Page 76 of His Secret Merger

I shook my head, and Mateo grinned between us like he was watching a sitcom unfold live.

“You gonna have kids?” he asked next, mouth full of fries.

Juliette’s hand found mine under the table. She didn’t flinch, didn’t gloss it over. “We’re trying.”

Mateo sat back, eyebrows high. “Really?”

“Really.”

A huge grin broke across his face. “That’s so cool. I always wanted a brother. Or a sister. But I’d prefer a brother. You know. For balance.”

Juliette chuckled. “We’ll pass along your request.”

He bounced in his chair a little. “Can I help name them?”

“We’ll see,” I said, my voice catching just slightly.

God. The way he said it—casual, hopeful, like this was the most natural thing in the world. Like we were a family and not three people stumbling their way toward something bigger than all of us. My throat tightened as I watched him swipe the last fry off his plate and stuff it into his mouth, like it was just another day.

But it wasn’t. It was everything.

After lunch, we walked the stretch of the beach down to the pier, the three of us side-by-side. The surf competition had already started—students lined up with boards, spectators on benches, a small tent handing out shaved ice and branded towels.

Mateo quickly introduced Juliette to half a dozen friends, proud as hell to have us there. She leaned into every conversation like she’d known them for years, asking about their board brands and cheering when one of them caught a wave clean. I stood behind them both, arms crossed, a smile tugging at my mouth.

I didn’t say much.

I didn’t need to.

Because the sight of Juliette, hands cupped around her mouth as she shouted for a kid named “Westley” to hold his line, was something I wouldn’t forget.

This—this messy, sun-soaked chaos felt more like a life than anything I’d built on paper.

A few hours later, the sun started to dip low behind the campus trees, casting long shadows across the courtyard as we returned to the gates. Mateo walked between us, stuffing his hands inside his pockets like he didn’t want the moment to end.

He turned to Juliette at the gates and threw his arms around her waist. “Promise you’ll come back?”

She kissed his cheek. “Count on it.”

Then he turned to me, wrapping his arms around my neck. “Thanks, Dad.”

Just two words. But they broke me wide open.

We watched him disappear past the security gate, jogging up the steps toward the dorm entrance. He turned one last time to wave. I raised my hand in return, heart lodged somewhere between my chest and my throat.

As we climbed into the SUV, Juliette reached over and threaded her fingers through mine.

“You’re a good dad, Damian, and I love you.”

“I love you, too, Jules.” I brought our joined hands to my lips and kissed her knuckles.

The campus disappeared behind us, the road unwinding in long, quiet stretches between trees and low hills. The horizon was still flushed with the last remnants of sun, gold streaking through violet.

As I drove, I didn’t think about business plans, gala speeches, or whether the board would ever see me the way I wanted to be seen.

Because I wasn’t my father’s son anymore, I was Mateo’s dad and Juliette’s husband.

I was finally the man I wanted to be.

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