Page 83 of Surprise! I'm Engaged To My Boss
“I'll be able to have father-time with my daughter, Cami!”
“You will! And it will be amazing!”
“It will be. Because you will be with us.”
I would be with them.
I hugged him even tighter, feeling really happy and grateful for everything.
Chapter Thirty-Six
MICHAEL
The Harrises' reaction to my permission to spend a few hours with my daughter without their supervision was obviously not the best.
They were very angry and called me the day before, wanting to force me to accept having the babysitter accompany us. I refused. As much as many people might think it was wonderful to have someone on call to look after the child during an outing, that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted one day of truly being Alice's father. I wanted to spend that time with her and Camila. Just the three of us, with no one to bother us.
Actually, there weren't three of us. We ended up being four, because I took Apollo with me, much to Camila's despair. She kept her eyes fixed on the rearview mirror the whole way to the Harrises' house, keeping an eye on the dog in the back seat.
To her relief, Apollo didn't mind her presence too much. He loved car rides, so he enjoyed every second with his nose out the window, enjoying the wind on his nose.
“What if he attacks Alice?” Camila asked, without taking her eyes off the rearview mirror.
I pointed to the animal with a silly face and closed eyes, happily enjoying the wind that ruffled its gray fur.
“Does that look like a beast about to attack a little child?”
“He may see her as a threat.”
“Does a one-year-old baby seem like a threat to you?”
“I didn't look like that either when I was attacked by a dog.”
“It wasn't a dog. It was a pinscher. Practically an untamable wild beast. Like cats.”
“Cats are not untamable beasts.”
“You told me yourself that your cat is capable of killing someone if it wants to.”
“But he doesn't want to. That's the difference.”
“Neither does Apollo, believe me. But I hope they get along. Alice likes stuffed dogs and cartoon dogs. She can even imitate one. Do you think she’ll like Apollo?”
I didn't want to come across as insecure, but absolutely everything about Alice made me feel that way. I wanted to be the best father I could be so that she would feel safe with me.
So that she would feel proud of me.
“She'll like Apollo, Michael —” Camila's hand rested on mine. “— Even I, who am terrified of dogs, already love Apollo. But I know the real question on your mind is another, so let me answer it too: she already likesyoua lot. You can see the love in those beautiful eyes by the way she looks at you.”
“Do you really think so?” There I was again, acting insecure.
“I don't think so, I'm know so.”
Her hand tightened around mine and it brought me a sense of security that I hadn't expected to feel from just a gesture and a few words.
It was surreal how much easier everything had seemed since Camila had come into my life.
After our first fuck – and only one so far – a lot had changed between us. We no longer had to pretend to be a couple in love, because that was exactly how webehaved the whole time. We had lunch together every day, during our office break, then I would take her home at the end of the workday and most of the time I would go up and accept Jenna's invitation to dinner. But she, Despite the whole warm-and-fuzzy grandma image, she didn’t like to cook, so they always ordered something, or Camila would make the food.
