Page 27 of Single Mom’s Secret Diary (The Forbidden Reverse Harem Collection)

Avery

E zra drives me and my son back to my townhouse before he takes Dad back to his car. Dad promises to be by in the morning, and Ezra promises that he will be back shortly.

I get Charlie washed up with a trash bag around his new cast. I comb his hair and feed him a snack before I have a chance to think about what’s happened today.

Ezra knows about Charlie being his son. He seems to have forgiven me for not telling him right away, but how can he? Even after ten years, I couldn’t forgive him for the secret girlfriend he had when we were together.

And what does this mean for Wyatt and Ryder? Will this change things? Will they not want to be with me because of this? Will Ezra go back to being possessive and jealous?

Will Ezra actually want to stick around when the shock wears off, when he realizes how much work it takes to be a parent? Taking care of my son is second-nature to me. And he’s more than worth it. For me.

And now that Charlie knows, can put a face to a name, will this change a lot for him? Will it be good?

My mind is spinning when the doorbell rings, and I open it in a daze.

Ezra is standing there with the evening sky darkening behind him. He’s holding a paper bag, and smells waft out to curl into my nostrils—savory, sweet, spicy.

“I thought I’d pick up that food I mentioned the other day… when I asked you on a date.” He lifts it to confirm. “I’ve rethought the kind of date I want to have with you.”

I lift my brow, willing myself not to feel fragile.

“We don’t have to do anything fancy. I just want to be around you. As much as possible.” Ezra’s confession springs new tears to my eyes, and when his brow furrows, I step out to give him a chaste kiss.

A new zing trills through me. I reach down for his hand and escort him inside. As we approach the table, where Charlie is munching on pizza rolls, I notice Ezra lose inches of his confidence. I brush Charlie’s hair from his forehead and plant a kiss there.

“Hey. Look who’s here.”

My son peeks up at his dad with the kind of shyness I’m not used to him having.

“He brought us a treat. Probably better than what I’m feeding you.”

“Mom. Almost anything is better than pizza rolls.” He rolls his eyes at me, and I can’t believe my nine-year-old has such discerning taste. I wonder where he gets that from.

I make a face back at him and gesture for Ezra to open the bag.

“It’s traditional Vietnamese food. Not homemade, but made by two women from Hanoi, which is where my mom is from.

I call her M? .” Ezra starts to pull out cartons of food, giving us the traditional names of each dish.

He smiles and repeats, “Fried dumplings, sticky rice, spring rolls, and a beef noodle salad.”

Charlie leans forward, his nostrils flaring. “Smells good. What would I call your mom? In Vietnamese?”

He’s balancing on one arm and bouncing his feet under him on his chair, and I cringe at how easily he could fall and hurt himself. I’ve promised him for his birthday that I would try to trust him and not micromanage him so much.

I cross to the kitchen and grab some plates.

“You’d call her Bà .”

“Does she speak English?” He’s hopping again, and I bite my lip.

“She does. And she understands more than she can say. Reads a lot, too.” Ezra is smiling when I return to the table and hand one over to him.

I scoop a little bit of everything on a plate for Charlie to try, and Ezra frowns. He hasn’t had a kid, and he doesn’t have any siblings, or he’d know the key to wasting food is to pile too much on a kid’s plate.

“Cool.” Charlie finally sits and grabs the dumpling with his right. “Thanks, Mom.”

I clear my throat at him.

“Thanks… Can I call you Ezra for now?” He fiddles with the dumpling over his plate, avoiding eye contact.

“Yeah. You can call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Charlie nods and takes a bite of the dumpling. His eyes light up as he chews, and he munches through it quickly.

He’s not that picky and eats a bit of everything with good spirits as he asks Ezra questions, and Ezra asks his own. They share a lot of the same interests.

I enjoy the meal he brought, trying them the way I do with everything. Small tastes to get the full flavors before I simply dig in to eat.

I open my eyes to see them both looking at me. Charlie shakes his head.

“She always does that.”

I stick my tongue out at him. “Blame Papa.”

Charlie rolls his eyes again, and Ezra laughs.

