Page 37 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

Ultimately, the decision would be up to Lily, but I wanted to do things the right way. Asking for David's blessing in this matter was how his generation was raised. It offered him the respect of approving of our relationship for his little girl and made him feel like I could be trusted.

"I see…" He sighed but said nothing else. Ellen eyed him and smiled at me before picking up her stack of dishes.

"Well, I think it's a lovely idea. Noah will love that, and he'll have two doctors around to keep an eye on him. But Nana will still be babysitting. I need my baby time." She winked and walked off, carrying the dishes through the swinging door into the kitchen.

I turned to David and said, "And I want to marry her." The slight uptick of David's eyebrows encouraged me. "I've loved her for years, and when she came back into my life, I knew she wasthe one. I messed it up before, but I'm never going to mess it up again. I love her, and I want her in my life forever. I want our family to truly be whole."

David nodded again, and this time, he narrowed his eyes at me. "It's about time," he grunted, and I chuckled, which made him smile. "Welcome to the family, Ethan. I'm sure you're going to make her the happiest woman alive."

"Ethan!" I heard from in the distance, and I knew Lily was calling me to tuck Noah in.

"Thank you, sir. I won't let you or her down." I stood and dropped my napkin across my plate, then headed to the stairs.

Every step I took built anticipation inside me. The excitement I felt when I was considering asking her to marry me last week hadn't abated at all. It was like life had been put on pause, and perhaps tonight wasn't the perfect night, but I knew it would be soon. For now, my focus was on making sure I did everything in my power to be the best partner and father I could be.

I walked into Ethan's bedroom and saw him lying on his side, frowning. Lily sat next to him with a hand on his back, rubbing, and I could see the medicine spoon in her hand.

"It's yucky," he moaned and coughed.

"Yes, but it helps you, baby." Lily smiled at me sadly and gestured with her head for me to come closer.

I walked over and crouched next to his bed, and he looked up at me. "Yucky medicine?" I asked.

"I don’t like it." He scrunched up his face and made me snicker.

"Yes, I can tell. But here is the good news. You only have to take that a few more times and then you never have to do it again. Plus, it takes away all of your pain so you can sleep better." I tousled his hair, and he huffed.

"I still don't like it." Noah rolled to his back and crossed his arms over his chest, and Lily placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Baby, there's something I want to talk to you about," she said, but as she did, she reached for my hand and I got the feeling she was talking about me.

"More medicine?" he asked in a grumpy tone.

"Not at all, something even better." Her eyes were brimming with emotion when she looked at me. "It's actually about your daddy."

Noah turned on his side again and pulled his glasses off his face and folded them up, then handed them to me. "I don't have a daddy," he said, and that broke my heart, but the pain was short-lived.

"But you do have a daddy. You just never got to meet him yet." Lily looked back at her son, and I was patient. My heart hammered against my ribcage, swelling with joy and pride in this moment. I didn't have to ask her to marry me to know she would say yes. If one week into this thing, she was ready to tell our son about me, I knew she was mine.

"Where is he?" Noah asked, and then he narrowed his eyes at me. "Does Ethan know him?"

I chuckled again, and Lily nodded upward with her head. I got the point she was trying to make, and I knelt closer to his bed.

"I know him really well. In fact, I am him. I'm your daddy, Noah." My own tears refused to be held back. I blinked and shed a few, and he looked at me, very confused.

"Ethan is my daddy? But he's your friend." He turned his confusion on Lily, and she smiled and nodded. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she wiped them away.

"Yes, he's my best friend and he is your daddy. What do you think of that?" It seemed to be a little too much for his four-year-old brain to handle, but he shrugged and winced at the same time.

"I think medicine is yucky. Maybe you can take it." Again, his face screwed up into a hot scowl and had both of us laughing. We spoke for a few minutes about the idea of my being his father, but I could tell he was sleepy.

When Lily and I left his room with the baby monitor in hand, she took me by the hand and led me downstairs. Ellen and David had retired for the evening, but after the week Lily had, I didn't want to stay and keep her up. She needed to rest while Noah was resting. So, I guided her to the door and asked, "Walk me to my car?"

"Of course." She followed me into the cool night air. It was dark already, streetlights coming on down the street already. The row of hedges next to the driveway shrouded my little sedan in darkness, which allowed me to kiss my beautiful girlfriend in privacy.

"Thank you for everything, Ethan. You've been so amazing, I don't even know how to thank you enough." Her head rested on my chest, and she wrapped her arms around me. I held her against me, careful not to touch any of the buttons on the monitor now clipped to her waistband. "This evening has been so perfect."

"I wish I could stay with you or that you could come to my place." I pulled her harder against myself and ground my pelvis into her thigh, leaving no room for misinterpretation of what I was trying to say.

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