25. Daire
25
DAIRE
“Who’s parked in the driveway?” Confusion floods me at the sight of the unfamiliar vehicle parked in front of the garage. Is it child services? Did they change their minds? If they’re here to take Sammy from me, we’re going to have a problem.
“What?” Rosie clutches the passenger seat and leans forward, craning her neck. I asked her to sit in the back seat so Sammy wouldn’t get scared or lonely. I have no idea if he recalls anything from the last time he was in a car. “I don’t know. Looks like a rental car.”
I pull into the driveway behind the black Tahoe and put the van in park.
The second I press the ignition button, the driver’s door opens in front of me, and my dad steps out.
I nearly shit my pants as he turns to face me, his hands on his hips. When Roman climbs out of the passenger side, I slap a hand to my face. “What the fuck?”
I haven’t told my dad about Sammy. Not because I’m trying to keep my kid a secret, but because I don’t know how the hell to explain to him that I knocked up my professor.
With a deep inhale, I get out.
“What are you guys doing here?” The urge to drop an F-bomb is strong, but I bite my tongue since there are impressionable infant ears listening to everything I say now.
“I can’t want to see my son on Christmas?”
Hands on my hips, I tip my head back and search the sky for answers. My dad had a heart attack when we told him we got married. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen this time.
“Sure, but Dad,” I put my hands up in front of me, “there’s something I need to tell you.”
I look back at Rosie and give a nod.
She bites her lip but responds with a nod of her own and unlatches Sammy from the car seat.
When she steps out of the car, Roman bursts into laughter. “Holy shit! You guys do have a kid!”
My dad staggers back, his face ghost white—but he better not even think about becoming an actual ghost any time soon.
“Dad!” I rush forward and put an arm around him. “It’s not what you think… I mean, it is, but it’s not.”
“That’s a baby, Daire.” He puts a hand over his heart. Fuck. I hope to God it’s only because it’s beating fast and not because he’s experiencing chest pains.
There’s been enough death in the past twenty-four hours.
“Let’s head inside and talk about this.” I step in front of him and urge him toward the house.
“Daire.” Without budging, he says my name again slowly. “That’s a baby.” He points at my son in Rosie’s arms.
“Yes, and we’re going to talk about it inside. Where it’s warm.”
Roman cackles, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You’re so dead.”
I glare at my little brother. “Go help Rosie,” I snap at him. “I’ll get Dad inside.”
When I take my dad’s arm, he tries to shoo me off like I’m a pesky fly. Not like I’m trying to help the man who had a mild heart attack a month ago. The man I’m concerned will have another any minute. “I don’t need your help. I’m not old.”
“But Dad?—”
“No buts,” he counters, making me feel like I’m eight years old again.
With a sigh, I throw my hands up in surrender and back away from him. When Rosie shuffles up beside me, I take Sammy from her so she can unlock the door.
“Get in everyone. It’s cold.” On the stoop, she stomps slushy snow off her boots. When everyone’s inside, she goes into hostess mode. “Do either of you want coffee? Snacks? I can?—”
My dad holds up a hand to silence her, the move making my shoulders tighten with anger.
“Don’t hold your hand up to quiet my wife,” I snap at him before he can speak. “This is her home, and she was asking a polite question.”
Rosie presses her lips together, shooting me a soft, sad look.
Chagrined, he turns to Rosie. “I’m sorry. That was rude. No refreshments are necessary.” He clears his throat and narrows his eyes on me. “Now, what the hell is this?”
Across the room, Roman flops onto the couch, scooping up the remote.
I hold Sammy tighter against me and garner all the courage I can before I speak. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Sammy. This is my son.”
My dad looks up at the ceiling, then presses his fingers to his temples. “Unbelievable.” He turns to Rosie. “As angry as your dad is now, it’s nothing compared to how he’ll feel when he finds out you’ve been keeping this a secret.” He points back at the baby. “Now it makes sense why you two were so insistent on not coming home for Christmas.”
“Leave Rosie out of this,” I bite out through clenched teeth. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“I beg to?—”
“The baby isn’t hers, Dad.”
A vein in his forehead pulses. “What? Who’s the mother?”
“I’ve got a lot to fill you in on.” My chest aches at the thought of all the details I’ll have to give him and how disappointed he’ll be in me. “We should probably take this slow.”
“I don’t have time for slow,” he grits out, sitting on the edge of the couch. “I might be dead by the time you finish.”
