Page 207 of Need You To Choose Me

Loving him is effortless.

A soft tug at my hand has me looking down to find Levi watching me with big eyes. “Sav?”

“Yeah?”

He motions me closer, so I crouch down so we’re at the same level. He’s grown in the last year, and I was pretty sure sooner rather than later, he’d be towering over me too.

Levi leans down, his hand cupping around my ear as he whispers. “I want to ask you something too.”

My gaze darts to Blake, who’s just smiling at us.

“Okay, sure,” I say tentatively and give him my full attention, unsure of where this is going. “What do you want to ask me?”

“I know you’re Poppy’s mom, but…” His grip on me tightens, his palms clammy with nerves. “Can you be my mom too?”

My eyes fall shut, my chest squeezing tightly as all the emotions and the weight of his request slams into me. My throat bobs as I try to swallow. Blinking my eyes open, I find him watching me. I cup his cheek. “If you want me to, yes. It would be an honor to be your mom, Levi.”

“Really?” Levi blinks for a second, clearly surprised, as if I could ever tell him no, but then his arms wrap around my shoulders, and he buries his face into my neck. “Yes, I want to. I love you, Mom.”

Mom.

Yes, I’ve been a mom for the last five months, but this was the first time somebody—my child—called me such.

I clutch him tightly, “I love you too, baby.”

ROSE

“I’m not paying the child support.”

“You—” I blink, unsure if I heard him correctly because he couldn’t be serious.

Only he was.

My fingers clench into fists, nails digging into my skin. “He’s yourson.”

“And I was taking care of him while he lived under my roof,” John says nonchalantly, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement.

He was enjoying this.

The asshole.

“You mean, you contributed financially?—”

My lawyer gives me a warning look.

I bite my tongue and press my lips into a tight line while he turns to John.

“Mr. O’Neil,” he says evenly, his calm voice completely contrasting the storm brewing inside my chest. “My client has been very forthcoming during the mediation. She isn’t asking for anything except for the child support so that your son can continue to receive the best medical care.”

John works his jaw, his expression growing distant as he thinks. His hand rises, and he rubs at his chin. Today, he’s clean-shaven, his dress shirt is pristine, and his suit is ironed. There was no trace of the wild man that I’ve been living with for the last couple of years of our marriage, whose singular focus was on training and playing in the NFL until that dream was crushed this past fall.

As if he can feel my gaze, John turns to me, his eyes meeting mine, and the victorious gleam in them has an icy chill running down my spine.

“Fine.” Tense silence fills the room for a heartbeat, making me hold my breath. John smirks at me. “But if I have to pay child support, I want shared custody.”

Shared—

“Absolutely not,” the words are out before I can stop them.

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