Page 44 of Silver Fox's Twin Babies

“And Jacob would have seen me grow up and mature as I took on the job of fathering the twins, but that’s the past. What’s done is done. I’ll have some feelings to sort out, but none of that matters now. I was an idiot.”

I stared up at him confused by his statement. “What do you mean, you were an idiot?” I was the one who kept things from him. Why would he take any of the blame?

“Because I left, when I loved you so fully I wanted you to be my world, but I chased a dumb job instead of you. And worse, you feared what I might think—enough to hide the truth from me. I hated that I let you feel afraid of me for even a second. Will you ever forgive me?”

His sincerity hit me in the chest, making tears spring up. “Oh, love, yes. You don’t need my forgiveness because you didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s yours.” This time I kissed him and tasted myself on his lips still.

“So when can we tell the kids about me?” he asked and I froze. It was something I hadn’t even taken the first second to think of.

When would we tell them? And how would we tell them? And most importantly of all, how would they react?

28

EVAN

Flitting around Jacob’s house, helping Erin get things ready for the holiday meal, I felt nervous. My palms were a rainforest, but my mouth was the Serengeti. After the night I spent with Amber, we had agreed to take a day and think about the best way to approach how to tell the children about me. When Erin invited all of us to have dinner tonight—including Mona and Amber—I decided to bring the topic up during dinner.

I hadn’t the faintest clue how to tell a seven-year-old child who had never met their father a truth like that. I was so far out of touch with children I might as well be an alien. But I knew Jacob, Erin, and Mona had a lot of combined wisdom too. My appearance—silvering hair, wild old-man eyebrows, and random hairs that grew out of my nose from time to time—might’ve screamed “experience” but it was far from the truth. I’d spent my entire adult existence removed from children. I knew I had a lot to learn.

“So, the kids aren’t coming?” Erin asked, a small pout forming on her lips.

“Not this time,” I told her. “Amber’s friend Shelby is keeping them. There’s something I want to discuss, so I sort of asked her if this could be adult only tonight.”

Erin’s eyes sparked to life and her eyebrows went up. “Are you going to propose?” she asked as a smile crept across her face. Sadly, I had to disappoint her.

“Not exactly.” I sucked in a breath to explain the predicament, but the doorbell rang and interrupted me.

“I’ll get it!” Jacob called from his perch in the living room watching the football game.

“You’ll see,” I said, before turning to join Jacob.

He swung the door open and said, “Ladies, welcome!” He greeted Mona with a kiss to each cheek and Amber with a warm hug. Mona held a casserole dish with something orange in it and held it out to me with a smile.

“Sweet potato casserole,” she said with a wink. “I’ll take it in to help Erin.”

The minute I looked at Amber my body warmed. Memories of our night together two nights ago flooded me. Her body on mine, my lips all over her skin. I leaned in and kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear, “You look incredible.”

She wore a bright red sweater with dark slacks. Her hair was loose around her face, and green earrings dangled in the shape of teardrops from her ears. I parted her coat and slid it off her shoulders, and a whiff of vanilla rose to greet me.

“And you smell incredible too. I could eat you.” My comment was a little louder than I thought and Jacob snickered.

“Alright, you two. Keep it PG.”

He turned to head toward the dining room after slapping my back once. Amber waited while I hung her coat; then I took her hand and held it as we moved toward the food and family.

“How was your day?” she asked. She knew my day consisted of baking and helping Erin cook while listening to Jacob’sgrumbles directed at sports on TV. It was pretty traditional for this home, though I couldn’t wait to form new traditions with her soon.

“Ah, you know. I’m not a chef, but I like to eat.” The small talk felt awkward, like we were dancing around the issue already.

“I’m sure whatever you made is excellent.” Her smile put me at ease, though I still felt anxious about the topic I intended to bring up.

I hadn’t discussed it with Amber first. I wasn’t sure if she would be annoyed with me that I would be so bold as to broach the topic with our family around, but the truth was out there. Everyone knew I was the twins’ father, and the twins weren’t here to accidentally overhear it. If there was any safe place to bring it up and get answers and help, it was today, around the Thanksgiving table.

The spread before us was a feast fit for kings. Erin and I had spent hours in the kitchen, preparing a succulent roast turkey with perfectly golden skin, creamy mashed potatoes, savory stuffing filled with herbs and spices, tender carrots, sweet corn, and warm rolls fresh out of the oven. The aroma of roasted meat and buttery potatoes mingled with the earthiness of the vegetables and the sweetness of the rolls, creating a symphony of scents that made my mouth water and my stomach growl in anticipation.

As plates were passed around the table, I couldn’t resist taking generous portions of everything. The sliced turkey was still warm after I freshly carved it moments ago. The potatoes were irresistibly creamy and the stuffing was buzzing with flavor. My plate quickly became overloaded, but I couldn’t help myself from indulging. Even as dishes were still being passed around, I couldn’t resist taking bites of my favorite dishes, savoring every mouthful like it was my last.

I was enjoying a bite of carrots when Jacob said, “Evan, do you remember the last Thanksgiving we had with Mom and Dad?” He started chuckling and I knew right where he was going. “Aunt Margaret was there, bless her heart. She was older than the sun at the time. We started to sit down for dinner and Dad asked her to say grace…”

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