“What exactly are your intentions for my Autumn?” Zoe tapped her finger on her chin and eyed me from the other side of the cab. Autumn leaned back from the front seat to take my hand and gave me an apologetic look, but there was no need.

“Well, taking her back to Portland first,” I told Zoe. “And then immediate marriage, two kids, everything. That sound acceptable to you?”

“As long as I get invited to the wedding,” Zoe agreed, and Autumn laughed from the front seat.

“The two of you planning my entire future back there?” she teased.

“Well, someone needs to,” Zoe replied, winking at me. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Autumn’s best friend, but I liked her. She seemed to have Autumn’s best interests at heart, which I could get behind.

“Fair point,” Autumn agreed, and she grinned at her friend. “Sure you don’t want to come back with us?”

“No, I’m going to stay for a few more days.” Zoe flashed her a smile. “I have someone here now, remember? I want to spend a little more time with him before I go back.”

“Ooh, keep me updated.” Autumn tapped Zoe’s knee.

“And you keep me updated on what it’s like to fly around in a private jet,” she shot back, raising her eyebrows at me. “I can’t believe you actually have one of those, Holden. That’s, like, crazy-rich stuff right there.”

“Well, maybe one day I’ll find an excuse to take you somewhere in it,” I said. “All three of us could go somewhere maybe.”

“Oh, you shouldn’t have put that offer out in front of me.” Zoe wagged her finger at me. “I might take you up on it when you least expect it.”

“We’re here,” Autumn announced as we pulled into the airport. The private jet would be ready and waiting for us, and I was looking forward to getting back to see Hunter, though I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad to be saying goodbye to this place as well. Vegas would always have a place in my heart after this, as the place were Autumn and I had connected with each other again. It had been a pretty special few days, and I was sad at the thought of bidding goodbye to them, even if it meant getting back to our real lives.

“Well, I guess I should let you guys get away.” Zoe stretched and yawned, and while she turned the corners of her mouth down at the notion, I could tell she was looking forward to it. Things were going well with this new man she was seeing, or so Autumn told me, and she was likely glad to be getting some time with him to herself once more.

Before I got out of the car, Zoe grabbed my arm, and I turned to her. She raised her eyebrows at me and gave me a pointed look.

“I know it’s a cliché for the best friend to say this,” she told me, “but I have to come out with it. Autumn’s an amazing woman, you know that. Please don’t hurt her.”

“I won’t,” I promised her, and she let go of my arm.

“Trust me, I know how amazing she is.” I grinned at her. “I’m never going to forget it.”

“I guess I can let you off for now then.” Zoe nodded at me. “Have a safe flight home, all right?”

“Will do,” I promised as she got out of the car to say goodbye to Autumn.

“Keep in touch,” Autumn ordered her as she gave her a tight hug. “And be back by the time school starts again, okay?”

“I will be,” Zoe agreed. “I’ll message you when I get back in Portland. We can catch up then.”

“See you soon.” Autumn squeezed her friend one last time and walked toward the plane. Gathering our bags, I quickly followed her.

We settled into the plane—after the requisite amount of Autumn wandering around the place gaping at every little detail, stunned that anything so luxurious could exist in the real world, let alone her real world—and I offered her a glass of champagne as we took off to head back home.

“It’s probably a bad idea.” She giggled. “But why not?”

We toasted one another, and Autumn turned to look at the Earth retreating below us as we gained altitude. Just like that, the world we had been hiding inside for the last few days seemed to drop away as well. A furrow appeared on her brow, and I noticed a darkness flicker across her face. Leaning forward, I put my hand on her knee, and she turned her attention back to me.

“Something on your mind?” I asked gently, and she shook her head, took another sip of her champagne, and then nodded.

“Actually, there is,” she admitted.

“What is it?” I pressed her, though I had a good idea what this was going to be about.

“You said the stuff with your ex was back in Portland,” she reminded me. “Well, we’re headed that way now. What do we do now that we have to deal with her again?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “The ball’s in her court now, and there’s not a lot I can do about that for the time being. If she takes me to court, I can deal with it that way, but I doubt she’s going to bother us personally anymore.”

“And what if she does?” Autumn eyed me nervously. “What if she really wants to be part of his life, and she finds a way in? What then?”

