22. River
Chapter Twenty-Two
RIVER
“Call them.”
I look up from where I'm sitting on the floor, sorting baby clothes, to watch Teddy walk my way. No, stalk is a better word. He moves light on his feet like he may need to capture prey or take out an enemy without detection. Seeing him with neat hair and sporting a suit is always a treat, but I love seeing him like this.
Soft hair falls on his forehead, begging me to run my fingers through it. His missing shirt has him displaying his toned chest and torso, along with the tattoos that decorate his skin. Sleep pants ride low on his waist and do a terrible job of leaving his underwearless dick to my imagination.
Mine. Another wave of possession hits me so hard that I almost miss the bruise on his stomach.
“What happened?” I inquire as I point at the offensive sight marring my man's body.
He looks down absently, unbothered by the sight of it.
“I got Delaney her phone call,” he informs me with a smirk.
“What's amusing about your best friend abusing you?”
Teddy chuckles softly. “It's hardly abuse. I've done worse to him. I had to bring up a triggering point to get the call. He didn't hit me just because I asked.”
“So you hurt his feelings and he hit you?”
He shrugs. “Pretty much.” He winks at me when I roll my eyes. “Call them,” he repeats, circling back to the original subject.
My stomach lurches because I don't know how to broach the subject. Instead, I wave him off.
“Don't worry about it. You don't have to meet my parents yet.”
He gives me the stern look he's known for while folding his arms. Giving in, I pick up my phone and put the smile back on his face. He grabs his t-shirt, to my disappointment, and covers his body.
My mood perks up when he joins me on the floor, cradling me between his thighs. His chest warms my back, and I lean into the warmth, turning him into my recliner. Teddy kisses my temple and rests his hands protectively over my belly. I'm in total bliss until the video chat connects.
Tension rises in my shoulders, but Teddy doesn’t let me go. My parents greet me with polite smiles, but their eyes are on Theodore.
“Hi, Mom and Dad, this is Theodore.”
“Hello,” they say in unison, but my mom takes over.
`“Are you father to our grandson?”
Teddy’s face breaks into a brilliant smile that answers my mom before his words. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
My mom squints her eyes because recognition is starting to set in. “Wait, you’re her boss.”
“Was,” he confirms.
Her deep brown skin wrinkles when she frowns. I may have gotten my dad’s creole coloring, but everything else is my mom. I know she’s trying to guess his age, but she isn’t one to try to guess something she can ask.
“How old are you, Theodore?”
“Mom,” I start, but he stops me.
“It’s okay, River. That’s why we’re doing this.” His warm, soothing hand rubs my belly as he responds. “I’ll be forty-two in two weeks.”
My mom nods, but to her credit, she doesn’t flinch at the twelve-year age difference. My dad, however, asks the question I think most dads ask.
“Are you two planning to get married?”
If my dad’s question bothered Teddy, I couldn’t catch any sign of it. His shoulders are relaxed, his smile never drops, and I don't feel any tension in his body.
“Honestly, I don’t have that answer for you right now. I won’t leave River or our child hanging in any capacity. He will have my last name, and I’ll take care of them.”
I don’t expect him to take care of me, but now isn’t the time to hash that out. I fight the urge to laugh when my dad studies my face like he’s expecting me to send an S.O.S when Teddy is not paying attention. I know things like that happen so that part of it isn’t funny. It’s funny because it’s nowhere near how Theodore is with me.
“Why is it hard to answer?” my dad presses. “Are you against marriage?”
“Not at all, sir. River and I had a regular boss-and-employee relationship. None of this was our plan or intention, but I was in the middle of dealing with a separation and finalizing a messy divorce and she had her own issues. We bonded over bad breakups. My ex-wife ran off River with a lie. I didn’t know about the lie or the baby until she came back.”
I don’t know if my parents look dizzy, or if I feel dizzy, but even the abbreviated version sounds crazy.
“Does your wife know about the baby?” my mom asks, tentatively.
Teddy shrugs. “Ex-wife. The divorce is final. I don’t know what she knows, and I honestly don’t care. It would have been impossible for River or me to know about the baby when she went back to Georgia. My ex exhausted me with her constant lying and manipulation tactics. River and I are taking it as slow as we can with a baby on the way to get to know each other more so, if nothing else, we can effectively co-parent.”
My parents have similar expressions with their arms folded. Now that I’ll be a mother soon, I kind of understand how all of this sounds. Luckily, Teddy understands as well.
“I know this sounds like a lot on a video call. If you’d prefer, I can fly you out to spend time with River and get to know me. The house has plenty of room.”
“I hate flying,” my dad grumbles.
“It’s a very different experience on a private jet,” Teddy points out. “What do you say?”
