Page 53 of Billionaire and the Barista

“I don’t have it in me to clean the front right now. And honestly, if I don’t have to come back after I get Robbie to bed, that would be wonderful.”

“Sure thing, Gabby. I can handle the front. I’ll give you a call so you can set the alarm.”

“Thank you,” I waved as I pushed back out the kitchen door. The stairs seemed higher, and longer after the day I had.

It smelled like spaghetti and home when I walked into my apartment.

“Thank you for cooking, Lacey.”

“It’s spaghetti, not like I did anything crazy fancy.”

“No, but after my day, this is perfect. Comfort food. How’s Robbie doing?”

“He’s in jammies, all ready for bed. He calmed down a lot once we got to the swings. But he did go on a lot about a puppy. I guess Annie got a new dog, and he’s all about that.”

I sighed. “He was all the way home from preschool.”

I thanked her again for taking care of my boy. I set my dirty dishes in the sink and went to his room.

“Hi,” I said as I picked him up to put on my lap.

He wrenched out of my arms and sat away from me.

“Still mad at me, huh?”

“Why can’t I have the things my friends have? I’m the only person at school who doesn’t have a puppy or a dog, and I don’t have a daddy either.” His breath hitched as he fought his emotions.

How long had this been building in that little chest of his?

“I wouldn’t need a daddy if I had a puppy.”

He wanted something to love so badly, and I wasn’t enough.

“We…” I started to explain the dog situation, again. It felt like no matter how often I told him why we couldn’t have a dog, he wouldn’t let go.

I wanted to reach out and touch him, but he was a prickly pear right now, and he did not want to be touched.

“You have a daddy, baby.” And I needed to tell Nathan about Robbie so I could introduce them. So that my boy could have a father.

Robbie didn’t look over from where he was running a car over the hills made by his blankets. But the car slowed, and I knew he was listening.

“I need to see what I can do so that you can finally meet him.” I needed to get over my fear of telling Nathan that he had a son.

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