“Don’t joke about that,” I beg, my stomach bottoming out. The whole Thanksgiving fiasco still weighs heavily on me.
“Stop stalling.”
Rosie steps in close and holds her arms out to take Sammy. “You talk with your dad,” she says as I carefully hand him over. “I’ll take him upstairs. He probably needs a diaper change and a nap.”
“Thanks.” I pull her in close by her wrist and press a kiss to her temple.
Her breath catches, and she shoots a surprised look my way. If she thinks I’ve forgotten about what we were doing when I got that call last night, then she’s sorely mistaken.
I’m going to make Rosie Hendricks mine in every sense of the word.
“Start talking, kid,” my dad says, once again making me feel like a child.
I lean against the wall and cross my arms over my chest. It’s a classic defensive pose, but I can’t bring myself to care.
“Sammy’s mom was my professor last year.”
Before my dad has a chance to voice his disappointment, Roman bursts into uncontrollable laughter. “You would hook up with a professor. You always like to break the rules, big bro.” He cackles some more. “Was she at least a hot young professor?”
“Thirty-six,” I mutter, looking down at my feet. “And yeah, she was hot.”
Not nearly as beautiful as Rosie, though. As if anyone could top her.
“She never told me she was pregnant, though. She was on campus at the beginning of the year showing off her baby, and I just knew he was mine.” I shrug. “She denied it, so I got a lawyer involved and?—”
“Please tell me you reached out to Nina Voss,” my dad interjects.
I chuckle. “Yeah. Nina’s been incredible. We established paternity and have been working toward a custody agreement, but…” I take a deep breath. This part is hard, since I’m still processing it all myself and figuring out how this will affect Sammy as he grows up. “Danielle and her husband were killed last night. Sammy was in the car with them when it crashed, but somehow, he came out of it without a single injury. For now, I have temporary guardianship, and we’re hopeful that they don’t have family members who will fight me for permanent custody. Nina says I have a good case since I’m the biological father and we’ve already turned in the evidence to confirm it, and because I was already trying to get shared custody.”
“The baby mama is dead?”
“Roman!” Dad scolds.
My baby brother rears back. “What? This whole thing is crazy.”
“Believe me,” I mutter, breathing through the tightness in my chest. “I know. I’m living it.”
“How does Rosie play into all of this?”
This is my moment, my chance to fess up to the truth about our marriage. He’d probably even understand. But the words won’t come. I don’t want to admit to any part of our relationship being fake. Not when my feelings are turning very fucking real.
“Like we told you, we reconnected, and it felt right. We didn’t want to waste any time.”
He narrows his eyes as he scrutinizes me, like he doesn’t believe me. Even Roman looks skeptical.
“This is a lot to take in.”
“Believe me, Dad, I know.”
He lets out a long breath, his expression softening a fraction. “You have a baby.”
“Yep.”
“A son.”
My heart constricts at that word. Son. “Mhm.”
“Dad,” Roman says, “you’re finally a grandad. You can lay off Veda and Asher. Pretty sure they’re going to get divorced anyway.”
“Roman,” he snaps, shifting on the couch so he can glare at the idiot, “stop speculating about your brother’s marriage.”
“Hey.” He raises his hands innocently. “Don’t shoot the messenger. If you watch them, it’s pretty obvious that they’re struggling.”
“Lots of couples have rough patches. It doesn’t mean they’re getting a divorce.”
Clearing my throat, I step away from the wall. “If you two don’t mind, I’m going to go check on Rosie and Sammy.”
Before either can say a word, I make a mad dash for the stairs.
The second I step into the room, I’m hard. Fuck. What does it say about me that the sight of this woman holding my child is such a turn-on?
Rosie cradles Sammy in her arms, rocking him gently in the glider we purchased. Her voice is soft, melodic, as she sings a lullaby I’ve never heard. Not only does seeing her with my son turn me on, but it makes my heart tap out a strange rhythm. She’s been scared about all this, and yet she’s already handling it like a pro.
“You look good, Rosie.”
She startles, and Sammy’s eyes pop open. “Don’t sneak up on me like that,” she scolds in a whisper.
“Sorry.” I grin, easing into the room. I shut the door quietly behind me. “He likes you.”
She lets out a quiet, humorless chuckle. “He’s just sleepy. He’d like anyone who’d rock him like this.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
Sammy’s eyes grow heavy once more.
“This is crazy, Daire.” She looks up at me, her eyes full of both wonder and terror. “We’re in charge of keeping this tiny human alive.”
