Page 31 of My Ruthless Alpha

“You know, these shows aren’t half bad,” Ethan said from his spot on one of the armchairs, gesturing vaguely toward the screen.

“Try having them play for hours at a time,” Sebastian murmured. “It gets old fast.”

Levi lifted his arm that had been covering his eyes during his nap as he glanced over at me. “Back so soon? I was feeling pretty comfortable here.”

Chuckling, I looked them over again. “You guys look like you fought a war and lost.”

“What can we say?” Ezra began, pointing a finger at Margo with an amused gleam in his eyes. “That one might seem calm, but she has endless energy.”

At the claim, Margo giggled and leaned against me a bit more as if she knew it was true.

“She wore us out,” Jacob murmured, still lying on the couch.

“Who knew one kid could knock us all out?” Ethan added, chuckling as he got up from his seat.

I hummed and grinned at Margo’s faintly mischievous expression. As they claimed, she was often calm and easy-going for a child her age, but she could be cheeky when she wanted to be, and I had the feeling she got that from her mother.

“I can’t say I’m too surprised.”

“You guys are just a bunch of whiners,” Zoe said with a hushed laugh as she got up with the rest of them and gave Margo’s cheek a gentle nudge. “She was as good as gold.”

“Yeah, yeah…she wasn’t demanding piggy-back rides from you,” Ezra said with a lopsided grin as he slid in next to her and made a face, to which Zoe chuckled.

“Regardless, thanks for helping us out,” I said to them all, grateful they were able to show up on such short notice, even if all of them being there was definitely overkill.

“No problem, she’s a cute stinker,” Ethan said, putting his fist up for her on his way toward the door, to which she fist-bumped him with a big smile. He chuckled and let the others say their goodbyes to her next.

Before long, they were on their way out, and when Sebastian smiled at her, Margo gave him a shy grin and a small wave that made me laugh inwardly. It seemed he had that effect on anyone at any age.

Once the group of them left for the night, it was just the two of us, and to my surprise, Margo had enough energy left to do some coloring at the table.

She had multiple books open around her, along with what seemed like an endless supply of crayons. Together, we sat and colored while she chattered about everything they did while I was gone and how much fun it was.

It was a relief to know that the babysitting went well and that she’d had a good time. That meant more than I realized, and it felt good to see her taking to everyone in my life.

Within that quiet, content moment, I had the chance to really connect with Margo. It had been strange at first, but over a few weeks of them being around, I was starting to feel more confident about it all.

The parental instincts kicked in faster than I expected, and I was glad for it. Stepping into that role felt more natural than I’d anticipated, and I could only hope Margo was beginning to get a better sense for it too.

It was still sad that I missed out on those earlier years with her, but I knew it wasn’t worth stewing over. Instead, I focused on how great it was to know her and to have the chance to make up for it.

After the conversation with Faye earlier, it seemed like she had no intention of taking Margo anywhere, which instilled a new hope in me. It seemed like I had been offered an olive branch, and I wasn’t going to waste it.

Margo hummed to herself contentedly while she colored, trying to be a bit more careful about doing so within the lines. Then, as casually as anything, she asked, “Do you know my dad?”

At first, I was stunned by the question, silently grateful that her eyes were on the book instead of me. Schooling my expression, I cleared my throat while I tried to think fast on my feet. “Yes…I do.”

“Is he nice?”

Blinking back at her, feeling like I was floundering, I did my best to hold it together. I couldn’t let someone so young see through my poker face.

Nodding, I murmured, “Yeah, I’d say he’s pretty nice.”

“That’s good,” she replied as casually as anything, taking me by surprise.

As she asked her questions, that sense of uncertainty seemed to close around my throat. I didn’t know how much I should answer, or how truthfully, without Faye there.

It was a big conversation to have with her, and I knew she wanted to handle the situation delicately. I couldn’t blame her, and while I wanted Margo to know the truth, I also didn’t want to overstep. I didn’t want to do it without her.

---