not saying you should. Just think about it. In these situations, it’s better to offer an explanation instead of staying silent and letting the press run wild with it. And after last night’s photos, trust me, they will run wild with it.”

“Which reminds me,” I started, something heavy taking residence in my stomach. “I want Aiden’s photos off the Internet, and I need the names of those photographers. They knew what they were doing was illegal. It shouldn’t have happened.”

She sighed, the sound making me even more agitated. “You’re right, it is illegal, but it’s hard to implement the law. I’ll have my investigator try and get the names of the photographers, but you know they protect each other. It’ll be a long shot.”

“I still want you to try.”

“Of course I will. We’ll talk again.”

She ended the call. With the phone still in my hand, I walked out to the patio and called Adeline. Again. The night before when Dan had come back from Adeline’s place without Aiden and let me know that she had left the city with him, without giving me any notice even though she knew it was my day to take him, I’d called her repeatedly until she answered her phone. It hadn’t been a fun phone conversation. When she tried to explain to me why she’d had to take him with her, I was speechless.

She answered the call on the fifth ring. “Adam. Hello.”

“Adeline. Where are you?”

“We just landed at LAX.”

“Are you heading home? I’ll send Dan to get Aiden. Then you and me…we need to talk.”

“Adam.” She sighed. “I know I messed up. You have every right to be mad at me, but I’m perfectly capable of dropping Aiden off myself.”

“And I’m telling you, you don’t have to.”

“I want to, Adam. Please give me a chance to explain. I want to apologize to you face to face, and I think it’ll be good for Aiden to see us together.”

I didn’t want her apology, and I didn’t want to see her, especially after seeing the photos of Aiden crying as he stood in the middle of a paparazzi frenzy. As far as I was concerned, we were done. In every way.

After I ended my conversation with Adeline, I had another talk with my new PR team and set up everything that needed to be dealt with. As much as I wanted to keep everything private and didn’t agree with my lawyer, I knew it would spill out; at least this way I’d have control over how much and what had to spill.

An hour later, Adeline walked in holding Aiden’s hand. The night before when I’d called Adeline, she’d said he was tuckered out and sleeping, so I couldn’t talk to him about what had happened and how he was doing.

Every time I dropped him off at Adeline’s place, he’d get quiet and look at me as if I was betraying him. The look he was giving me when he walked in was the exact same look and it pierced something in my chest.

Not knowing what I was dealing with, I knelt in front of him to get a hug. He was having none of it. He stood completely immobile against me as I rounded my arms around him.

With my arms still around Aiden, I glanced up at Adeline. She pursed her lips and mouthed a quick sorry.

I sighed and let go of my son.

“Hey, buddy. I missed you.”

He muttered a low hi under his breath.

“Did you have fun in New York with your mom?”

Another non-answer in the form of a mumble.

“Aiden,” Adeline murmured gently as she let go of his hand and fixed his hair. “Can you give your dad and me a few minutes?”

“Okay.”

Without meeting my eyes, he skirted around me and headed toward his room, only to stop midway.

His eyes met mine fleetingly as I slowly rose up. “I’ve been good, so can I ask for something?”

“Of course,” I answered. He’d get pretty much whatever he wanted from me at that moment if it meant he’d look me in the eye.

“Can I ask for Lucy?”

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