Page 68 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

But Marcus was right. You didn’t know a person until you saw their vicious side.

And he knew more than anyone how vicious they could be.

Shame washed through me.

We hadn’t spoken of the future, but I’d assumed he would settle here with me even after the resort renovations were completed. It was indeed selfish of me to think that, to ask him to stay here with me in this town when it had shown him nothing but pain. This town may have been my safe zone, but to him, it was probably hell.

And I was asking him to stay in it.

Suddenly, the door downstairs clicked open, and I shot to my feet, alarm spiraling. I heard footsteps as I crept to the staircase.

“Marcus?” I called out cautiously, then internally slapped myself for it. I was just like those girls in the horror movies. I should have grabbed a weapon before I went to the staircase. What if it wasn’t Marcus but someone who came to harm Caleb and me?

Did I even have a weapon to use?

Jeez, what was I thinking?

It was probably paranoia. I often left my door unlocked many times before I had Caleb, and nothing ever happened. It was probably Mrs. Winchester from next door who needed something.

“Yeah,” Marcus’ heavy voice answered after some time. “It’s me.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

I jogged down the stairs just in time to see him walk into the living room, shrugging off his jacket. He didn’t glance at me at first, and his face was carefully expressionless.

Guilt swam through me, and I couldn’t stand it. I walked toward him, immediately wrapping my arms around his waist.

“I’m sorry,” I said, resting my head against his chest and letting myself be comforted by his strong, steady heartbeat. “You were totally right. I’m not scared of you; I’m scared of letting myself trust you. Of being hurt. And scared of leaving my comfort zone.”

It took a second, and then one broad palm came up to rest against my head, caressing my hair. His voice was a rumble as he said, “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.”

“Yes, there is when it turns me into a coward.” I leaned back and looked into his dark eyes, letting myself be comforted by the affection I saw there. Even though he’d never said it, I think Marcus loves me. He showed me enough times with the way he held me and treated me. He might be one of those men who were uncomfortable with saying the actual words, but I felt loved.

“Let’s go start somewhere else,” I said. “As a family. We can go anywhere. Even New York.”

I cringed internally, saying it. I’d never been to a big city, but everything I’d heard about it didn’t exactly make me happy to be going there.

But then again, those might just be stories. I might like it once I got there, as doubtful as that was.

Marcus smirked a little as if he knew the thoughts running through my head. “We don’t have to go to New York.”

The visible relief must have been on my face because his smile widened.

“In fact,” he continued, “we don’t have to go anywhere. We’re staying here.”

I wrinkled my eyebrows. “I don’t understand.”

“We’re not leaving,” he said.

“You said—”

“I know what I said,” he suggested. “But you were right. I’m not going to have you leave your family behind.”

Emotion was thick in my throat, and I teared up with just how thoughtful he was. Or perhaps it was the hormones. Either way, my heart swelled with love.

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

“We find whoever is doing this,” he said. “And stop them.”

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