Page 36 of Snowbound with My Dad's Best Friend

As we both sit down across from each other, his eyes never leave Damian, who is sitting on my lap.

He stares right back at Steven, still sporting a welcoming smile. He’s truly innocent in all of this. “Am I in trouble?” Damian asks, and I laugh.

Honestly, it’s not him that’s going to be scolded…

“No.” Steven laughs along with me.

But as he stops, it feels like all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room.

It’s hard to breathe, and sweat begins to form on my forehead.

This is a nightmare.

His little hands push off me, jumping to the ground, and before I can grab him, he runs to Steven. “Want to see a cool magic trick?”

Steven’s eyes gleam as he grins. “Heck yeah!” Suddenly, my clammy skin becomes warm as I watch them bond.

It’s been my dream since he was born to have them meet and hope that they connect the way I have with Damian.

To see this in real time…

It has to be a dream.

But maybe this all played out the way it was meant to.

Maybe all of this happened to push me into revealing the truth to Steven.

It’s terrifying for me, but not fair in the slightest to him…either of them.

What kind of person am I to deprive either one of them of a relationship?

They are father and son, after all.

Keeping up this charade will only make the truth that much harsher when it comes out.

But I can’t tell him yet.

At least not here.

I feel as if both sides of the argument in my head are splitting me in two.

When the time comes, I’ll know what to do…at least I hope.

I put my attention back to Damian as he takes a tissue from Steven’s desk and shoves it inside his closed fist.

With a few funny movements and his famous magic word, he opens his hand, and the tissue is no longer there.

“Whoa! Did you see that?” Steven asks me, and I nod. “How’d you do that?”

With the sweetest voice, Damian replies, “A good magician never reveals his tricks.”

“That was wonderful, babe.” Standing, I walk over to Damian and point to the far end of Steven’s office. “Can you go over there and play on your tablet while Steven and I talk?”

He nods, and I place a soft kiss on top of his head before he runs off, finding a spot on the floor to lie on his stomach in front of the screen.

As much as I don’t want to, I turn back to see Steven staring at me with a raised brow, his lips tightly forming a line.

“So,” he says lowly, not wanting to disturb Damian. “You had a kid? Why didn’t I know this?”