“I know.”
“And your dad is downstairs.”
I chuckle softly and rub at the back of my neck.
“How does it feel now that he knows?”
“My shoulder are lighter, that’s for sure.”
She wets her lips and regards me, wearing a nervous expression. “Did you… did you tell him the truth about us?”
With a sigh, I close my eyes. I probably should have. She’s got an easy out now, a reason to end this early. Here I was thinking I’d be the one eager to dissolve this as soon as possible, but instead, I’m holding on with both hands. I rub my thumb against the thick band on my ring finger. I like it there. I like the message it gives. That I’m taken. That I belong to her.
“I didn’t tell him it was fake.”
Fake.
The word tastes like acid on my tongue.
Standing, she nods. “Okay. I’m not sure how we should go about telling my mom about this one.”
I arch a brow. “What about your dad?”
She gently transfers Sammy from her arms into the crib. When he stirs, she puts her hand on his belly and gently shakes him to mimic the rocking she was doing. The little boy immediately settles back down.
“My dad isn’t talking to me, so he doesn’t matter.”
The hurt in her voice has me closing the distance between us and pulling her into my arms. Instantly, she melts into me. The reaction is surprising, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it. For a moment, it feels like we’ve gone back in time. To when we were teenagers, watching movies and falling asleep on the couch together.
“Baby,” I say softly, holding her even tighter against me. “I’m sorry.”
She clings to me, keeping her voice low so she doesn’t wake Sammy. “It’s okay.” It’s not. “I understand why he’s upset, but it just sucks, you know?”
The warmth that spreads through me as I hold her is spoiled by the pain in her voice. I wish I could magically make the situation with her dad better.
“You know,” I tip my head in the direction of the crib, “you’ve got way more of a motherly instinct than you think.”
She rolls her eyes up at me. “I don’t think so, but thank you.”
I cup her cheek and study her face, the urge to kiss her next to impossible to ignore.
She clears her throat, stepping out of my touch. “We should go back down. Your dad and Roman unoccupied for too long can’t lead to anything good.”
I can’t do anything but agree. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Still, I’m disappointed she backed away.
I turn the monitor on and check my phone app to make sure it’s connected before we leave Sammy in the darkened room.
Downstairs, my dad and brother are—thankfully—where we left them.
“Are you guys hungry?” I ask.
The fridge isn’t exactly stocked, but considering it’s Christmas day, it’s not as if I can run out and pick up food. We’ve got chicken and veggies, salad fixings, and a horde of frozen pizzas, because I can never remember whether we have one, so every time I’m at the store, I grab another.
“Starved.” Roman rubs his belly.
“I could eat,” Dad says.
Frozen pizzas it is.
Rosie stands uncomfortably in the open archway into the family room.
My dad straightens on the couch and frowns down at his hands. “I’m sorry about earlier, Rosie. How are you?”
“Good,” she replies quietly. “Let me go see what we have to eat.”
With that, she darts away. I give my dad and brother a look that says don’t do anything stupid and hurry after my wife.
She’s already scouring the refrigerator when I step into the kitchen.
“Let’s throw in a couple of pizzas,” I say, sidling up next to her.
She nods, pulling two supremes out of the freezer. “We need to go for a grocery run soon.”
I nod in agreement, searching through the fridge for drinks. We’re low on those too, so I head to the cabinet and pull down glasses and fill them with water.
My dad and brother have no one to blame but themselves since they didn’t give me a heads-up.
When I turn, Rosie’s right there. On instinct, I hover close and press my lips to hers.
She startles, wide eyes big and bright when I pull away. “What was that for?”
“I haven’t kissed you enough today.”
Her cheeks are flushed when I step around her to take the water glasses to the two idiots in the living room.
They seriously flew here unannounced, got the surprise of a lifetime, and are hanging out on my couch like nothing major has happened.
It’s like I’m in the Twilight Zone or something.
When I return to the kitchen, Rosie is sitting on the island, chewing on the edge of her thumbnail.
“Nervous about something?” I ask, stepping between her legs.
If my family wasn’t a room over, I would lay her back right here and now and devour her.
“Yeah.” She swallows audibly. “I’m scared to tell my mom. She’s not going to understand.”
My stomach sinks. “What do you mean?”
She frowns, eyes dropping from mine. “She’s not going to like that I’m playing house with you with someone else’s baby.”
