“What are you doing here?” he asks.
“I couldn’t reach Eddie. I was worried. What about you?”
“Same.”
We stare at each other as this beautiful familiarity falls between us. I gesture to the stools. “Sit down and have a drink with me.”
“Okay.” He pulls out his stool, and we both sit down. Nerves dance in my stomach.
Is this truly happening? What are the chances of running into each other on the other side of the world?
“How have you been?” he asks.
“Okay,” I lie. “And you?”
He shrugs. “Been better.”
Oh . . .
My eyes search his, and I just want to hug him and blurt out that I love him and beg him to take me back.
“When did you get here?” I ask.
“A week ago.”
I frown. I thought he was stupidly busy?
“I found out that Eddie is an orphan and lives on the streets,” he says softly.
“What?” I frown.
“He’s all alone, Grumps.”
My face falls as I look over to Eddie smiling happily as he serves someone. “Where are his parents?”
“Never knew his father, and his mother died when he was eight. No surviving relatives. He was in the foster care system but was put with assholes and ran away when he was eleven.”
“Are you serious?”
He nods sadly.
“My god, poor Eddie.”
“He can’t read or write,” he says softly.
My eyes well with tears.
“I’m taking him home with me.”
“What do you mean?” I frown. He’s making decisions about his long-term future without consulting me?
Because we’re over.
“He’s going to come and live with me in London.” He shrugs. “That’s if I can get him out of the country.”
I stare at him, my mind a clusterfuck of confusion.
“He doesn’t have a passport or a birth certificate. I’ve got my friend Sebastian Garcia helping me. You know, the one you met?”
I stare at him, so thrown by what he’s telling me I can’t even make a coherent sentence. “No?”
“He was on the yacht in Greece with Julian Masters.”
Oh . . . the good-looking one.
“The one with the dark hair?” I ask as I act dumb.
“That’s him. He’s a politician in London and of Spanish descent. He’s helping me with the red tape.”
“Christopher . . .” I pause as I try to collect my thoughts. “You can’t take him out of Spain. It’s his home.”
“Is it?” he replies with an annoyed tone. “He slept on a stained mattress on the floor, all alone in a deserted house. No plumbing, no electricity. Nothing. He had my postcards pinned to the wall with a photograph of you in the center. We are literally all he has, Hayden, and I can’t leave him here. I won’t.”
I look over to Eddie serving a group of men at the bar, and I’m overcome with emotion. The lump in my throat hurts as I try to swallow.
Poor Eddie.
“Even if it’s just until he’s eighteen or nineteen and old enough to get a rental on his own,” he says softly. “I can get him schooled to read and write so he at least stands a chance.”
I nod as I listen, remaining silent.
There are no words for this situation. I’m completely shell shocked.
Christopher’s eyes hold mine. “What are you thinking?”
I sip my drink and shrug. “Have you really thought about what this means for your future? A child is a lot to take on, Christopher.”
“I know.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “But what am I supposed to do, Grumps?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
We sit in silence for a while.
“What does he think about all this?” I ask.
He shrugs. “He seems excited to come with me. I mean . . . what are his other options? Be scared every day that some fucker is going to steal his phone while he sleeps on the floor?”
Fuck.
I can’t imagine being all alone. How frightening it must be for him. Christopher’s silhouette blurs, and I quickly wipe my tears out of my eyes.
Christopher stares straight ahead. He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders . . . and now I know that he does.
“You’re such a good man, Christopher.”
His eyes hold mine, and the air crackles between us. He slowly reaches over and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. “It’s so good to see you, Grumps.”
I’ve never needed to hug someone so badly in my life.
And I can’t.
My heart beats faster, and I’m in information overload. Everything is different, but nothing has changed. Our fucked-up situation is still the same and yet now even messier.
There’s a child.
I stand abruptly. “I should get going.”
“What, where to?” He seems surprised.
“Bed. I’m . . . exhausted.”
“Are you staying here?” He frowns.
“Yes.”
“Me too.” He gives me a soft smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”
“Okay, bye,” I blurt out in a rush. I need to get away from him right now.
This is all just too fucking much.
I catch Eddie’s eye and blow him a kiss and make my way up to my room. I burst through the door and begin to pace.
What now?