They look at each other, but I know how my dad rolls. “We’ll think about it. Until then, you better take care of my baby.”
“Of course,” Teddy assures him with a smile. “The only thing she has to do is study for the next level of her certification and relax. Also, I can fly to you if you’re uncomfortable flying.”
My mom shoots him a look that indicates a threat will follow. “You’re not going to force her to choose between you and her career, right? I don’t want to have to shoot you.”
Teddy laughs. “River hates the idea of me taking care of everything. I won’t step on that spirit or her desire to work. She’ll learn a lot about wine from my family and me.”
My body warms with love because he’s right. I don’t like the idea of being so pampered that I’m incapable of making my own money. Teddy recognized that about me and understood. That level of attention to detail is sexy.
“It’s true, I can’t wait to test my skills. If anything, Teddy would want to be the one being a stay-at-home parent.”
His laughter rumbles against my back. “I can’t lie, I’m very excited to meet him. I don’t know how I'll focus once he’s here.’
“First child?”
Teddy looks at my dad with a sad but excited expression and answers his question.
“Yes. finally."
My parents don’t linger much longer, and I feel the air leave my lungs when they hang up.
“That was a trainwreck,” I sigh.
“It wasn’t,” he disagrees as he wraps into a hug and drops kisses on my neck. “I can tell they’re good parents. They didn’t accept me at face value or excuse how we started because I’m rich. It could be worse. Can you imagine Andrea?”
I giggle about the terror those guys will feel if he dares to have a daughter. At this rate, she’d be forced to marry our son, knowing these two.
“Oh, that’s a nightmare.”
Teddy laughs. “Yeah, it will be. They care about what’s best for you and it shows. You’re beautiful. hardworking, grounded, and filled with sweetness. It’s a rarity they want to preserve.’
He moves his arms to give me room to turn and face him. My butt is between his legs and my legs are bent over his left leg. The kind words have my heart beating like crazy, I’m so enamored with him and to hear him compliment me so sweetly almost makes me cry.
“Really?”
His smile is soft as he traces my bottom lip with his thumb. “Don’t ever think that you’re anything less than amazing, River.” His eyebrows knit, and his lip pops out in the cutest man-pout. “Honestly, I worry that some of my darkness will dim your light.”
I smooth my finger over his forehead to rub the worry away.
“Before you noticed me as anything more than an employee, I had the ability to observe you just being yourself. Yes, you’re rough around the edges, but you care for the wellbeing of your employees and that goes beyond business. Even though we hardly spoke about anything but work, you were the first person that popped in my mind when I was in danger. Instinctively, I knew you’d protect me.” I cup his cheek, and his beard tickles my palm when he rubs against it. “And you did.”
His almost shy smile from the compliment is sexy and a little sad. It doesn’t feel like he’s used to being complimented, which sucks since he was married for so long. It sparks my desire to give him a great birthday celebration.
“Your darkness is necessary sometimes, but you don’t live in it. Actually, the light in you makes mine brighter, Teddy.”
He kisses me sweetly, giving me a hit that doesn’t satisfy my craving for him. I don’t push to make it linger. I want him to know I’m serious. I’m offended by his shirt. He put it on for my parents, and now that they’re gone, it needs to go. He chuckles when I tug at the fabric.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t like that you’re covering my art.”
His smile drops to the seductive one I’m used to seeing. I’ve been hornier at this point of the pregnancy, but that’s not what this is about. I love the feel of his skin under my palms so much that a content sigh escaped my lips. The tattoos and scars on his body tell an interesting story of the man in front of me. He grips my ass and lifts me enough to cross his legs so I’m straddling him.
“Better now?” he teases as he watches my hands explore his torso.
“Yes,” I breathe as my palm pauses over his heart.
His face takes on a serious, contemplative quality. “I’m sorry, River.”
“For what?”
Teddy’s fingers trail up my spine, making my skin tingle with awareness as he responds.
“For not having a great answer about the future or our relationship-”
I peck him on the lips to stop him from talking. I get it. I dealt with my own betrayal, but even with my life in danger, it wasn’t years of a constant stream of lies. I’d rather we take our time than jump into a relationship and bring Helena’s shit with us.
“I’m fine with the way things are now. It's okay that we don’t have all the answers.” I thread my fingers through his hair, thinking about the times I used to wonder what it’d be like to touch it. “I think I’m addicted to touching you, to being in your space,” I admit.
He steals a kiss, lingering longer than I did. Theodore sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, then lets it go. He’s teasing me on purpose,
“Good. I like it when you do it. I want you in my space and focused on me.” He grabs my hair, tilting my head back as he nips my chin because he knows what that does to me. “I want to feed your addiction and make sure it’s justified.” Dragging his lips along my neck, his eyes connect with mine again. “Be my addict; I won’t abuse it.”