“Oh.” I rub the back of my head, shame washing over me.
She splays her hand against my chest, the warmth of it soaking through the fabric of my shirt. “You know how our world can be—she’s going to see it as a failure on my part, since you already have an heir, so to speak.”
I huff a laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I know that. But it’s the way she thinks.”
Rosie’s mom could be a hundred times worse, but between her antiquated ideas and the way she talks about Rosie’s weight, it’s enough for me to hate the woman.
“Your mom sucks, Rosie.”
It’s perhaps not the right thing to say, but I can’t help it.
She lets out a heavy breath. “I know.”
In an effort to distract her, I lean in, ghosting my lips over her right cheek to her ear. “I’m still thinking about last night. Your pretty little pussy was right there, and I didn’t even get a taste.”
“Daire.” Her voice shakes, and she grips my shoulders. I’m not sure whether she’s trying to steady herself or keep me at bay.
“Have you thought about it too? Do you want my head between these thighs?” I move my hands down her body and give said thighs a squeeze. “Do you want to come on my tongue?”
She whimpers and squirms against the quartz countertop.
“I fucking love knowing I’ve made you come when no other man could get the job done. It just proves it, baby.”
“P-Proves what?” she stutters, peering at me through her lashes.
“That you’re mine. You were always meant to be mine.”
“Daire.” My name is a small, throaty gasp.
The oven chooses that god-awful moment to chime, signaling that it’s preheated.
I curse, but it’s not like I can do anything anyway. The universe is constantly interrupting us.
Once the pizzas are in the oven, I turn back to find Rosie watching me, wearing a panicked expression, her hands gripping the edge of the island so tight her knuckles are white. “What is it?”
Did I go too far?
“We have separate rooms,” she hisses softly.
Fuck.
“I’ll move your stuff to mine.”
While she keeps an eye on the pizzas, I sneak upstairs and quickly and quietly move as much as I can from her room over to mine. If my dad and brother stay here, I wouldn’t put it past either of them to snoop through the drawers. We Hendrickses are a nosy bunch.
When I finish up, I check the monitor app on my phone to make sure Sammy’s still out. My whole body warms as I take in his peacefully sleeping form.
I wasn’t planning on becoming a dad so young, but when I look at that little boy, all I feel is happiness. He’s a piece of me, one I didn’t know I wanted but absolutely need now that he exists.
Downstairs, Rosie’s taking out the pizzas.
“I’ll give them a minute to cool before I cut into them. You should go check on them. I’ll let you know when this is ready.”
I clear my throat, glancing across the way at my dad and brother.
She rolls her eyes, and a laugh bubbles out of her. “They’re not going to bite.”
“Right,” I mutter, slapping on a brave face.
She shakes her head, the picture of amusement with the way her lips keep twitching.
Despite my apprehension about facing my family again, there’s a lightness in my chest that I only feel when I’m around this woman. “Are you laughing at me, Rosie?”
She sobers, pressing her lips together. “Never.”
I grab her by the waist and tug her against me. “I need a kiss to keep me going if I’m going to survive them.”
She bites her lip and swats at my chest playfully. “You’re such a dork.”
“Rosie.”
With a sigh, she gives me a peck.
I shake my head, smiling. “Not good enough, and you know it.”
Cradling her head, I tangle my fingers in her hair and take her in. Fuck, she’s gorgeous.
She lowers her gaze to my lips, and that’s all the permission I need. Closing the space between us, I give her a longer, deeper kiss. It’s a far cry from a make-out session, but I still find myself growing hard.
Fuck, I want her.
When I pull away, her eyes are dark and sparkling with desire.
With a groan, I release her and back away, forcing myself to join my family in the other room.
My dad looks over at me as I sit on the couch. His lips are set into an amused curl. “Are you done avoiding us?”
I lace my hands behind my head, focusing on the movie Roman has playing. “Yep. For now.”
“You have a kid, Daire.”
My heart clenches, but I keep my expression neutral. “Yep.”
Roman pauses the movie and leans forward. “Holy shit, I’m an uncle.”
I arch a brow. “Just now figuring that out, brother?”
“Hey.” He waves wildly. “We weren’t exactly expecting to see the two of you get out of the car with a whole-ass baby.”
“Fair enough.”
Rosie clears her throat from the archway between the living room and kitchen. “Food’s ready.”
As she turns and walks away, it hits me. I couldn’t have done any of this without her. And I don’t want to do any of this without her.
I’m so fucked.