“What exactly is it that you’re worried about?” I asked, patient as I could be. I knew she didn’t understand how terrible Karla had been when we had been together, the manipulation and cruelty she had inflicted on me.

“I’m worried that if she comes back, there’ll be no place for me in the family anymore,” she confessed, dropping her gaze down and fiddling with the hem of her dress. “She’s his mother, after all. I don’t know if I can compete with that.”

“Autumn, please.” I leaned forward and grabbed her hand, and she looked up at me at last. I hoped she could tell from the intensity in the way I was looking at her that I wasn’t kidding. “She’s never been a mother to Hunter. I know that might be hard to believe, but it’s true.”

“But she is his mother,” Autumn pointed out, clearly not wrapping her head around the comment. “More than I ever will be. She gave birth to him.”

“Yes, and that’s all she did,” I assured her. “That’s where her involvement with our son comes to a dead halt. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I guess.” She wrinkled up her nose, and I could tell she was struggling to wrap her head around what I was saying.

“I’m telling you, that woman had nothing to do with raising Hunter,” I told her firmly. “She might have brought him into the world, sure, but that’s it. I’m sorry, but that’s not the kind of woman I would consider a mother, would you?”

She stared at me for a long moment, clearly trying to understand what I was saying to her. She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath.

“What happens if she does want to come back into his life?” she asked quietly. “What happens to me then? Won’t I be unnecessary?”

“Autumn, that’s never going to be the case with you.” I squeezed her hand tightly. “Even if, by some fucking miracle, she does manage to convince me and a judge that she’s serious about being in Hunter’s life again, I don’t give a damn. You’re still important to me, and you’ll still be important to Hunter.”

She let her gaze drop downward, and it was like there was something she wanted to tell me but didn’t quite know how to come out about it. But then she shook her head and managed a smile.

“I’m sorry I keep bringing it up,” she said, sighing. “I want to be able to drop it as much as you do. I just can’t seem to get it out of my head, that’s all. What would happen if she did come back, properly.”

“Well, the chances of that seem pretty fucking slim,” I promised her. “And even if she does, Hunter’s still going to adore you. You know how much he loves you, right?”

“He made me a card last week.” She grinned at me. “He asked when I was going to be coming back.”

“You want to come with me to pick him up from Raymond’s?” I suggested. “I’m sure he’d be so happy to see you.”

“You know what? Sure.” She nodded. “Oh, speaking of Hunter, what else are you going to do with him now that you’ve got the rest of spring break to fill up?”

“I’ve been giving it some thought,” I said. “I think I’m going to take him fishing. On the boat. He really enjoyed it when we went before, and I think it would be good for us to get out of the house for a little bit, you know? Both of us were hanging around there way too much after… after what happened between us.”

“That sounds fun,” she said, and I raised my eyebrows at her pointedly.

“You’re totally coming too,” I told her. “Hunter will love it if you come along.”

“And you’ll be what, pretty ambivalent about the matter?” she teased.

“Oh, I’m sure I would find a way to get through it,” I agreed, and she leaned over and gave me a kiss.

“That sounds fun—if you don’t mind me intruding.”

“You’re never intruding,” I assured her. “You’re part of the family now.”

“Do I get a choice in the matter?” She pulled a playful face. I shook my head.

“No way,” I replied, and I shifted so I was in the seat next to her. I looked down over the clouds below us and felt a wave of peace knowing I was soon going to be with my son. Even if I didn’t miss him on an immediate level, there was something deep inside me that did, something that needed to be near him no matter what. And soon, I would be.

Despite the length of the flight and how tired we both were, we headed straight to Raymond’s place as soon as we arrived to pick up Hunter. I had texted ahead to say the two of us were coming but had asked Raymond not to mention it to my son. I wanted to see the look on his face.

When he pulled the door open, I knew it had been worth it. He practically hurled himself at Autumn, wrapping his arms tightly around her and knocking all the air out of her as he clung to her. She laughed and patted his head softly.

“It’s so good to see you,” Hunter told her.

“You too,” Autumn agreed, eventually extracting herself from his grasp. I looked down at the two of them. No matter what happened with Karla, these two were my family. These two and nobody else. That was all that mattered. As long as the three of us were together, we would find a way to work through anything the world decided to throw at us.