Page 25 of Lost
“You’re a father already,” Georgia went on. “One more wouldn’t hurt.”
“Lysander’s a teenager,” Zack said pointedly. “A baby would be different. Harder. A lot more work.”
“You wouldn’t have to do anything.”
“But I don’t want to be that guy,” he said forcefully, setting his fork down. He’d lost his appetite. “I don’t want to be the guy that sits back while his wife does all the work, Georgie. If we were to start a family, I’d want to be involved. I’d want to be able to give it my all. And right now, I can’t do that. The guys and I are in the middle of working on an album—”
“Bren seems to be doing fine,” she huffed.
“—and I have Lysander to worry about,” he added. “Lysander,andDakota. You wanted children — well, now we’ve got them.”
“They’reyourchildren. Lysander isyourson.”
“And you’re my wife. That makes you his step-mother at the very least. If you’d just get to know each other a little mor—”
“He’ll never see me as anything more.” She almost snarled the words at him. “I’llneverbe his mother in his eyes!”
“Georgie...”
“What is it?” she asked. Her eyes flashed with hurt. “Do you not love me enough to want to do this?”
He pushed his plate aside and reached for her hands. She lowered her head, her gaze falling to the table between them, but he could see the fresh tears swimming in her beautiful blue eyes. It broke his heart to know that he’d caused them.
“Georgia Marie.” He rubbed his thumb in a circular motion over the back of her hand. “Iloveyou. I havealwaysloved you. And Idowant to have a family with you. I just…” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “I just need some time. A few more weeks, to let everything settle.” He reached out, tilting her chin up so that her eyes moved to meet his. “Can you give me that? Just a few more weeks?”
There was silence between them as she considered. In the absence of conversation Zack could only hear the ticking of their old grandfather clock in the hall. Georgia sniffed, and for a moment he was convinced that she would start the argument up again.
“A few more weeks,” she said. “Fine.”
He pressed his lips to hers gently, a quick kiss of thanks. She smiled back at him, but it never quite reached her eyes. A few weeks, Zack silently promised, and he would make sure she was happy again. He just needed time to get everything sorted. To get his existing children safe and settled.
Georgia finished her wine in silence before rinsing her glass and leaving it to dry. Zack finished the last few bites of his dinner and slid the plate into the dishwasher.
“I’m gonna head up and take a shower,” Georgia said as he turned the machine on. “Would you like to join me?”
“I’ll be right up.”
He watched her walk towards the stairs with a slight swing in her hips, and knew that — for the moment, at least — things were going to be all right between them.
He downed a glass of water before following her up the stairs.
He was halfway to the bathroom when he made the decision to stop outside Lysander’s open door, figuring there would be no harm checking in on the boy. Lysander was sprawled out on the bed, working on homework by the look of things. He had a textbook lying open to his left and a notebook in front of him. He absently twirled his pen between his fingers as he read from the former.
He looked up when he felt Zack’s eyes on him.
“Hey,” he said easily, setting the pen down. “How was practice?”
“Fine. How was school?”
“Same as always. Teachers try to teach, students try not to fall asleep.”
Zack grinned. School hadn’t changed.
“Bren’s having a party this weekend,” he said, drawing Lysander’s attention back to him as the boy made to look away. “It’s an early birthday party for a couple of people, and it’ll just be some close friends and family there.” He leaned against the door frame, assessing the boy’s reaction. So far Lysander hadn’t done anything besides stop twirling the pen in his hand. “I was hoping you’d come along and meet everybody. Get to know them a little. I can only hold them back for so long.” He shrugged. “But only if you want to. I’m not forcing you.”
Lysander considered the request for several moments; Zack could almost see the thoughts whirling behind the boy’s blue eyes. He waited. While he hoped for an affirmative, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Lysander would decline the invitation, preferring to hideout at home. And he wouldn’t blame the boy for it. The meeting with his mother had been one thing. Meeting almost the entire extended band family would be something else entirely.
“All right,” Lysander said at last. “I’ll come.”
