24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jackson
Running my sweaty palms down the pants of my charcoal suit, I raised a shaking hand and knocked on the closed door of Wyatt’s office. Flexing my fist, I shook my hands, trying to stop the tremors.
Get a grip , my croc snarled, completely unimpressed when my uncharacteristic bout of nerves. He’s not going to say no.
I know. It’s just…I don’t know. This is different than when I asked for Levi’s hand.
The fuck it is. It’s exactly the same. Pretty old fashioned, is what it is, but you do you.
It’s not the same at all. There’s something very different than asking a mother for his son’s hand and asking the man’ s son.
The only response I got was a snarl and a snap of his tail. He thought I was being ridiculous, and he might be right. Because I was way more nervous standing outside Wyatt’s office door than I had ever been sitting in Levi’s mom’s living room.
“Come in!” Wyatt’s voice called, and my heart jumped right back up in my throat. Along with what felt like every other organ I owned.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out at the same time I entered Wyatt’s office. It was decent sized, with a desk and a small table to the side with chairs. The walls were adorned with all kinds of children’s colorful artwork.
Wyatt looked surprised to see me, standing when he realized it wasn’t one of his staff. “Jackson, this is a surprise. Pop’s has gone home for the day.”
Running a still slightly shaking hand through my hair, I nodded. “I know. I wanted to speak with you, in private.”
He looked confused, but moved over to the table, indicating I should sit. I did, thankful the chairs were adult size. “Is there an issue with Aiden? We love having him here.”
“Aiden loves coming here too,” I hurried to assure him.
He gave me a small smile. “Ah, then is this about dinner last night? The pregnancy? I really am happy for Pops. For the both of you.”
“Thank you.” Swallowing around the gigantic lump still clogging my throat, I swiped my damp hands down my thighs. Goddess, I was sweating like a pig in my suit. “I’m sure it was a shock.”
Wyatt ran his fingers across the table’s surface, quiet for a moment. “I imagine it was more of a shock and surprise to you and pops.”
“Yes, but a good one.” Clearing my throat, I tugged at the knot on my tie that suddenly felt way too tight.
“Jackson, do I make you nervous?” Wyatt asked, one brow arched at me in a way that reminded me so much of Robert.
Laughing a little at his question, I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry, I’m just nervous. But you don’t make me nervous. Does that make sense?”
The man was a genius, surely he would be able to decipher my nonsensical rambling.
“I think I understand what you mean. What’s on your mind?”
“First, I want to make sure you are really alright with the baby coming.” Where had that come from? That wasn’t at all why I was here, but at that moment, with Robert’s son staring at me across the small table, I needed to know.
Because I knew Robert still felt a bit uneasy about Wyatt and the new baby. Or in his ability to be a good father to this child.
Wyatt gave me a thin-lipped smile, then looked away briefly before meeting my eyes. “I will admit I was a bit taken aback for a few minutes last night. I’m not sure what pops had told you, but until last year, our relationship was…complicated.”
“That’s the exact word he used,” I admitted. “He’s told me a few things, here and there. Some things I’ve been able to piece together.”
Not sure how much I should share with Wyatt, I decided to be honest. “Your dad had a bit of a meltdown after Dr. Sinclair confirmed the pregnancy. He was worried he wasn’t going to be a good father. I think he feels like he…failed you in a lot of ways and he’s worried about it happening again.”
“Oh, Goddess,” he ran a hand through his brown curls, and I wondered if Robert grew his hair out if his hair would curl the same way. “I…no. Yeah, things weren’t great between us but that had more to do with my mother than anything else.”
“I’m sure this is probably not my business,” I said, “but he’s carrying a lot of guilt about some things, and it might be good for you both just to clear the air.”
Wyatt sat back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest, and gave me a look that made me sit up straighter too.
Finally, he relaxed his shoulders. “He did let me know some of that. I thought just building our relationship now, as two adults, would be easier on both of us. But I didn’t realize…well, I likely didn’t realize many things. I probably ca rried around some misdirected anger. I’m realizing, as an adult with a mate and a child, that no one really knows what goes on in a relationship but the two people in it. And some things your child doesn’t need to know. The baby announcement just took me by surprise. Brought up some feelings and I needed a minute to sort through them. But I am happy for you both. Pops and I talked last night, and I think we’re okay. You make my Pops happier than I’ve, well, ever seen him.”
