Page 104 of Faking with Three

Marcus groans. “Are we already doing that?”

“Well, you started it,” I point out, and rightfully so.

“For your information, I’ll be the most active dad on that field. I’ll be out there coaching soccer games while you two are wheezing on the sidelines.”

“Right,” Ethan says, grinning. “Assuming you don’t throw out your back tying the kid’s laces.”

Olivia dissolves into laughter, clutching her stomach. “Stop it, you guys. I can’t handle this.”

Marcus shakes his head, but there’s a grin tugging at his lips. “You laugh now, Liv, but I’ll be running circles around both of them when the time comes. And if I need a scooter, I’ll make it look good.”

“Doubtful,” Ethan quips, earning another round of laughter.

The laughter fades, leaving a comfortable silence in its wake, but my thoughts are anything but quiet. My mind circles back to Adam, the way he looked at me this morning when he said he might play hockey someday. That tiny glimpse of connection—it felt fragile, like glass. And now, with Olivia’s pregnancy and everything else, I can’t help but wonder how this will affect him.

“What’s wrong, Jax?” Olivia asks softly, her eyes searching mine. She’s always been able to read me too easily.

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “It’s Adam. Things are finally… getting better between us. I don’t want to screw that up.”

“You’re not going to screw it up,” Marcus says.

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Am I?” I glance at him. “What if Charlie uses this—Olivia being pregnant, the media, everything—to make things harder? What if Adam pulls away because of it?”

Marcus sits forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We have options. Remember the arrangement we set up with Charlie? Let’s revisit that. She’s pragmatic. If we offer her a cut of the profits from the Love Lab, she might be more open to avoiding further trouble.”

Ethan raises an eyebrow. “Bribing her with money? That feels… messy.”

“It’s not bribing,” Marcus says.

“It’s business. She’ll see it that way, too.”

“She can’t exactly be reasoned with. This is Charlie Green we’re talking about. She doesn’t exactly operate on logic,” I point out.

“I can talk to the lawyers,” Olivia offers.

“No, but she does operate on self-interest,” Marcus counters. “Most of her problem with you stems with the fact that you’re getting more and more involved in Adam’s life. Some distance might help.”

“You want me to stop meeting my son?” I ask.

“No,” Marcus says, and then, after a pause, adds. “But maybe moving away for a while might be a good idea.”

“Away?” Ethan says. “As in out of Iversteen?”

“Yes, to Austin,” Marcus says, looking at Olivia. “That’s where Olivia’s company is at. We can work from anywhere but she can’t stay away from Death Crunch forever.”

Olivia shakes her head. “I can’t ask that of Jax.”

“It’s just something to consider,” Marcus says. “If we move away, the media attention towards Adam also goes away. Everybody is happy.”

“Will that work?” Olivia asks, looking at me.

“Areyousure it will work out with Charlie?” I ask Marcus. He nods. “Pretty damn sure. We could also get a separate apartment for you, Jax. Something close enough to Adam, so visiting him doesn’t become a logistical nightmare.”

“It’s moving forward. And it makes sense for all of us,” Ethan says, nodding.

Marcus straightens, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’d help me too, honestly. My daughter keeps asking about visiting me, and Austin would make it easier. It’s a win-win.”

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