章 29: Chapter 29

“My relationship with my mother has always been toxic. And there’s not even enough feelings between us to want to change that. I think that’s why I latched on to you so hard back in Chicago. You became my family. But you? You’ve always talked about them. Even when you weren’t keeping in touch with them. Even when you’d get Raine’s Christmas cards, I saw the wistfulness.” He shook his head. “I’m not them. I know that I’ll never replace them. I’m not your family. But I—”

“No.” I touched his lips with my fingertips. There was an ache in my heart that wouldn’t go away until I made him see my earlier words of denial were wrong. “You were right. You are my family.”

“I’d like to be. More than anything.”

“You are.” It was almost painful to speak. To get words past the lump in my throat. “But I’d like to have them in my life again, too.” I paused because asking him seemed significant for some reason. “If that’s okay.”