“I appreciate that,” my voice was sincere, “that’s actually not why I came to see you.”
“No?” Wyatt had a little smile on his lips, his eyes twinkling, like he might have some inkling of exactly why I was actually there.
“I…whoo,” air whooshed between my teeth, “this is harder than I thought it was going to be.”
Wyatt tilted his head, patiently waiting for me to spit out what I needed to spit out.
“I love your father, Wyatt,” I finally managed. “I was shocked to find my fated mate, but meeting Robert brought something back to life inside me that’s honestly been missing since my mate died. I want to ask Robert to marry me–”
Wyatt opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, I rushed the words out, before I could lose my nerve. “Not right now, but sometime in the future. If I do it now, he’ll think it’s only because of the baby.”
“Is it?” Wyatt wondered quietly. “Because while I completely understand that you are fated mates and that puts a different spin on things, this has all been extremely fast.”
“No,” I shook my head vehemently. “I was in love with Robert before we found out about the baby. But I know him well enough to know that if I ask now, he will assume that is the reason I want to marry him.”
Taking another deep breath, because fuck I couldn’t breathe right in this room, I continued, “I would like your permission to marry your father, when I do ask him.”
Wyatt didn’t say a word for so long, my heart began pounding in double time again.
“Pops is an adult,” he finally said, “he doesn’t need my permission to marry you.”
“I know. It’s not about permission but more a sign of respect.” I explained. “You’re his son, his closest living relative. I want to know that we have your blessing. It means something to me, and I know it does to him, to know that you’re okay with this.”
Wyatt smiled, this time a wide smile that lit up his face, but his eyes were glassy. He sniffled, “That’s really…I really appreciate you asking me, Jackson. I know we don’t know each other that well yet, but I hope to change that. All I wanted for Pops when he moved here was for him to be happy. To truly know what happiness means, and for someone to see him for the wonderful person he is. He loves you, I can see it in his eyes, the way he is around you. It ’s funny. For most of my life, I thought my Pops was really quiet, meek even, just sort of there. Not taking up a lot of space.”
Blinking at his assessment, I couldn’t wrap my head around that picture of Robert, because it was nothing like the man I knew.
“But I’ve realized over the last year that he’s not really like that at all,” Wyatt continued. “I think he was just really unhappy. After speaking with him last night, I think he was possibly in survival mode for years and he didn’t even know it. I didn’t know it. Has he told you about my mother?”
“Enough to know I don’t want to meet her,” I snarled, my fists clenching at my sides.
Wyatt gave me a sardonic grin, “She’s…something. Pops is a completely different person now that he’s away from her. You make him happy, Jackson, and as his son, I couldn’t ask for more. Yes, you have my permission to marry Pops. But if you hurt him, I’ll send my mate to kick your ass.”
Throwing my head back in laughter at his protective declaration, I felt myself relax for the first time since I had gotten here.
“Duly noted. And please, don’t tell your dad about this. Like I said, I’m not sure when I’m going to ask him. He has such a hang up about our age difference, and thinking he was too old to have kids, not that it mattered to me if we had any. I just know I want to wait until after we have a healthy baby in our arms before I ask him. If I do it now, he’ll give me a thousand reasons why he thinks I asked him out of some kind of guilt or misguided need to do the right thing.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes, “Sometimes he acts like he’s eighty rather than not even fifty yet, I swear. But you’re probably right about where his mind would go. He’s always been a bit behind the times when it comes to certain things.”
Standing to leave, I turned back when a thought hit me. “Oh, any suggestions on the type of ring I should get him? I was thinking he would probably want something simple and elegant.”
Wyatt pursed his lips, “Well, he had just a plain gold band before. Maybe something along those lines. But also something different, just so it didn’t remind him of…before. Maybe something in pink? It’s his favorite color, and it wouldn’t hurt him to have something with some color to it, that’s not so traditional.”
Robert did look wonderful in pink. “Thanks for the suggestion.”