Page 74 of Unlocking my Boss's Heart

I thought from our earlier conversations that he was averse to getting married. Maybe he didn’t have the same ideals about being married before he had kids. The thought made me uncomfortable, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Yeah, I was. But co-parenting with Reeva would have been a nightmare. And I want to start a family with someone special. Someone like you.”

He took me in his arms, and my heart began to hammer.

What was he saying?

“Does this mean I’m special?” I asked, my voice a bit quaky.

“You’remorethan special.”

I hesitated. “I thought you had a bad view of marriage and children and all that.”

He sighed. “I suppose I’ve got some explaining to do. You know about my parents’ marriage. You had me pegged that night in the rain. I realized I’ve been keeping myself from having agood relationship with someone because I was so afraid I would end up in a terrible marriage, like my parents’ was.”

“It doesn’t seem like that anymore,” I said softly.

“It’s not. They’re actually more in love now than they ever pretended to be back then.” He took a steadying breath. “The bottom line is, I want to move past all that. Will you help me, Celia?”

“What are you asking me, Anton?”

He lowered his head and touched his lips to mine ever so gently. “You’ve already done so much. You’ve been patient with me as I navigate this whole new world of being vulnerable. I know I can trust you. And I hope you can do the same with me. I’ve never been good at sharing my emotions.”

“I don’t think most guys are. And that’s okay. But I want to be someone you can trust, Anton. Like you said, we can take it slow and figure this thing out.”

This moment was pivotal, a turning point in our relationship. The stakes felt incredibly high, but for the first time, I wasn’t running away from them. A rush of warmth and tenderness swelled my heart. Anton trusting me enough to talk about his vulnerability opened our connection in a heart-melting way. A bond had just been established, and I wanted to keep it.

Chapter twenty-eight

Anton

After dropping Celia off at her apartment, I didn’t stay long. She wanted to wash up and rest, and she asked that we meet later. Instead of heading home and catching up on work, I found myself driving out to my parents’ place. My mother was in the kitchen, making one of her veggies shakes that looked like pond scum.

She waved me over. “Want some?”

“Ahh, no, thank you,” I said slowly.

She shrugged and smiled. “They were good for you when you were growing up, look how handsome you turned out.” She took a good look at me. “You're here in the middle of the day on a Tuesday?”

“I just dropped Celia at her place. She’s over the worst of it, per the doctor.”

“Glad to hear that. I like her.”

My father entered, holding up his hand in greeting, “Hey, son.” He glanced at my mother, then back at me. “Is everything okay?”

“I was just wondering the same thing,” my mother replied and waved us out of the kitchen. “Let’s go to the living room, it’s more comfortable.”

“Your mother’s been fussing over me all day. Glad you’re here to take some of the brunt,” my father teased as we walked.

“I heard that.” Mother called out, making my father chuckle.

Once we were settled in the living room, my mother turned to me. “So, what’s on your mind, sweetheart?”

I leaned forward, propping my forearms on my thighs. This was going to be a hard conversation, but I’d put it off for far too long.

“I want to talk about marriage. Your marriage, in particular.”

They both looked surprised, their brows furrowed in unison.

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