Page 33 of Dirty Little Secret
The swelling in my heart felt so odd, I swore I could feel the hole filling back up. After all this time, the hole was going to be filled. “You certainly can call me that. I would be so happy if you did.”
Fox looked at his father, who also had tear-filled eyes. “I’ve got a mom now.”
“You sure do.” Kane reached over, taking my hand. “Your family is complete, kiddo.”
“Kane, I don’t know a thing about being a parent.” I blurted it out before I could stop myself. That probably wasn’t a great thing to say in front of your kid—admitting you had no idea what you were doing.
Fox laughed as he climbed off my lap and went to get a box of tissues out of the desk. “Don’t worry. Dad can teach you. He’s pretty good at it. Most of the time he is, anyway.”
“Most of the time?” Kane asked with a smirk. “I think I’m pretty good at it more often than that. Like all of the time, is more like it.”
“Well, he does make me eat spinach,” Fox went on as he pulled out a tissue then handed the box to me. “Here ya go. And he does make me go to bed too early, too. That seems like what parents are supposed to do.”
All I could do was smile at Kane. “Sounds like he’s an awesome father.” After wiping my tears away and blowing my nose, I got up to toss the tissue in the trash.
“I like to think so.” Kane took a tissue to wipe his own tears away, though his were unshed, unlike Fox’s and mine. He came up behind me to throw his tissue away. “Sounds like life just got a hell of a lot more interesting for the three of us, doesn’t it?”
“It sure does,” Fox said brightly, coming over to hug us both. “I’ve got all my parents now! Wow, wait till Pax and Jake hear about this. They’re gonna freak!”
Kane took my hand as he looked into my eyes. “So, about that date. The reason you turned me down wouldn’t happen to have something to do with this little secret between us?”
Nodding, I confessed, “Yeah. But now that the cat’s out of the bag, I suppose I could take you up on that offer.”
“Oh, you suppose, do you?” He smiled at me then took my other hand too. Leaning his forehead against mine, he said quietly, “I’m glad to have you back in my life, Zandra. You have no idea how much I’ve thought about this.”
Fox came up behind me, hugging me again. “We’re gonna be a happy family, aren’t we, you guys?”
“I hope so.” I had no idea what the future would hold for us. No idea what it held for me and Kane.
Kane seemed sure. “It will be a happy future.” It was as if he’d been able to read my mind.
He and I didn’t know each other at all. Sure, we had a kid together, but we’d never really known each other. And with eleven years of separation between us, I wasn’t as certain as he was about our future. At least, not when it came to the two of us.
No matter what, I knew that I wouldn’t let my long-lost son go now that I’d gotten this second chance at having him in my life. Knowing Fox was mine made my heart swell, but seeing Kane again hadn’t done anything other than make my panties wet and my pulse race. But then again, that’s how it had always been.
I was in a room with two virtual strangers who had just become my family in a matter of second. Or at least kind of a family. Kane and I shared a son, a son he’d taken care of for ten years. Ten years of being a parent had changed him too, it seemed. Here he was, a responsible doctor who took great care of his kid. And that thought made me realize something else I didn’t know about him. “Is Fox your only child, Kane?”
Fox laughed. “I told you that Dad doesn’t go out on dates. And I know you guys didn’t date either, but he’s just my dad now so far.”
Somehow, I doubted that Kane Price had been celibate since our night together, but that would be a discussion between Kane and me for another time, and in private. Though Fox seemed to know a lot about the ways of reproduction for a ten-year-old, I didn’t think he needed any more lessons right now. “I see. So, it’s just us now, huh?”
“It’s just us,” Kane said with a wicked smile. “Momma.”
Momma?
“Wow, that’s going to take some getting used to.” I had to go back to the couch and sit down. They both came to take seats too. One on my left side, one on the other. I picked up one of each of their hands, holding them to my heart. “But I think I can get used to this fairly quickly.”
Fox grinned, making his nose squinch up. “I hope so. Dad, can she come up to my school and meet my teachers and stuff like that?”
Panic rushed through me.Everyone is going to know about the pregnancy!
Kane cocked his head. “When she’s ready for that, we can talk about it.” He brushed the back of his hand across my cheek. “She’s been forced to keep this a secret for a long time, you know. Let’s give her a chance to take this all in, okay, champ?”
Once again, the man seemed to be able to read my mind.
With a nod, Fox agreed. “Oh, yeah. I already forgot ’bout that.” He pulled his hand out of mine to put his arm around me and lay his head on my shoulder. “You’ll get used to this soon. I hope then you can be my mom in every way. You can come to my baseball games and cheer for me—then everyone will know that I’m your kid. Man, that’s gonna rock!”
“You play baseball?” I asked as I ran my hand over his silky hair. “Just like your dad, huh? An athlete.”
