Page 75 of Boss's Baby Surprise

“There’s my b—” he started as he crouched down low and held his arms out.

I caught his eye and shook my head.

“Buddy!” Kyle changed gears on what he was saying rather quickly. “I missed you,” he said as he swung our son up into his arms.

Leo squirmed and giggled with excitement.

Kyle leaned close to me as I stepped up to the two of them and unexpectedly gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You haven’t told him?” he asked in low tones.

I shook my head. “You weren’t ready. I decided it would be better to wait,” I confessed.

“You can tell him at any time now. I know I made a mistake by not letting you do so before.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said as we walked into the science center. I wanted Leo to know that Kyle was his father. I also needed to protect my son. I still wasn’t certain about Kyle’s determination to be there for us. After all, he had left without warning twice before.

“I noticed we’re right next to the Space Needle,” Kyle pointed out.

“Maybe if we get done here and somebody isn’t too tired, we could take a ride to the top.” I hadn’t yet done many of the touristy things since we moved, but it sounded like a fun idea to me.

What I thought was going to be a long morning looking at interactive exhibits and planetarium shows turned out to be much more engaging, and we were there for hours longer than I had expected. I knew Leo was done for the day when he started to fall asleep on his feet. As soon as I hauled Leo into my arms, he went limp with sleep.

“Does he always do this?” Kyle asked.

He took Leo from me. It wasn’t fair. Leo was a sturdy kid and getting harder to carry every day, but Kyle made him look as if he weighed nothing more than a feather. I wasn’t jealous that Kyle was carrying the boy, only that he managed to do so with ease.

“I think when he gets excited, he just expends his energy faster,” I said. “He was excited to see you today.”

“We had a good time today, didn’t we?” Kyle asked.

“I think he only falls asleep around you,” I said teasingly. “He never seems to run out of energy when it’s just me.” My son wasexhausted. I was glad he had a good day and that he and Kyle seemed to be getting along well.

“Last time, you took our boy home and let him take a nap before I met you for dinner. I have to confess I’m not ready for the day to be over just yet. Is that something that you might be open to doing again?”

“Yes.” I didn’t even have to think about it before I agreed.

“There’s a little sandwich and soup shop in the neighborhood. If you haven’t tried it yet, we could meet there for dinner.”

Kyle stayed with us until the car I arranged for arrived. My insides started doing flips on the ride home. Not big ones, but little ones, letting me know that I really wanted to see Kyle again.

Maybe this time, everything would work out, and I should let it happen.

Maybe this time, he would disappoint me and I would be left broken hearted again. I was having a hard time getting over his past rejection.

As a single mother with a small child, I was very aware and conscious of not maintaining the stereotype of always being late. I hadn’t yet decided whether Kyle’s constant ability of being at a place when we arrived was his attempt at trying to be present or some commentary on my ability to be anywhere when I said I would be. He was waiting at the restaurant when we arrived.

“I’ve walked past this place more times than I care to admit,” he said, “and I never realized what kind of food they would have.”

“Leo likes it, and he can be a picky eater,” I said.

We ordered off the menus—large chalkboards hanging behind the counter—and carried a table number and our empty paper cups to a table. I grabbed a booster chair for Leo and got him situated. Kyle took our cups and returned with drinks from the self-service counter.

“Is that how you pick most of the restaurants you go to?”

“That’s how I pick all the restaurants I go to,” I confessed. “There’s no point in taking him somewhere if he can’t or won’t eat. We don’t eat out very often. I Mostly cook.”

“That’s why Friday is always spaghetti,” he said with a chuckle.

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