Page 57 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

“Well, you’re here, and I want you to strengthen your relationship with our son first, make sure he knows you’re now part of his family,” I said. “I don’t want there to be anything to jeopardize that. If Ken comes, then Caleb might use him as a crutch to avoid talking to you, and I don’t want that to happen.”

I felt Marcus’ eyes on me, and I shrugged uncomfortably. “He could always visit another time.”

After my speech, Marcus stared at me for a long time. Then he drew me closer, kissing the breath out of me. We’d made love once more after that, and then, for the second time, he slept over.

And so it went.

Since then, it seemed like we’d pretty much settled into a relationship.

It was strange. We hadn’t put a title on our relationship yet, but neither of us was in a rush to. It was like we already knew what we meant to each other and didn’t need to spell it out to the other person.

And if I were being honest, I could see Caleb warming up to Marcus as well. At first, I wasn’t sure Marcus’ style of addressing my son was the best. He was as direct as always, and I thought it would be too harsh for my little boy. But it seemed Caleb responded well to the treatment.

He wasn’t talking yet, but he was communicating with Marcus using hand gestures and facial expressions. Marcus did the same to him too. Sometimes, the two of them would have a silent argument that only they understood. And one time, I came home to see Marcus working on our leaky sink and Caleb watching him with rapt attention while Marcus explained some pointers to him.

While it warmed my heart, I told him not to do that. I didn’t want Caleb to hurt himself one day, thinking he could fix the sink.

Marcus merely smiled when I told him my concerns.

“He won’t be fixing the sink by himself,” Marcus said. “Trust me. The kid’s not stupid. He just wants to be treated like a little man, that’s all. He wants to feel like he knows, and he wants to be more useful.”

I didn’t understand how Marcus came to that conclusion, but I let it go, trusting that he was right. And he must have been because Caleb continued to grow closer to him.

It seemed like Marcus understood my son more than I did. It should have worried me some, but at the same time, I was very relieved that the two of them were getting along. It lifted one aspect of the burden off my shoulders, removing a layer of resistance to our relationship.

The next layer would come with meeting my parents.

Which was likely why Marcus was in such a bad mood right now.

Because this family dinner was the first time that I would officially be introducing Marcus as my boyfriend and Caleb’s father.

For their part, my parents weren’t exactly thrilled about the visit either. And they didn’t even know about the big news yet.

Athena and Adam were also coming over, so it was bound to be an experience.

I walked into the room then, smoothly removing Marcus’ hands from his tie and looping it around his neck.

“You know, you don’t have to do this,” I murmured as I helped knot his tie the way my dad taught me. I knew Marcus didn’t like my family, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. I didn’t want him putting himself through torture for my sake. We could wait to share the news.

“Yes, I do,” he growled, looking at me like I had lost my mind.

“I know you don’t want to,” I said.

“That’s not exactly true,’ he said, and I cocked an eyebrow at him. He sighed.

“I’m just nervous,” he admitted, and it was the first vulnerability he’d offered to me. It sent a bolt to my heart. This man, this powerful alpha male, was nervous because of little old me.

I put my hand on his cheek, and he leaned slightly into my touch, sending another prick to my heart.

“Your folks hate me,” he said.

“They don’t hate you,” I corrected, and he widened his eyes with a disbelieving stare.

“They just don’t know you yet,” I insisted. He smirked.

“And they won’t like me even if they did,” he insisted. “After all, they still think I’m a murderer.”

I didn’t know how to comfort him, so I simply stood there caressing his cheek.

---