Page 36 of Single Omega Dad

Something was going on between us. I could feel it—had been feeling it for a couple days. Clearly, it made Mathias uncomfortable. But he showed me he felt it, too, by not rushing off. By bringing my kids toys.

“You should know up front,” he began. He swallowed hard. “Because I’m your financial guardian now.”

“Know what?”

“I’m not really the good guy.”

I sat back and crossed my fingers over my small, but no longer flat belly. “Oh?”

He was immaculate in his appearance, sharp-featured, expensively doffed in a lingering scent of fire. He was a calculating man. I’d already assessed that.

“I’m just not sure who I am anymore.”

“Have you been questioning things for a long time?” I asked.

“Not really,” he replied.

“Hmm.” I tapped my fingertips on my belly. “Well, I don’t really know you well. My first impression of you was sort of off. But from what I’ve seen, everything you’ve done for me and my kids in just a few days, it’s, well, it’s a good guy type of behavior.”

One eyebrow rose in his habitual fashion. “It’s not that I don’t know how.”

“Huh. Well, Tybor really likes you and he’s a pretty good judge of character for his age.”

“Is he?” Mathias asked.

Unspoken was the question,What about you?

Mathias rubbed harder at the table. “I would like to apologize for my short-sighted remark about putting Tybor on a farm.”

I let the silence fall between us for a moment before I said, “Apology accepted.”

“My father taught us that was the way. If I have any Omega siblings, I don’t know about them. Any of them.”

“That is a belief practiced by many families,” I replied dryly. I took my hands off my stomach and leaned forward. “Every child deserves a father’s love.”

“Oh, well, I’m not sure my father would agree.” He let out a pained laugh.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“I can’t complain. I was raised in utter luxury. Servants. All the best things. Never needed for anything. When I moved out on my own, I had to learn how to use a dishwasher and not let things sit in the fridge until they spoiled.”

“Every kid has to learn those things, though.”

“It was a bit late for me.”

“Do you want to follow in your father’s footsteps. Be like him?”

Mathias looked down. “I thought I did.”

“I’m sure he’s a very respected and important man. Someone you looked up to like a god.”

“Even gods can have flaws,” he replied.

“Yes. But the son doesn’t necessarily inherit them by design. You say you’re not a good guy? That’s entirely by choice.”

Chapter Eleven

Mathias