Clearing my throat, I push down the building emotions and glance over at my son. He is also mesmerized by the princess, even though he doesn’t quite understand the meaning behind her beautiful melody. When they cut to a commercial segment, signaling the end of the show, I turn off the TV.
He looks at me and says, “She’s beautiful, Daddy.”
I lean forward and kiss his head. “She really is, son.”
He smiles. “Inside and out?”
“I guess you would have to be to write songs like that and sing with so much emotion that everyone around you feels precisely what you feel when you sing.”
He nods before confessing, “I met her.”
My smile flips into a frown. “What do you mean you met her?”
“Panny took me to watch her funny story. Panny’s friend let us go behind the curtain to meet her.”
“Penny,” I correct him. Sometimes, I forget that he’s six years old because he speaks like an old man. My fault, I’m sure. I speak to him like he’s an adult.
“Penny,” he repeats. “I told her, Dad.”
“You told her what?”
He sighs, like I should already know the answer. “I told the Alpha Princess that if she meets you, she will know that she’s your true mate.”
Not this again. Ever since he saw her on the news, that’s all he talks about. “She’s the one, Dad! She’s your true mate. I know it!” He crosses his arms and pouts.
I lean forward and tickle him. “Is she now?”
He squeals and giggles. “Yes! Yes!” he shouts.
“You know what I think?” I ask, gently hitting him over the head with the pillow. “I think it’s time for you to go to sleep. It is way past your bedtime.”
I lift him up and swing his upper body over my shoulder, carrying him to his room. Once he’s in his own bed, I cover him with the comforter after he calms down and scoots lower in the bed. He groans.
“No! No negotiating. You agreed. We shook on the deal. I let you stay up past your bedtime to watchThe Tonight Show. You said you would go to sleep as soon as it was over.”
He scrunches his tiny nose. “Ugghhhh, fine.”
I kiss him on the cheek. “Good night, son. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Dad.” He rests his tiny arms around my neck and hugs me. Then, he whispers, “She’s the one, Dad. I can feel it. I felt it when I met her.”
I pull back and search his pale blue eyes. “Son, I just don’t think it will work. It’s complicated. It’s an adult thing. Don’t ask any more questions, alright? Go to sleep.”
“You have to fight for her. She’s the one, Dad. Please.”
I shake my head. “Go to sleep. We can talk about this later.”
He mumbles under his breath, turning his back to me. Still, I don’t want to have this conversation, especially with my six-year-old son, who shouldn’t even understand the concept of true mates. Note to self: talk to my mother about limiting her rom-coms or whatever dramatic romance movies she watches in front of my son.
I make my way to the kitchen, where my nanny removes the dishes from the dishwasher. “What the hell do you think youare doing taking my son to a late-night show hosting the Alpha Princess?” I demand. She almost drops the dish in her hand. I scared her… Good. Honestly, what the fuck was she thinking?
“I’m sorry, Alpha. Your parents bought the tickets. I assumed you knew about it,” she replies, looking down at her hand, trembling now.
“My parents bought the tickets?” She nods. Is that who put this whole stupid notion of the Alpha Princess being my true mate in his head? What the fuck are they thinking? I still want to ream the poor girl, but the truth is this wasn’t her fault. I’ll deal with my parents.
Pointing my finger at her, I instruct, “The next time my parents buy tickets to anything or tell you to take him anywhere, you clear it with me first. I don’t care if you think I already know about it. He is my son! Is that clear?”
“Yes, Alpha. This won’t happen again.” Her eyes remain cast down. Shit, her face is red, like she’s about to cry.
