Page 41 of My Baby's Boss Daddy

Inside the car, I took her hand again and brushed my thumb along the inside of her wrist. “Jonathan will drop me off at work and take you back to the apartment.”

“You don’t have to do all of this.”

I brought her hand up to my lips and pressed a kiss there. “You need to start getting used to this because I plan on spoiling you and Ron rotten.”

Rachel gave me a pointed look. “I hope you’re not planning on spoiling Ron too much. I still want him to know the value of things.”

I chuckled and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

Before getting out of the car, I kissed her cheek. Once I got out, I caught a brief glimpse of her touching a hand to her cheek, a soft smile on her face. She gave me a bright smile before the door clicked shut. I spent the entire morning in meetings and work calls, and Rachel and Ron were never far from my mind.

In the afternoon, when Mary called to tell me Jonathan was back, I thanked her and reached for my jacket. Rachel was waiting for me in the car when I came downstairs. This time, she reached for my hand and sat pressed against me during the car ride to Ron’s school. Once we arrived, she got out of the car first, and I followed her.

Ron sprinted in our direction and hugged his mom.

When he drew away, Ron wrapped his arms around my torso and grinned.

I ushered them into the car with the biggest smile on my face.

Chapter 15: The other side

Rachel

“I feel like I’ve hardly seen you lately,” Taylor commented from her spot in the hallway. She piled her hair on top of her head before twisting to face me, a furrow appearing between her brows. “I take it things are still going well with Bernie.”

“A lot better than I thought they would,” I admitted over the rim of my mug. “I can’t believe how well things are going.”

Or how easily he fit into our lives.

Over the past few weeks, we had fallen into a routine of sorts, with Bernie picking us up in the morning and dropping us off at his house in the afternoon. In the beginning, I was reluctant to change Ron’s life so drastically, especially with very little warning, but having him with me while I cleaned and did the housework meant less stress and pressure on Taylor and her parents.

Given everything they’d done for me, I was more than happy to give them a break. Knowing that Bernie looked forward to coming home to us helped too. In the evenings, when he came, looking exhausted but pleased, Ron raced to greet him at the door.

In the evening, Ron played with his toys while Bernie and I lingered over dinner, barely able to keep our hands off of eachother. After dinner, Bernie insisted on tidying up while Ron and I sat down in front of the TV. Bernie had even taken it upon himself to convert one of the rooms, allowing Ron to enjoy his time there for hours on end.

Usually, it gave the two of us time together.

A few stolen moments here and there weren’t enough.

It was never going to be enough, but since we wanted to take things slow, I knew it was for the best. Little by little, Ron was adjusting to Bernard’s presence in his life, and I couldn’t have been happier. While I still hadn’t found the right time to tell Ron the truth, I knew it was better for us to do it together.

It was an unusual dynamic, but it worked for us.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that Bernard was hiding something from me.

The past few weeks had been going well, a little too well, until a week ago. Since then, Bernard had been coming home with a strained look on his face, and he spent dinners looking distracted and preoccupied. Everything I tried to coax him into confiding in me wasn’t working.

Was he having second thoughts about us?

About wanting to be in Ron’s life?

Was I reading too much into it?

Considering how fast things were moving, I knew Bernard needed a beat to adjust. Having gone from being in charge of his own life and having every detail figured out to having a five-year-old he knew nothing about was an adjustment. Although Idid my best to ensure the transition was seamless, we had faced more than our fair share of hiccoughs over the past few weeks.

Especially with Ron growing clingy.

As if he sensed that he wasn’t the only guy in my life anymore.