Chapter 33

That one word—"mom"—hit me like a brick in the chest. It cracked something open inside me, and suddenly, I couldn't stop my tears. I reached out and gently caressed the boy's cheek. He gave me a shy little smile. Even my fingertips were trembling from the sheer rush of emotion. "Sorry, Miss Johnson," Jason Smith spoke up, taking Evan back from my arms. "Evan never had a mom. He tends to think any woman around your age who hugs him is his mother." As much as it hurt to let go, he was someone else's child. I had to loosen my grip. Xander Lewis walked over, his voice warm and kind. "Hey buddy, that’s not your mom. She’s Miss Johnson—you can call her Auntie Sophie, okay?" Evan glanced at his dad, who nodded. Disappointment spread across his small face before he quietly mumbled, "Auntie Sophie." Those two words snapped me out of a dream I didn’t know I was in. Wiping away the tears I didn’t even realize had fallen, I forced a smile to ease the mood. "So your name is Evan? What a lovely name