Page 31 of Christmas with the Baby Daddy

“I appreciate it, but I’ll tell you what,” Jenny quipped as she glanced at me. “I look forward to when managing a company won’t be my headache anymore.” She grinned and winked.

I smiled back, by rote, but this time, her enthusiasm didn’t hit the spot with me. Internally, I sagged. In my mind, I wanted to groan, then cry. It saddened me to no end to realize that Jenny was implying that a new boss would be in charge soon.

Working for someone else just wouldn’t be the same. Jenny was a fairy godmother figure, a good friend, a confidante. She’d promoted me as high as she could, and I was the highest paid employee at West Catering, but still, my yearly salary wasn’t enough to eke out a sustainable living as a single mom. Especially as a single mom still working on medical and funeral debts from my parents and brother.

Jenny and I were like partners, but it seemed she was far too ready to just retire.

Deal with it when the day comes.I feared a new boss and owner would drive me to want to leave and move, and while the idea of having my own restaurant and catering business would be good, I’d rather stick with Jenny.

“I’m going to get back out to the garage and check the inventory list one more time,” Jenny said as Sara arrived and knocked on the front door.

“Okay, I’ll just see George on his way with Sara and I can lock up to go.”

She saluted me, then headed out to the van, saying hi to my friend and telling George to behave.

Sara grinned at me. “George,” she hollered up the stairs, “make sure you get that jungle boardgame you’ve been telling me about. I want to play it tonight.”

“Okay, Sara,” he called back, then ran up the stairs again.

“So.” She approached me, watching for George to be out of earshot. “Cole said he was watching the game with Zach last night. Sounds like Zach was asking all kinds of questions about you.”

I sighed, sagging against the wall. “I bet he was asking about the fact that I have a kid.”

She nodded, still looking out for George. “Yeah.”

“Did Cole?—”

Shaking her head, she placed her hand on my arm to cut me off. “No. Cole doesn’t even know.”

Sara was the only person who knew that George was the result of a one-night stand with Zach. She was the only person I’d confided in that my brother’s best friend was my baby daddy. True to her word, she hadn’t told anyone. Not even her brother, and those siblings didn’t keep a lot of secrets from each other.

“But it’s making me wonder,” Sara said, lowering her voice in case George could come back and hear.

“Making you wonder what?”

“If Zach could see himself in George. I swear”—she held up both hands—“when Zach was sitting there between the boys in the office, just looking at them seated next to each other, it’s just… just so obvious. George is like his mini me! Dimples and those baby blue eyes…”

I cringed. I’d been wondering if someone would make that exact conclusion sooner or later.

“Don’t you think Zach might notice? And wonder?”

I shook my head. “I hope not.” I was limited in how to make it possible that Zach would never know. But that was just wishful thinking.

“But he’s got to be curious. You know, like he’s bound to be curious about who George’s dad is.”

“He is more than curious,” I replied.

“Yeah?”

“He gave me a ride home last night and flat-out asked me who George’s father is.”

She opened her eyes wide. “What’d you say?”

“That I didn’t want to talk about it.” Which was so shitty of me, but I was put on the spot.

She shook her head slowly. “Blake, he’s bound to figure it out. He’ll notice how much George looks like him. He’ll do the math of how old George is and when Kevin’s funeral was.”

“But George was a preemie,” I argued weakly.

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