Chapter 1

“I’m leaving.”

Liam’s stomach performed a cartwheel. “What do you mean?” he asked into the phone.

He’d heard her utter those same words before. Two years earlier. She’d spoken them to his face and then climbed the stairs to retrieve the bags she’d already packed before walking out the door. A divorce swiftly followed, and the cherry on top of the whole ordeal was a bitter custody case.

“Tony and I are moving to London—”

London?“Wait a minute,” he interrupted. “You’re not taking Lucas to London. No way. I’ll never see—”

Helen cut in. “If you let me finish…”

Liam sighed. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“We’re moving to London, and rather than take Lucas out of school and away from his friends, I’m giving you full custody. With visiting rights for me, obviously. Tony’s got a job there, a great job, but we’re not sure how permanent it is. It could be a year, it could be five years, and it’s not fair on Lucas to move him back and forth.”

Liam’s mind was in a whirl. “And what if you’re back in a year? I suppose you’ll want full custody again.”

There was a pause. “Don’t do that,” she said.

“Do what?” he growled. He sucked in a deep breath. Keep it together.More flies with honey and all that. “It’s a perfectly logical question to ask. I won’t go through all that again.”

“I’ve already seen my lawyer. I’ll send the signed papers by courier tomorrow,” said Helen, her voice flat and monotone.

Thanks for letting me know. Would’ve been nice to be asked.“When do you leave?”

“The end of next month. In the meantime, Lucas can come and stay with you, if you like.”

Words and thoughts bubbled away at the back of Liam’s mind. He was doing all he could to restrain them, to stop himself from unleashing them on her. Too many words and thoughts had already been exchanged, most of which had been hurtful. When Helen had voiced her concerns about her young son living with a gay father, she may as well have taken a rusty razorblade to his testicles and hacked away at them. It would have been no less painful. Wounded, he’d retaliated by bringing up her extramarital affair with Tony, and all the lying and deceit that had accompanied it. Is it better for him to be brought up by a slut? It had gone back and forth until finally the judge had ruled in her favour.

“Sure, sure,” he replied. “Just give me a couple of days. Is he gonna be here for good?”

“Yes,” said Helen quickly. “I’ll want to see him before we leave, but I think the sooner we get him settled at your place, the better.”

Liam nodded.

“Okay?” asked Helen, sounding suddenly impatient.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll call you.”

Helen hung up.

Liam dropped the phone into the charger and sat on the couch. He buried his face in his hands and subconsciously began massaging his face.

Why now?

He felt guilty for even thinking it. He loved his son more than anything else in the world. He’d give his life for his son if it ever came down to it. But there was someone else. Someone like no other man he’d ever met, or was ever likely to. A man who set his heart racing every time he laid eyes on him.

His name was Ezra. 2

Three months earlier

A strong breeze blew in from the sea. White-capped waves lifted into the air, curled, then crashed with explosive force onto the white sand. Pairs of tiny black eyes on stalks began to appear from burrows hidden in the sand—crabs on the lookout for food and danger.

Liam sat on the towel from his gym bag, which hadn’t been used at a gym for quite some time. His knees were drawn up to his chest with his arms hugging them. His bare feet were in the sand, and his shoes and socks beside him. A man with a golden retriever walked by. The man smiled at him, though Liam barely noticed. He may have been staring out to sea, but his eyes were oblivious to the salty beauty that stretched all the way to the horizon.

The breeze chilled his face and hands. It threw itself against him, until it felt as though it was blowing right through him, taking every bit of warmth from his body. He shivered, though it barely registered. He was too deep in thought.

It had been a difficult fourteen months, with the divorce and an ugly custody battle. It was over now, leaving in its wake a void about the size of a six-year-old boy.

Initially, he’d missed both Helen and Lucas. How could he not? They’d been a family unit for the past six years, sharing everything—the good and the bad. But since Helen had discovered his copy of Big Cocksstashed between the mattress and the bed base, she’d naturally been rather hostile towards him. Never in front of Lucas, thank God, though it was always simmering beneath the surface.