Page 47 of Cold

“How about you collect some pillows?”

“Okay, Daddy.”

He bounced off to go get the pillows before he slowed, as if he’d reminded himself that I had told him to slow down. Romare glanced back at me, checking to see if he was in trouble. Those huge eyes and stuck out pink lips that now held a pout made me burst into laughter. When he saw I wasn’t upset, Romare grinned and resumed his walk down the hall.

I shook my head and got to work. Work. I haven’t thought about anything but the family business being work in forever. Is this how I would have felt if I’d grown up, fallen in love again, had a family?

Something in my belly tightened and I ignored it. As I always ignored the ugly emotions when they resurfaced again. Thinking about the past wasn’t going to change my future. But I would be a moron not to take the happiness I saw before me.

Romare came back with pillows just as I finished the structure for our fort. It was big enough that we could both fit inside of it. I carried another blanket into it as Romare worked on decorations. He stared at his construction project, hard at work so much so that he forgot I existed.

Chuckling, I took that moment to sneak off to the kitchen. I grabbed a serving tray and filled it with the snacks that I’d bought for us, the ones I never indulged in for myself before I met Romare. Cookies, individually wrapped snack cakes, chips, candy. We would have a junk food feast tonight and then tomorrow it would be right back to balanced meals. Everyone deserved a little break here and there.

Even me.

I came back with my tray and peered into the fort. Romare clutched Mr. Whiskers to his chest and was in nothing but a pair of briefs. He shook his finger at me.

“You can’t come in with all those clothes,” he said sternly. “This is a comfy fort and that means no clothes but underwear are allowed.”

I nodded. “That’s a rule?”

“Yep!” He grinned up at me. “Take them off!”

“What a bossy little thing,” I grunted as I straightened up. “Here.” I passed him the tray and he made an excited squeal around the pacifier that was now in his mouth.

I stripped out of my clothes and climbed into the fort once I was in my boxers. As soon as I was comfortable, Romare climbed into my lap. He curled up and only took out the binkie to take a bite of cake. I passed him one of the waters I’d brought with me.

“You have to drink lots of water too, okay? That’s the deal with you being allowed to have this junk food.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Ever since we’d made the decision to be Daddy and boy, I felt a sense of leadership that I’d never wanted. But now I did. I wanted to take care of Romare, give him the world, and be strong enough to keep him sane and pieced together. I wanted to be the best damn Daddy in the world.

“Is this okay so far?” I asked Romare. “I don’t want to take you out of little space, but am I doing alright so far? As your Daddy?”

Romare gazed up at me. “Of course! You’re the best Daddy in the world!”

My heart squeezed. “Damn straight I am,” I growled to dispel the lump that formed in my throat.

The giggle that poured from Romare’s lips was better than any drink I’d ever had to soothe my nerves and fill the void in me. I brushed my thumb across his cheek and studied his face as if I could remember every freckle that dotted his face and every fleck in his big, gray eyes.

Until Romare shoved a cake into my mouth.

“-ey!”

“You were staring.” He laughed before he turned around and wiggled himself comfortably in my lap again. “It was rude.”

I grinned at Romare and ate my cake. Yeah, it was rude. But I couldn’t take my eyes off my fluffy little angel.

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