That’s it.
And I can’t imagine letting him go. Not now. Not ever.
“Well, it looks like he trusts you. That was fast,” Maggie says, getting up from her seat. “I need to head to the hotel—”
“Nonsense. We have plenty of room here, don’t we, Jaxon? She has to stay and make sure I’m not a killer for her report.”
“Only the killer of ladies.” Heaven finger guns and winks.
No one laughs.
“Wow, okay. Tough crowd. I’ll show myself out then.” Heaven drags his leg behind him and circles around the couch, plopping down on the loveseat.
“He’s already asleep,” Maggie whispers.
“Yeah?” I don’t move to look because I don’t want to wake him up.
She nods and reaches for my phone. “May I?”
“Sure.” I’m afraid she’ll see the dating app and judge, but her face is expressionless as she points the camera at us.
I don’t look into the lens. I don’t want to see the vulnerability in my eyes when I finally look at the picture.
“There. Your first picture as father and son.” She holds the phone in front of me and that damn emotion, stupid fucking beast, is clogging my throat again.
He looks like he was made to be there. He’s safe.
For as long as he is alive. He’s safe with me.
“Well, look at that, fellas. Our Grayson is a dad,” Jaxon says, staring at the picture with a big smile on his face. He slaps me on the shoulder and squeezes tight. He’s getting emotional too. “I’m damn happy for you, man. You deserve it.”
“Yeah, he’ll be happy here,” Owen says. “I’ll beat him at skee ball eventually.”
“No you won’t. I’ll kill you if you don’t let my kid win,” I grumble.
“Maggie, I’ll show you to a guest room, and I’ll have Julie make you something to eat; maybe some tea before bed?” Jaxon asks.
“Oh, that would be amazing. Thank you. So I’ll see you in the morning? This is unusual. Maybe a hotel would be best,” she tries to argue.
“He’ll be happy to see you in the morning. We are still new. Give it a few nights,” I plead. I don’t want it to sound like I’m begging, but I am. I don’t know what I’m doing. The world just dropped a kid in my lap.
I grab my phone and see a few messages from Finley. I might as well be honest with her so she knows what she’s getting into. She’s traveling. What the hell would she want with a single dad?
“I’m going to place him in my bed, and then tomorrow I want to set up the room closest to mine for him. He can pick his bedroom set and stuff.”
“He’ll love that,” Maggie says, then yawns, stretching her arms above her head.
“Goodnight, everyone.” I snatch my phone and head toward the bedroom, feeling every single set of eyes against my back as I go. I kick my door open and carefully shut it behind me, then pull back the covers with one hand. Carefully, I lower him down until his bare head is on the pillow, then I tuck him in. “I can’t believe you’re real,” I whisper to him. “Sleep well, bud.”
Me, on the other hand, I don’t think I can sleep. I lay next to him and watch his breath to make sure he’s alive.
I lay awake for the rest of the night, thinking about Dillon, but also thinking about a woman I’ve never met.
She’s kept me sleepless these last few nights, but I’ve never felt so well-rested. Finley has caused me to do the one thing I never wanted to do again.
Trust.
Chapter Eight