no chance I’m going to miss another moment.” He moved closer, taking her hands before she could pull her hair into a ponytail again. “We’ll talk to him together. From what I’ve seen of Adriana, children are very resilient if they are treated with kindness.” He paused to let his words sink in. “I’m sure Dylan will be fine as soon as we explain who I am and why I’m here.”
“But he might not like the fact that you’ve been gone for the first five years of his life.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll just explain the circumstances. Not going into the crazy details of how he was conceived, but…”
Jemma thought about that for all of five seconds before she shook her head. “No. It would be better if you came back later.”
He sighed and looked down at her. “Better for whom?” he asked, knowing that what she was asking would only be better for her. Not for him and probably not for their son although he admitted that he wasn’t an expert at children.
Jemma just looked at him for a long moment, her mind going over his comment. He was right. It wasn’t better for him to wait to meet his son. In fact, she was probably being very self-centered to even ask him to wait.
And Dylan was a good kid. He would probably be thrilled to meet his father. Not that he had started to ask about him, but he’d just started school. He was bound to start understanding that other kids had two parents while he only had one.
Well, two now.
But there were so many questions still unanswered. How in the world could the two of them make this work? She didn’t want to share Dylan. He’d been hers alone for so long, it was painful to accept change.
She sighed and looked down at her worn out sneakers, wishing she had something more interesting to wear. But it was either these or her work boots which were more beaten up than these. “I usually meet him at the end of the driveway where the bus drops him off after school,” she explained.
Looking up, she fought the tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes, wishing this could be easier. She walked past him, hurrying out of the house. Jemma didn’t want him to see how scared she was. What if Dylan liked Damien better? What would she do if Dylan wanted to spend more time with his new father than with her? She wasn’t sure what she would do if she didn’t have his hugs and sloppy kisses, or his incorrigible curiosity and that boundless energy to keep her going. If she missed a hug at night, her body actually ached. It was almost like his hugs pulled her bones together, made her whole each time.
Damien saw the stiff set of her shoulders and tried to figure out how to fix this. But her only solution was to push him away. Now that he knew he had a son, he wasn’t going anywhere. Not until they’d figured out how to move forward. And his idea of moving forward was to have her in his bed and Dylan under his roof. He’d never considered anyone else’s feelings before, especially not regarding business decisions. But he knew he would more heaven and earth, and his headquarters, to ensure his goal.
Why it was so important for Jemma to marry him all of a sudden, he had no idea. But his instincts were telling him to get his ring on her finger. Fast.
Perhaps it was because she’d gotten away from him once before and he didn’t want that to happen again. Or maybe the two of them were just riding a high from the incredible sex that afternoon.
Either way, he was determined.
He was startled to step out of her house and see his driver playing with the puppy he’d bought earlier today. He wasn’t even slightly embarrassed, but he caught Jemma’s stunned expression and almost laughed out loud. Apparently both of them had forgotten about the puppy. Thankfully, his driver seemed to be enjoying the little lady. He was throwing a ball to the fluff-ball and showing her how to retrieve it. Damien wasn’t sure if his driver or the puppy was getting more exercise, but at least the dog wasn’t cooped up in the car.
He walked beside Jemma down the gravel drive, wondering what she was going to do, and how