Page 39 of Unforgettable Omega

Even the day he’d taken Andy out to help Shay, Drew had made plans with his friend Grayson. They’d met Grayson and his son Max, and they’d all gone to a private park in their estate. The kids had run off their excess energy and he and Grayson had kept an eye on them while they played together, then they’d taken them out to lunch at some kids’ eatery which Drew would have never set foot in prior to Andy coming into his life.

After that, they’d gone back to Gray’s home, and his omega Riley had made sure Andy was bathed and had dinner. And then Drew had taken his son back to Shay.

He realized, he’d kind of been on a parenting-lite, popping in and out, because after having to entertain a three-year-old child for hours by himself, and being forced into getting creative, Drew was exhausted.

He had no idea how Shay did it, had been doing it, all these years. His respect for Shay climbed even more. No wonder the man had passed out for hours. It was probably the first time he’d gotten to rest without having to worry about Andy.

Hell, Drew had to stop Andy from going to look for his papa a couple of times. Looking for new ways to entertain his son had stretched his brain more than negotiating a deal with his Chinese partners to expand his business in Asia ever had.

Shay went on his knees to hug their son. If Drew didn’t know that it had been only a couple of hours, the way that Shay was hugging Andy would have made his heart clench.

His heart did stutter a little looking at the two of them, it was clear father and son were a unit. Sometimes it made Drew wonder where he fit in, and if he ever would. That feeling didn’t last long, because Andy took Drew’s hand linking all three of them together.

“Daddy and me, we colored on the phone,” Andy told his papa, excitement in his voice.

Shay looked up at him and smiled, and Drew’s heartbeat picked up this time for a whole other reason.

“Did you have fun with your dad?” Shay asked their son, but his eyes were still on Drew.

“Yessss,” Andy squealed.

“I see sugar may have been involved,” Shay said pointedly, eyebrow raised. The amusement in his voice belied the seriousness on his face.

“Not sleepy,” their son said. Although the eye rubbing may have made a lie out of his words.

“The faster you go to bed, the faster the morning comes, then we can go to the zoo,” Shay told their son. And those seemed to be the magic words.

“But Daddy is going to put you to bed tonight, because he’s the one that gave you all that sugar.”

Drew threw his head back and laughed. He didn’t mind putting his son to bed. In reality, the fact that it was Shay kind of pawning their son off on him seemed very domestic, and very family unit… more than just two people co-parenting.

He was right, getting them in the same house was the way to go.

“My pleasure,” Drew replied. “Then papa and I can have dinner together, outside on the patio.”

If Drew hadn’t been paying close attention to Shay, he would have missed the omega freezing before he pasted a smile on his face.

“That sounds like fun, doesn’t it, Andy, but Daddy doesn’t know how long it’ll take to get you settled, especially since it looks like you’re still a little hyper.”

Even though Shay acted like he was talking to their son, Drew caught the clear message there.

Shay was hoping that Andy would take so long being put to bed that he got out of dinner with Drew. But no such luck, Drew wasn’t beyond bribing his kid with more sugar to get his way.

If that made him a bad parent for a night, then so be it. The best thing for their son in his opinion was two parents that loved each other as much as they loved him, and were together. Although maybe the together was more for him, but his son would certainly benefit.

That was what Drew was trying to achieve, and no one said he had to play fair to make that happen.

Hell, he was done playing in general.

“Challenge accepted,” Drew said. He made sure to say it just loud enough for Shay to hear. And he knew the omega did, because he caught the shiver that Shay couldn’t quite hide.

Drew hoped like hell that was a good sign.

* * *

Drew managedto get his son bathed and into bed in just over an hour. And he would admit he had help. He called in reinforcements, also known as Ruth, to help.

The longtime caretaker of his home managed to get Andy in the bath and showered, his teeth brushed, while Drew kind of helped, his help being mostly getting splashed by Andy, but the happy laugh of his son just overshadowed soaked clothes.