Page 15 of A Billionaire Gentleman

She needed this more than I did, and I wanted to give it to her. I still didn’t know if I felt anything romantic toward her, but I definitely liked her, and we could both use a good friend.

I had no problem going slow and building on a solid friendship. I’d let her set the pace.

Nine

Sofi

I lookedat the clock again and pressed my hands against my stomach, wishing I could calm my nerves before Dallas got here. My visits with him were still supervised, but since his dad had to work today, the caseworker was bringing him to my apartment for the first time.

Ms. Stanton had already come by twice on her own to make sure everything was up to par. One visit was scheduled while the other had been a surprise inspection, just like my PO did. Even though Ms. Stanton was tough, she’d been fair to me so far, and I liked her for it.

She gave me hope that this nightmare could be over one day, and I’d have my son back, even if I was only ever able to get joint custody. The thought drew my attention back to the notebook sitting on my small kitchen table. All of my notes about my plans for the future were in there.

Since my first priority had been getting an apartment and making sure it was fit for Dallas to visit – and hopefully live – it’d taken me until last week to finally have enough money to get a sit down with a family lawyer who didn’t make my skin crawl. The estimate he’d given me had been fair, but it still made me sick to my stomach to think of how long it would take just to get enough to have paperwork filed.

A knock at the door got me to my feet, and I pushed aside the money worries. I wasn’t going to waste a single minute of my time with Dallas.

I opened the door and greeted Ms. Stanton, but I only had eyes for my son. He had Mead’s dark brown hair, and his eyes were a combination of my blue and Mead’s gray, but that was where his resemblance to his father ended. I didn’t remember my father or brothers, but I’d seen pictures, and Dallas looked a lot like my oldest brother, Eddie.

“Please, come in.” I stepped aside to let them pass, then crouched down until I was at eye level with Dallas. “I think you’ve grown again.”

He gave me a shy smile, and my heart broke. Every time I saw him, it took him a few minutes to warm up to me, and even though he’d never come out and said anything, I knew Mead had been telling Dallas things to distance him from me.

I didn’t tell Ms. Stanton my suspicions, though. I didn’t want to risk her thinking I was the awful person I knew my ex claimed I was.

“It’s okay,” Ms. Stanton said quietly. “You can give your mom a hug.”

I glanced up at her in time to see the lines at the corners of her mouth tighten. Maybe I didn’t need to tell her.

Dallas stepped right into my open arms, and I buried my nose in his hair, breathing in the scent of sweat and grass and all the summer things that little boys did this time of the year.

I brushed the heels of my palms across my cheeks to catch any tears that had escaped, appreciating how Ms. Stanton looked away to give me at least some semblance of privacy for those few moments.

“Would you like to see the apartment?” I asked Dallas, my voice overly bright in compensation for my tears. “There’s a room just for you.”

His entire face lit up as he nodded. I looked at Ms. Stanton, and she nodded for me to go ahead. I knew she’d follow, but I was grateful she didn’t hover. She hadn’t when we’d met in other places, but I hadn’t been sure if she’d be the same way when we weren’t in public.

I’d only gone to the house once before asking if it’d be possible for us to find somewhere neutral, at least for a few weeks. She’d agreed without even asking why and I’d been relieved to not have to explain it. It would’ve sounded like I was jealous, and possibly imagining things if I’d tried to point out the subtle signs of another woman’s presence.

Mead had always been good at making me seem foolish and stupid. The last thing I needed was Ms. Stanton thinking of me as either of those two things.

Both bedrooms together were the size of Dallas’s bedroom at the house – I was still adjusting to not calling it home – but they were clean and uncluttered. Dallas had a single bed in one corner and a small dresser in the other. He didn’t have a closet, but I’d put up rows of hooks where we could hang up any clothes that didn’t go in the dresser. Of course, he didn’t have much in the way of clothes here since I had to buy anything I wanted him to have, but it’d be a little while longer before he could stay overnight, so I could wait to get anything more than the little I’d already purchased.

“Where’s Mr. Mouse?” he asked after inspecting everything with four-year-old seriousness.

“Mr. Mouse lives with you and Daddy,” I said, my smile feeling wobbly. “You can have a special friend who stays here with me if you want.”

He considered my offer with all the somberness that came with such a heavy decision. “Okay. Can I have an elephant? Daddy says I can’t have one at home ‘cuz mice are scared of ‘em.”

“An elephant it is, then.”

Satisfied with the promise, he crossed to the crate of second-hand children’s books and began going through them. He couldn’t read the titles, but he knew the covers, and he laughed every time he found one he recognized. I’d scoured every thrift store on this side of the city to get him as many of the same books he had at home as I could.

“You’ve done well here,” Ms. Stanton said, keeping her voice low enough that it wouldn’t disturb Dallas. “I’ve seen too many parents try to win their kid over with new, flashy toys instead of buying the things they know will make the child feel more secure. You’ve got your priorities in the right order.”

“Thank you.” I could barely get the whisper out past the lump in my throat.

After spending so many years being told that I wasn’t good enough, that I was dumb and a bad mother, her kind words meant more to me than I could express. Especially since I’d gotten the impression that she didn’t give unearned compliments.

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