Deal Breakers (Dealing with Love 1)

“Whatcha doin’?” Nathan asks.

Shit! We both break apart instantly. I didn’t even hear him come into the room. Devyn smoothes her shirt down. She looks down and sees the tent in my pants and smirks. She steps in front of me so I can hide behind her as we face our son.

“Hey, buddy,” she says.

“Why were you making those funny sounds, Momma?”

Her eyes widen. “Um, your daddy and I were um…we uh…we were just making silly animal noises.”

Holy shit! Does she realize what she just said? Did Nathan catch it?

I know the moment it hits her. Her jaw drops and she gives me a look that says, Oh my God, did I really just do that?

I adjust myself and hunch down to the floor. “Hey, bud. Remember when you asked me if I was your daddy?”

Devyn’s eyes widen. Oops, I guess I forgot to tell her about that.

Nathan nods. “Yep.”

“And do you remember what you said to me?”

“That it’s okay if you wanna be my daddy but you have to wuv my mommy.”

I smile. “That’s right, big guy. And do you remember what I said to you after that?”

He bounces on his feet. “Uh huh. You wuv her.”

I glance up at Devyn and she has tears pooling in her eyes as she silently watches our exchange. “That’s right. I did. So are you okay if I’m your daddy?”

Nate scrunches his little face while contemplating my question. “Can I punch you in the nuts?”

I bark in laughter. “What? No, dude. You can’t punch me in the nuts. You probably shouldn’t do that to anyone.”

“Are you gonna get mad at me like Momma does when I say a bad word?”

I smile. “Probably. So what do you say? Can I be your dad?”

He shrugs. “I guess. As long as you don’t act like a duth-bag.”

“Nathan!” Devyn scolds.

I crack a smile. “I’ll do my best, buddy.”

DEVYN

MONDAY MORNINGS ARE HARD enough but the fact that I can’t stop thinking about Riley is making it worse than usual. I keep flashing back to our little make-out session at the new house and what happened afterwards. I smile when I think about how the whole daddy reveal went with Nathan. I’ve been building it up in my mind for so long I never considered he’d be so nonchalant about it. I know it’s too early to know for sure, but my gut is telling me that he’s going to naturally accept Riley being a part of his life.

There’s a light tap on my cubicle wall. “Hey, Devyn. Do you have a few moments?”

I look up and see Gary Styles, the VP of Creative Marketing. “Sure, Mr. Styles.”

He smiles. “Now, Devyn how many times do I have to tell you? Please, call me Gary.”

I blush. “Sorry, Gary.”

He nods behind him. “Let’s head to the conference room.”

I stand up to follow him. “Sure.”