Page 19 of Off Limits Daddy

She stared at me as if she'd walked into the Twilight Zone.

"We’re going to give Aiden the two-parent family that he deserves."

I wasn't sure that Veronica caught my meaning. When she turned her attention to the social worker, I felt certain that in the next few minutes, I was going to have to pack Aiden's bag and say goodbye to him. I couldn't imagine how I would even be able to do that.

"Well, it might've been love at first sight for him, but for me it took a bit longer."

My head jerked to her, surprised that she was going along with this. And then I grinned. "I grow on people. It's my charm."

"It's something, all right," Veronica quipped.

"Well, I suppose that changes things. Will you be getting married soon?"

"I'm hoping for New Year's Eve. Would that be romantic?" I asked Veronica.

Veronica arched a brow at me.

"Well, I’ll let my supervisor know. I'm sure that will make everything okay." Ms. Thomas gave a relieved smile. "Actually, I'm happy about this. I really do think that you could be good for Aiden, Mr. Ashworth. I hated coming here today."

With my arm still tight around Veronica, I nodded. "I'm just glad that everything's going to work out."

The social worker stepped out the door, and Veronica and I moved aside to let her pass.

"There are still six more months of post-placement, and I’ll need to do paperwork on Agent Marsden, but at this point, everything should go well."

"Good to hear."

Ms. Thomas headed to her car.

Pain in my gut had me turning to Veronica.

“Did you pinch me?” I rubbed the area on my abs.

"You know that I'm not marrying you, right? Not on New Year's Eve, not ever."

"Come into the house and I can explain what happened."

I ushered her toward the door. "I'm not stupid, Duncan. I figured out what you were doing to protect your adoption of Aiden, but I'm not marrying you. You're not going to be a two-parent family. Not with me."

Once we were inside and I shut the door, I frowned at her. "Is it me or marriage that you're opposed to?"

"I don't even know you. I’m focused on my career. I don't plan to ever be a stay-at-home mom. So, you're going to have to find yourself someone else to play Mommy for Aiden."

I rubbed my hand over my bald head. "That will be a problem because his case worker thinks I’m marrying you. I can't just turn around and marry somebody else. That'll make me look crazy."

She gaped at me. "You are crazy, Duncan."

"Listen, I know this sounds crazy, but assuming you've come here to see if you can learn any more from Aiden, this marriage could help you as well."

She rolled her eyes. "I can't wait to hear this."

"What better way to get information from Aiden than to be a part of our family? You're never going to interview him and get what you're hoping to get from him. He’s too shy and untrusting. But if you become like a mother figure to him and he grows to trust you, maybe he'll say something."

She shook her head. "I can't be a mother figure to Aiden. I can't be your wife."

"Okay, so maybe it won't be for real. But we could pretend."

"Are you seriously suggesting that I pretend to be a mother figure to Aiden? That's just wrong."