Page 13 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

Her hands went around my neck, and I lost even more of my senses, folding my palm in her hair. She was so small that her neck was getting a crick, so I lifted her with my other arm while her legs wrapped around my waist instinctively.

That quickly kicked everything into high gear.

And I knew that if we kept on like this, I was going to drag her to the floor and fuck her.

No, don’t do that. She deserves better than that.The thoughts were a warning, but I couldn’t help myself.

God, it had been too long without her, too long without this. I didn’t know how I thought I would only be with her once, and it would be enough.

Once would never be enough.

An unexpected clanging blare had her tearing away from me. Her face was still dazed and confused before she suddenly realized what the sound was.

“My phone,” she murmured, her voice husky. She tapped my shoulder lightly to be let down. Lust had short-circuited my brain, so it took me a little while to understand and oblige. Once I did, she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

“Hello?” she answered, glancing at me out of the corners of her eyes. She still looked lust-shocked and good enough to eat.

But then, her entire demeanor changed.

FIVE

ALLIE

Panic quickly drove out any stray desire trembling through my body.

The drastic change gave me whiplash, and I tried to get my emotions to settle so I could understand what was happening.

“What did you say?” I asked, trying to get my brain to work again.

“It’s Caleb,” Athena’s voice sounded like she was at her wit’s end. Like she was barely holding it together. In the background, I could hear loud sobbing that sounded almost like a wail.

I instantly knew who it was, and sharp pain spread through me.

“What’s wrong, Athena?” I asked.

“He’s not reacting well,” she said, sounding as panicked as I’d ever heard my sister sound. “He’s refusing to eat. Ever since he woke up and found you gone, he’s been crying and holding himself and rocking. No matter how much I tried to get him to calm down and tell him you’ll be back soon, he wouldn’t listen. I don’t know what to do.”

“Poor baby.” I felt the tears pool behind my eyes as guilt and heartache ate at me. This was all my fault. I was a bad, selfish mother. Here I was, enjoying myself on a date while my son was suffering at home.

And I’d been ready to possibly spend the night with Marcus, too, forgetting how much Caleb needed me.

It didn’t matter that he’d never reacted like this before whenever I left him. I should have anticipated something was wrong when he regressed. I should have known something was seriously wrong.

“I’m so sorry, Athena,” I said, feeling bad that I left her to deal with all this. It wasn’t her responsibility, and as much as she liked to help me out, I shouldn’t take advantage of her. “I’ll be home soon. I’m on my way.”

After I hung up the phone, I finally glanced up at Marcus’ concerned face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, but I shook my head. I couldn’t explain it right now, and it wasn’t the time to explain who Caleb was anyway.

“Could you take me home, please?” I asked. His lips tightened, and he gave me a quick nod before we began heading back to the car.

The ride back was once again silent and even more awkward.

A fitting end to a confusing date.

The confusion was likely my fault as much as his.

While I didn’t date much, I knew I hadn’t exactly behaved appropriately during it. I was quieter than normal and didn’t continue conversations, allowing it to die off. At first, it had been the nerves. It wasn’t every day you told a man that you bore him a son he didn’t know about for eight years. I didn’t even know how to approach the topic or how to segue. Was there even a proper segue for that?

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