Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,104
"I got it tested maybe five years ago."
"And?"
"And she's my dad's daughter alright."
"You know what? I don't think so." Again, I smiled. "I think she's your daughter, sure not biologically, but you've been a terrific dad." I hesitated. "And as long as we're talking, can I ask you a question?"
"Anything."
"Well, you've been a 'dad' for so long, does that mean…" Gosh, how to put this? "Like, do you want kids of your own someday, or…?"
At this, he actually smiled. "With the right girl." He turned and gave me a wink. "Hell yeah."
Chapter 63
Mason
At the company headquarters, I was sitting behind my desk going through some paperwork when I heard Chase ask, "What the hell are you doing?"
When I looked up, he was standing in my open doorway looking disgruntled for the second time this week.
"Working," I said. "What are you doing?"
He frowned. "You're not working."
The hell I wasn't. "What?"
"You're whistling."
I scoffed, "Yeah, right."
"It's no joke." Chase was still frowning. "I heard you in the hall."
A few months ago, I might've told him he was nuts. Me – I'd never been the whistling type. But these days, I couldn’t say for sure that he was wrong.
Today was the first day of spring, and I had big plans with a certain someone – someone who loved kids and cookies, roses and balloons, ice cream and champagne.
And me.
She even loved Willow – not because of the nanny gig, but because over the last few months, we'd become something like a family.
We'd stopped dwelling on the end of Cami's employment term. Instead, we'd been talking about teaching jobs here in Bayside or maybe more courses toward her master's degree. Either way, Cami wasn't going anywhere, not if I could help it.
Lucky for me, she saw things the same way.
These days, we shared the same bedroom, the same ideas about love, and the same hopes for the future.
It was long past time to make it official.
I smiled at my desk. Huh. Maybe I had been whistling.
Chase was still in the open doorway. With an accusing look, he said, "And stop smiling. It's freaking me out."
I grinned up at him. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Because you do it all the time."
"Yeah, so?"
"So I'm not used to it."
By now, he should be used to it. I'd been smiling for months – sure, not all the time, because, hey, I still had a business to run.
And besides, Chase was the charming one, not me – well, normally, anyway. But he wasn't looking so charming now as he said, "Shit, maybe I need a nanny."
Chase didn't need a nanny. What he needed was a swift kick in the ass. Over the last few weeks, he'd been getting plenty, thanks to the marketing blitz that was driving his foul mood.
But hey, this was his area, not mine.
He'd figure it out.
As for myself, I had somewhere to be, and I didn't want to be late. With a smile, I stacked my papers and stood. If I were a better guy, I would've resisted tweaking the smart-ass brother who'd been tweaking me for years.
But the way I saw it, payback wasn't all bad.
So yeah, I whistled on my way out.
Hey, someone had to, right?
Chapter 64
Cami
I'd just pulled into Mason's garage, and I knew something was up the moment I got out of my car. It was the time of day I'd normally be bringing Willow home from school. But Arden had surprised both of us by swooping Willow up in the school parking lot for an impromptu Easter cookie bake-a-thon.
Until now, I hadn't even known there was such a thing as Easter cookies.
But I did know they'd be delicious, because when Arden and Willow got together, they always were.
As far as this particular bake-a-thon, Willow had loved the idea, and I'd agreed on the spot. These days, I didn't even need Mason's permission. Arden was family. And in a way, so was I.
Even though I was still technically the nanny, I wasn't feeling like an employee at all. Mason and I weren't hiding our relationship – not from Willow or from anyone else, including his brothers who I was becoming fonder of every day, even Chase, who was probably the biggest trouble-maker I'd ever met.
As far as Mason, he and I still clashed occasionally like any couple, but for some reason, it only seemed to make our relationship stronger. No matter how spirited our discussions became, we always ended up in exactly the same place – in each other's arms.