Page 48 of Grump Daddy

As we’re making breakfast, Martin pads in from his bedroom, his hair all over his head and his eyes full of sleep. “Good morning.”

He walks right up to me and hugs my legs. I rub his back and smile warmly at him. “Good morning, sweetheart. Ready for breakfast?”

“Yes,” he says. I watch as he walks over to his place at the table. I realize how connected I feel to this little boy.

We cook, we eat together and Jack and Martin go get ready for school and work. As I wash the dishes, they come back into the kitchen. Jack comes up behind me and kisses me on the cheek. “See you later, babe.”

“See you,” I say.

When I got pregnant, seeing Jack as the responsible father was the last thing I envisioned. Then I saw how he was around Martin and got to see Jack taking care of both him and me, ensuring my pregnancy went as smoothly as possible. He’s been my comfort and my protector. He has really bent over backward to show me he can be there for me.

The longer this goes on, the more of a fool I feel. I should be just as much in love with him as he is with me.

An hour later, my phone rings. It’s him. “Hey,”

“Hey,” I say. “Did you forget something?”

“No,” he says. “I just wanted to tell you that if you have any plans tonight, cancel them.”

I scoffed. “Oh, no. And I was all ready to go to that rave tonight.”

He laughs. I love the sound of his laugh. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to go another night. Tonight, I need to see your beautiful face when I walk through the door.”

“All right. Any reason?”

“No reason,” he says. “It’s just after another crazy day at this job, I need to see your face again. That’s all.”

I’m blushing. He’s making me blush even though he’s not in the room. “I’ll be here.”

“Good. See you later.”

I’m swooning after that call. I stand there in the kitchen with the phone to my chest, thinking of how he kisses me at every opportunity, how he’s done so much for me all this time…

And my heart. My heart is beating like a drum. Italwaysfeels like this with him. Always.

Maybe I’ve been wrong this whole time. Maybe I do love him. Maybe I’ve always loved him.

I smile to myself. Maybe love doesn’t have to be hard after all. It could be just this easy.

The evening comes and Jack comes home right on time…and without Martin.

As he walks in, I greet him at the door with a kiss. “Hey,” I say.

“Hey.”

“Where’s Martin?”

“He’s staying the night at a friend’s house.”

I tilt my head at him. “Oh?”

He takes my hands and kisses them. “Go and put on your nicest dress. I’m taking you out to dinner.”

“Okay!” Excitement for the evening to come swirls through me.

We change clothes, me in a black evening gown and him in a nice casual brown suit that looks really good on him. It doesn’t take us very long to get ready, which is good. I’m actually starving.

We head to dinner, taking an Uber to a fancy restaurant near the downtown area. When we walk in, the host takes us past the busy dining room and to a closed-off area near the back. He’s booked a private table for the candlelight dinner.

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