Once food is finished, I give Charlie his medicine and send him to bed. He’s fighting fatigue but doesn’t argue with me too much.

Closing him in his room, I find Ezra cleaning up in the kitchen. It makes me laugh quietly.

“What?” he asks. “I did this when you were sick.”

“I’m just… not used to having so much help.” I slide in next to him and watch his forearms as he rinses off the last of the utensils to put in the drainer. “He likes you.”

“I like him, too.” He wipes his hands off before he hooks one around my waist to press us closer together. “I feel really protective over him, even though I barely know him. Is this how you feel?”

I laugh and lean into him. “Yes. All the time. Being a parent is the scariest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

He lets me pull him to the couch. I play whatever’s on deck and relax into him. It doesn’t take long for us to end up sideways with him spooning me. I always did fit perfectly into the nook his body makes.

With my head on his bicep, he reaches around to fiddle with my hair and breathes down my neck. “Move in with me.”

Tension sweeps down my back, fear at how quickly my insides scream yes . But I can’t throw Charlie’s life into chaos like that so soon. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.”

He grins against the back of my neck and plants a kiss there. “Let me spend the night.”

“A fair compromise.”

We laugh a little together, and the TV turns into background noise as his mouth spreads warmth over my neck and shoulder. The hand wrapped around my middle dips lower, pressing my hips back against his hard length.

My insides heat up with desire, drowns out the worries spinning in my head. I want this reprieve from my thoughts. I want to enjoy having Ezra back in my life. I want to enjoy the things he can do to my body.

Rolling my ass back into him earns me a soft groan. It vibrates across my skin as his teeth pinch the curve of my throat.

Ezra nimbly unbuttons my jeans, his hand dipping underneath to cup me over my slim panties. He works me slowly, letting the pleasure rise until I don’t know I’m submerged in it. Ezra has me writhing, hips seeking what his hand promises me, and he pins my shoulders with his other arm.

I like how he keeps control of my body even as I can’t maintain my grasp.

When he has the time to draw things out, he does. And we have all night.

I’m in for it.

I can’t wait for it.

Ezra whispers hushing sounds in my ear as my pleasure builds—as it peaks. I’m shaking as an orgasm racks through me. His touch teases me for another minute until I settle, then he lifts himself over me to grab my mouth in a soul-searing kiss.

When he releases me, I’m captured by the look in his dark brown eyes. The feeling that started growing more than a decade ago reflects back at me.

I run my hand through his hair, afraid to let that last wall around my heart fall. “We should take this to my bedroom.”

He smiles at me, and my mouth curves up in return.

I’m in the air the next second. My legs and arms wrap around Ezra as he carries me back to my room, closing the door quietly behind us and crawling onto the bed with me still in his grip.

I let myself laugh, happy when his joins mine. Then, I’m yanking his shirt up his back and marveling at all of his skin. I don’t get to bask in it as much as I’ve wanted to.

His body has changed over the ten years—bigger, more defined, but I remember this scar along his side from a skateboarding accident and the mole just below his belly button. Mostly, I remember the way it feels to simply touch him.

Ezra unwraps me slowly, taking his time to caress and kiss every inch of newly exposed skin.

By the time he has me down to my underwear, I’m already primed and ready for more.

He unclasps the back of my bra and peels it off me at an excruciating pace. My nipples perk in anticipation, and my back bows as he closes his mouth around one. Sucking hard has my knees squeezing his waist, trying to trap him and yank him closer.

God, he resists me, lavishing both breasts with so much attention that I’m overheating, ready to beg him for more. But I know I’ll only be denying myself the pleasure he has planned for me.

I’m not disappointed.

He dives between my thighs to lick and suck and stroke me until I’m shaking and coming again.

I’m a goner by the time he hovers over me again, his clothes finally stripped off to leave him bare against me.

Gathered up in his arms, he refuses to rush, sliding into me with ease. The satisfaction of being stretched and full is chased off by the new need he builds.

Desperation claws my nails down Ezra’s back.

He bends down to plant a small kiss on my mouth and tip his forehead against mine. “You are everything I never thought I’d have.”

“You’ve already had me.”

He shakes his head. “It wasn’t enough. It won’t ever be enough.”