Page 66 of The Omega's Secret Baby
I shrugged. “He’s seven. There’s no telling what he’s going to be when he grows up, but I wouldn’t mind if he went into fashion. I’ll support him whatever he wants to do. Won’t you?” I stopped to look at Matt while Fiona tugged at the leash. “Be patient, old girl,” I muttered. She really never acted like the old dog she was.
“I… just want what’s best for him,” Matt said eventually.
“And what do you think is best for him, exactly?” I feared that this road would lead us into a fight—and so soon after getting back together!—but I had some suspicions what was going on in Matt’s mind, and I had to make sure that we were on the same page parenting-wise.
“Well, you know about my family’s multi-million dollar business.”
I took a deep breath, because this was exactly what I’d feared. Matt trying to drag Jake into that horrible family of his and their business. “I want Jake to be able to walk his own path in life.”
“Being the head of a company like ours will allow him to do that. He’ll never have to worry about money.”
“No, but he’ll work so many hours that he won’t have any time to enjoy that money until the stress takes him to an early grave.”
One of Matt’s eyebrows arched up. “Do you think that’s what’s going to happen to me?”
“No, because I’ll be there to entice you to take some breaks.”
“You can be there for our son as well.”
“I’m hoping he’ll find a partner of his own to keep him in check. Andnotsomeone we pick for him,” I added just in case.
“No argument there,” Matt said. “If anyone knows arranged marriages aren’t the best way to go, it’s me.”
“I guess so.” I took his hand in my own. “Seriously, though. It’s important to me that Jake can be whatever he wants to be. That’s what my parents wanted for me, and I…” Really fucked that up. I still remembered the fight I had with my parents when I told them about my pregnancy. It had been absolutely awful. I never got over it until Jake was born and I felt my baby boy wrap his tiny hand around my finger, changing my life and my priorities completely. But Jake didn’t need all of my time anymore, and… “You know I’m actually thinking about going back to school. I want to give it another try.”
“Really?” Matt gave me the brightest smile in the glow of the street lamps. “That’s fantastic! You definitely should. You’ve always had so much potential.” He brushed his lips against mine. “I’m proud of you.”
For a second there, I felt so warm I forgot it was still winter. “I’m so happy you feel that way.”
“I really do. And I get what you’re saying about Jake, but if you want him to have every option open to him, shouldn’t taking over the family business also be an option?”
I bit my teeth together because how was I supposed to respond to that? I couldn’t argue with that.
“Look,” Matt said. “I can tell you’re not loving this, but at least give it a chance, okay? Actually, I’ve asked Jake if he wanted to come sledding at my place, and he seems enthusiastic.”
“You want to introduce him to the family?”
“I doubt they’ll bother talking to us while we’re out there, honestly, but I’d like to get them used to his presence. And Jake has a right to know where he comes from as well.”
I cringed, instantly feeling guilty, since so far, it had been me who stood between Jake and the other side of his family. “Fine,” I said. “You can take him. Just… make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”
“You’re not coming?”
I shook my head. “You two need to spend some time together by yourselves. And I’m pretty sure your family would freak if they spotted me on their grounds. I don’t want to make this any harder on Jake than it’s already going to be anyway.”
“Okay. I get your point.”
My strong alpha looked a teeny bit nervous now. Good. Being nervous would make him careful. I hoped.
30
Matthew
The Saturday followingthe charity event, I picked my son up at his house to go sledding with him—and introduce him to the family he’d never known about. To say that I was a little bit nervous would have been an understatement. I needed this day to go well. To that end, I’d spoken to my sister earlier that day. She was still at the house to support Mother—who still seemed out of it most of the time.
“Are you trying to give Mother a heart attack by bringing that bastard child here?” my sister had asked.
“Please,” I’d told her. “Look at her. She won’t even notice.”
