Dylan’s cell phone rang with Rafe’s ring tone, a call he’d been waiting for.
“Is it your mother?” Grace immediately asked.
Knowing what a big deal it was for her to leave Mason with anyone, he gently stroked her cheek. “It’s Rafe. And even though I’m sure Mason’s doing great with my mom, why don’t you give them a call while I talk to my brother?”
“And here I didn’t think I was being nearly that obvious.”
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know your kid is safe. My mom used to check in on us a half-dozen times when they’d go out. Granted,” he said with a grin, “that might have been because we had a history of doing things like jumping off the roof and starting huge bonfires in the backyard.”
Her easy laughter warmed him as they both drew out their cell phones and headed to the deck that faced the water. While she called his mother to check in, he dialed Rafe. Unfortunately, everything his brother told him over the next several minutes made the fury that he’d barely shoved down earlier rise up again. Hotter than ever.
Grace’s smile was a mile wide when she turned to him after they’d both hung up just seconds apart. “Look at the cute picture your mom took of Mason playing the piano. Doesn’t he look like such a big boy? And so proud of himself for making music all by himself.”
Looking at Mason’s innocent face only made Dylan’s gut twist tighter. “Rafe just confirmed for me that you weren’t the only one, Grace.”
She looked up from her phone. “I wasn’t the only one what?” But before he could explain, understanding dawned. “Rafe has checked into my ex and his family, hasn’t he?” Pain flashed across her face, clearly illuminated by the nearly full moon above them.
“Rafe found just what we thought he would.” Dylan hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her all night, but now, when he drew her against him, even while the attraction was still pulsing, this embrace was simply to reassure both of them. “More women. Many women.”
“Did he…does he have any other children?” He could see one thought moving quickly to the next. “Does Mason have any half brothers or half sisters?”
“No. At least from everything Rafe picked through, it looks like none of the other women were as strong as you. They all took the money and did what the family wanted them to do.”
He could see her heart breaking for all those other women in pure empathy. “They were probably too scared not to.”
It was amazing that she didn’t see the other women as weak. He also knew that she was right—pressure that strong from such a powerful family would break nearly anyone. But not her. Not his Grace.
“Why didn’t I see it? Why didn’t I see through him? Through the fancy dates where he never let me meet anyone? Not his friends. Definitely not his family.”
“For as much as I despise the guy,” Dylan said softly, “the truth is that I’m glad you trusted him. For long enough, at least, to create Mason.”
“Richard and his parents have no idea about all the joy, all the wonder that they tried to destroy because my bloodline wasn’t pure enough for them. And now I hope—I’ve been praying, actually—that they never do. That they never change their minds and decide to come for Mason after all.”
“Rafe says there’s no indication that they’ve been looking for you or Mason, or that any of them have scheduled trips to Seattle. He also said that he and Ian checked in with Smith—our cousin has repeatedly turned down the Bentleys’ offers to invest in his movies because they always seemed smarmy to him.”
She was clearly very glad to hear both of those pieces of news, but he could also see that when she looked back at the party, still in full swing, it was the last place she wanted to be. “I know I just got off the phone with your mother and we were planning to stay out later for our first official date, but—”
“I want to be with Mason now, too.” He needed to hold both of them in his arms tonight and give thanks that he’d found them—and they’d found him. “We’ve spoken to more than enough people on my brother’s behalf tonight. Let’s go get your son and go home.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
They spent nearly an hour at Dylan’s parents’ house playing with Mason while he showed them the new toys Claudia had picked up for him. Max Sullivan was there, too, and though he was a man of few words, Grace could easily see how much he enjoyed her son as well.
Surprisingly, by the time they got back to her apartment, Mason was still awake. Not so surprisingly, he was in Dylan’s arms, laughing at one of his silly faces. She’d never had a first date like this one, where they almost hadn’t made it out of her apartment in the first place because they were so tempted just to jump each other instead. And she’d never spent so much time with any of her dates’ families, either. But instead of feeling like Dylan’s family were intruding on her time with him, she’d had a great time with Adam at the museum and then with Claudia and Max at their house.
“Your dad reminds me so much of mine. A man of few words, but all of them wise. Or funny,” she added with a grin. She’d felt so safe with the Sullivans. Safe and—though she’d only known them a short while—appreciated. “Do your parents know the whole story about my ex, too?”
Dylan shook his head. “Only my brothers know. I was afraid that if I told my parents—”
“They’d end up worrying too much about us,” she finished for him. “Now that I’m a parent, I get it. No matter how much you try to tell yourself that everything will be fine, you can’t stand the thought of your own child ever getting hurt in any way.”
When Mason wiggled, Dylan put him down on the floor, where he immediately crawled over to the coffee table to pull himself up.
“Look at you,” she said. “What a big boy you’re turning into.” She turned to Dylan. “Why don’t I brew us some coffee?”
But Dylan didn’t reply. Instead, he was staring at Mason in amazement.
When she turned back, she saw that her son’s little fingers were gripping the edge of the coffee table. Mason had a look of great concentration on his face, and Grace held her breath as he suddenly let go of the table and took one wobbly step and then another. Halfway into his third step, he fell with a plop onto his bottom.