Page 40 of Anteros' Return

“I get that a lot. Maybe I’d remind you of my dad if you knew him.” Those words were a stab to my heart. The kid had no idea and I hated it.

"Yeah," I breathed out. "That would have been cool if I knew him."

Fuck… I hated lying to him. To my son.

Just then, the waiter approached and asked, “Table for two?”

“Please,” I nodded, before following the waiter to our table.

“Wait a minute. Aren’t you Beckett Ashmore?” The waiter’s smile stretched to his ears, giving the Cheshire cat a run for its money.

“He is.” For once, Liam looked proud of who he thought was a family friend.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ll be back shortly to take your order.”

“I’ll need to add on something to take out once we’re done here, is that alright?” I asked.

“No problem at all.” He handed us our menus before hurrying off to join the group of waitresses that stared over in our direction from the hostess stand.

Liam cocked his head towards them with a chuckle. “You’ve got a fan club.”

“I’m not bothered about them. Now, what are you having?”

“Can I have a burger with a load of ketchup, chips, and a chocolate milkshake?” He didn’t even need to look at his menu. He was already certain.

“You can have whatever you like, mate.”

“Are you ready to order?” The waiter was back in record time as if he’d already heard Liam decide.

I recited our order to the waiter, who jotted it down on his pad.

“Single or double burgers?” He asked.

“Double, thanks.” I handed him the menus as Liam’s eyes widened with delight. “What’s that face for?”

“Mum only ever lets me get a single!” The excitement on his face was clear as day.

“Is that because you never finish it?”

His mouth fell open, shocked. “How’d you know?”

“Because your mum was exactly the same when we went to school. She could never finish a double.”

“Alright, so what did she get then?” he asked.

“A single cheeseburger with lettuce and ketchup, chips, and a banana milkshake.”

“You actually knew?! You must have been close to my mum.”

“We were really good friends, so yeah, I still remember what she ordered since it was the same every single time.” I laughed as the waiter returned with our milkshakes.

“Wow, they’ve never brought it out that fast before!” He took a huge gulp of the sweet drink, and I waited for the brain freeze complaint but it never came. “Must be because you’re here with me.”

I waved off his comment, not caring about who knew I was here. I was enjoying time with my son and that’s all I truly wanted. Maybe I’d get to spend a little time with Emily later, too, but we’d have to take that day by day.

Ten years ago…

“How do you know what I like to order? We’ve only been here once.” She looked at me in disbelief.

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