Page 102 of A Dangerous Proposal

“Hey, little man,” he greeted Jax, giving the boy a hug before he perched him on his hip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said to Madison.

“Want a glass of wine?” She nodded at her glass.

“I’m good. It smells incredible in here.”

“Nothing exciting. Just a basic spaghetti Bolognese,” she said as he kissed her temple. After the encounter at the country club, he needed to touch her.

And he wasn’t going to ask himself why.

“Enough for me?” Declan’s deep voice sounded behind him.

“Of course.” Though Madison’s glanced at Alex in surprise.

“You didn’t tell her I was coming, did you?” Declan smirked. “Rookie mistake.”

“Last I checked, I’m the only one of us married.”

“Where are the two of you coming from?” Madison asked, clearly trying to head off an argument.

“We met for a drink,” Alex said smoothly. It wasn’t a lie.

“Well, I have plenty of food. Let me set the table, and we should be good to go.”

Alex set Jax on his feet, and the toddler immediately clutched Alex’s pant leg and proceeded to stuff two fingers in his mouth as he stared up at Declan.

Declan crouched down and extended his large hand to Jax. The toddler studied him for a minute warily.

Alex brushed the boy’s curls back and said in a soft voice, “Jax, this is my friend. I know he looks like an ugly ogre, but he’s the nice kind.”

The look in Declan’s eyes said, ‘fuck off,’ but he kept a gentle smile on his face. It was odd to see him like this, and Alex imagined Declan probably felt the same about him.

Jax let go of his leg and toddled forward to grab Declan’s hand. Something soft crossed the normally ruthless billionaire’s face.

It was fucking unnerving.

“Strong lad.”

Madison smiled. “He is.”

“I can’t wait to have my own.”

Madison’s face brightened. “Well, you’ll be able to get a lot of practice when Cami and James’s twins arrive.”

“What?” Declan’s eyes bulged, and Madison covered her mouth with a gasp.

“Oh my god. Forget I said that.”

“Twins?” Declan repeated. “With James’s DNA? God help us all.”

“Please, please, please don’t tell anyone I told you. Act surprised when you hear. Cami is going to kill me!” Madison exclaimed, looking genuinely upset.

Alex sent Declan a glare over her head.

Declan smiled. “Don’t worry. I will have the biggest surprised face you can imagine.”

Dishing up plates for everyone, Madison settled Jax in his highchair and pulled off his shirt.

When the two men looked at her curiously, she laughed. “It’s the easiest way to clean him up. I learned the hard way that Jax and spaghetti are a messy business. But he loves it so much. Don’t you, Jaxy?” She tickled the toddler’s belly to his delight.

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