Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
“Baby.” He came toward me. “We’re all adults here.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“I just… want to interact with her as little as possible.”
He sighed quietly. “Look, you and I are a done deal. That means the two of you need to get along. I know she hasn’t made a good impression lately, but she’s a good person. I told her I wanted to be with you, and she respected that. It’s over.”
Did she, though?
“Come on.” He nodded toward the elevator.
I joined him this time.
We made it to her front door, and she let Dex inside, wearing a smile like she was happy to see him, but that smile quickly faded when she saw me. She obviously hadn’t expected me at her front door.
She stepped aside and let us walk in.
Ryan was on a blanket in the living room, dressed and ready to go, playing with a doll.
“There’s my mini me.” Dex kneeled and scooped him up, giving him kisses all over his forehead.
Catherine stood there with her arms over her chest, watching them together.
Dex held him with one arm and grabbed the bag Catherine had packed and walked back to me. “I’ll drop him off on Sunday night.”
Catherine nodded, ignoring my existence.
Dex walked up to me. “Let’s go.”
With pleasure. I walked out first.
Dex came behind me. “Say bye to Mama.”
Ryan waved. “Bye…”
Catherine smiled as she watched them leave, but there was a noticeable twinge of sadness in her eyes.
Dex walked up to me in the hallway. “Baby, I’d like to introduce you to the cutest little guy ever.” Dex was happy and affectionate, like he felt no despair leaving his ex-wife alone when he could have stayed, when he could have chosen for the three of them to be a family. “Ryan, this is Sicily. It’ll probably take some time for you to learn that name, but you’ll get there.”
Ryan looked at me, smiling slightly, looking back and forth between us. He didn’t just have Dex’s looks, but his bubbly happiness, his carefree attitude. He wasn’t shy or timid, just easygoing.
Like everyone else, I fell under his spell with a single look. “Hey, Ryan.” I placed my fingers around his foot in his sock and gave a gentle squeeze. “You really are the cutest.”
Dex managed him with a single arm with the bag over his shoulder, and he put his other arm around my waist as we walked down the hallway. “Alright, let’s go see Grandma and Grandpa. They’re so excited to meet you.”
The entire family was there, and they were all enamored of Ryan.
Ryan sat on the floor with his cousins, all of them playing toys together, Little Deacon and Cam getting used to their new family member. Deacon was on the floor with Ryan, holding him in his lap and playing with him.
He was a hit.
Dex was happier than I’d ever seen him, absorbed in his son and loved by his whole family.
I sat on the couch and watched, seeing a group of people that loved one another unconditionally. They were all such wonderful people, and I knew Ryan would end up the same way. He would be a brilliant, successful, good-hearted man.
“Dad, come on.” Daisy sat beside him. “When is it my turn?”
Deacon smiled and handed him over.
Daisy placed him between her legs and smothered him with his kisses. “I’m gonna be your favorite aunt. Your mom’s sisters suck compared to me.” She gave him a tickle and pulled him for some kisses.
Dex smiled as he watched them interact.
I sat on the couch and watched this kid be deeply loved by all these people. He was so lucky and didn’t even know it.
Cleo sat beside me, enjoying a glass of wine as she watched her family welcome her new grandson. “He looks so much like Dex. Reminds me of Little Deacon and Derek.”
“Yeah, definitely.”
She turned to me and placed her hand on my arm. “How are you doing with all of this?”
She was Dex’s mother, so I shouldn’t tell her the truth, but I also considered her to be a friend, like an aunt. “It’s been a little difficult. It just happened so suddenly, and it’s taken me some time to get used to the whole thing.”
“Are you used to it now?”
I shrugged. “I feel like Dex and I have had nothing but roadblocks since we met. We get through the last one…and then I find out he has a son with his ex-wife, whom he was madly in love with. Now, she’ll always be around… It’s not really what I signed up for. Would I ever date a guy who already had kids? Probably not. But with Dex, I love him, so it’s just how it has to be.” I told her the truth, laid it out there, and hoped she wouldn’t hate me.
She didn’t seem to. She continued to look at me with softness in her gaze, like she understood exactly where I was coming from. “Yeah, it’d be difficult for anyone. It’s really remarkable that you continue to stand by his side despite all of that. It’s obvious that you really care about my son if you’re willing to put up with it.”