Page 37 of Reckless Single Daddy

I frown at him. “How so?”

Mike laughs like it should be obvious. “Sloane, c’mon! You’re not even thirty yet, and you don’t have kids, and have never been married. You’ve never even experienced living with someone you love, as far as I know.”

I look at him curiously. “And Cade has been married?”

His eyes widen as he realizes what he just said. He clears his throat and sits up straighter. “I said too much,” he admits with a sigh.

Yes, clearly you did, Mike.

So Cade has been married before. Interesting.

It isn’t shocking that he has, but we’ve never talked about our past relationships, not even mine. We don’t even talk about Liam, either. To be honest, we’ve been so focused on ourselves and figuring out what this relationship even is that everything else took a backseat. No wonder we’ve never hit on the heavier shit. We’ve been too busy dwelling on the things that would just figure themselves out in time.

Mike pulls up to Cade’s gate, and the guard lets us in. Outside, Cade waits for us with his hands in his pockets. He looks handsome under the sunlight, his dark hair shining and the scruff on his face chiseling out his face. I take a moment to drink him in as Mike comes to a stop.

I open the door, and Cade walks over to help me with my bag. He carries it at his side, and then I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his inviting lips. I missed him. It’s been a few days since our argument and my confession. We’ve spoken every day, but we haven’t seen each other since that night, so I welcome his presence.

Cade looks up and sees Mike getting out of the car. He clears his throat as I take his hand. Mike grimaces at him. “Can you do that when I’m not around? It’s like looking at our parents,” he says, mocking us with an “ick” face.

I roll my eyes as Cade relaxes his posture.

“You can say that again, Uncle Mike.”

I turn around and see Liam standing by the door. Cade turns as well.

“Liam, I told you to wait for me in the theater,” he says sternly.

Liam pouts a very identical Cade pout, which melts my heart. “Yeah, but I got bored.” He steps out—no shoes, of course. “You didn’t say Sloane was coming.”

I look over at Cade, who rubs his neck awkwardly. “I told you a friend was coming,” Cade replies.

Liam shrugs. “You should have been specific,” he says, and I laugh, hiding my smile in Cade’s shoulder. “Are you two married?” he asks, causing my eyes to widen.

“Dating, son,” Cade replies as I pull back. “You got to date someone first before you marry them.”

“Well…” I say at the same time as Mike, but Cade snaps his fingers at the both of us, clearly not wanting to explain to a nine-year-old.

Liam looks between his dad and me, then looks back at me. “Are you going to paint my dragon while you’re here?”

“I thought you wanted a dinosaur with green laser beams shooting from his eyes?” I ask.

Did I get that wrong? Oh no, am I already screwing up with Cade’s kid?

Liam bursts into a grin, showing off some missing teeth. “I was testing you.” He stands up straighter, then looks at his dad. “She can stay.” He turns around, walking back inside to let us have some alone time with Mike.

“Seal of approval,” Cade says softly, kissing my cheek. I chuckle, and we turn back to Mike, who shakes his head.

“I’ll get used to it, I think,” Mike grumbles. “Anyway, I’ll notify you of any information we obtain tonight. Wait for me to give you a call before you head home, Sloane.”

I nod, watching as he gets inside his cruiser and drives off. I look over at Cade. He’s still uneasy, but not nearly as bad as before. He knew that I sent Mike the email that revealed our relationship, but this is the first time my brother has truly seen us together, as a couple. I can imagine why that would be very weird for him.

“I missed you,” I say softly, hoping Cade will get out of his head and just be present with me in this moment.

He looks over at me and smiles, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I missed you, too,” he replies.

I can tell he truly means that. I sigh happily and then wrap my arms lovingly around him.

“Tonight is game night,” he says. “Are you up for a little Mario Kart in the theater?”

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