Page 24 of My Boyfriend's Protective Daddy

He shrugs. “I had a feeling it was going to go that way. It’s just disappointing to learn that he’s not the kid I thought he was. I guess you and I have that in common now.”

A rueful smile touches my lips. “I wish we didn’t have it in common.”

“Me too.”

He leans back on the couch and scrubs his face with his hands. He’s tense. His body is taut, and it seems like there’s more to the story. More that he’s not telling me.

“What happened?” I ask. “What did he say?”

A dark chuckle passes his lips. “You really do know me well, huh?”

“I do.”

“He told me that he’d be willing to patch things up if I broke it off with you,” he says, “or if I convinced you to go back to him.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll never go back to him. Not after…”

My voice trails off and I turn away. The last thing I want to do is throw more gas on the fire or make Cash feel worse than he already does. I want to help ease his burden and make him smile.

“Not after what?” he asks.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“It’s something. Tell me,” he presses. “You’re the one who said we need honesty and to not keep things from each other. So, put your money where your mouth is.”

Looking down at my hands sitting in my lap, I swallow hard. “Not after you’ve shown me, there’s better for me out there. All my life, men have treated me poorly. Until you. You’ve treated me like a queen, Cash. You’ve made me feel respected. Valued. Treasured. And I can never go back from that. I won’t.”

“And you shouldn’t have to. You deserve to be treasured, Cassie, because you are a jewel.”

He follows his words with a gentle kiss that fills me with a warmth that starts in my belly and spreads outward through my body. As good as his words make me feel, I know that Zane is Cash’s son. And forced to choose between me and his blood, his son, I don’t know that’s a contest I’m going to come out on top of. To be fair, I don’t know that I should. Zane is his family. I’m not.

“Zane is your son,” I say. “I’d understand?—”

He cuts off my words with another soft kiss. And when he pulls away, there’s a small, sad smile flitting across his lips.

“Don’t think about it,” he says gently. “That’s not going to happen.”

“He’s your son.”

“He is. But he’s not going to tell me who I can and can’t see,” Cash replies. “And he’s sure as shit isn’t going to blackmail me into walking away from a woman I’m…”

His voice tapers off and there’s a strange expression on his face I can’t interpret.

“A woman you’re what?” I prompt. “No secrets, remember?”

He looks away, a curious shyness flashing across his face. But then he returns his gaze to mine, a gleam of determination in his eyes.

“A woman I’m falling for,” he finishes.

My heart swells so big, I’m afraid it might actually burst in my chest. I grip his hands tightly and blink back the sting in my eyes as they well with tears. His words send the happiness I’ve been feeling to a whole new level—one I thought existed in movies and romance novels.

“You’ve fallen for me?”

He nods. “I have. I know it’s crazy given how long we’ve been together, but it’s like you unlocked something inside of me, Cassie. I’ve never cared for anybody the way I care for you. I honestly never thought I could feel this way about anybody. I never knew I could have these feelings. I mean, simply put, I love you,” he tells me.

The tears roll down my face as I look him in the eyes. “And I love you too.”

“You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. And that’s not something I’m going to throw away,” he says softly, “or let somebody force me to walk away from. No matter who they are. I refuse to be manipulated that way.”

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