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With a huff and a more accepting expression, my Dad turned around and left the kitchen. Once we were alone, Conner turned and pulled me close to his chest. His smile was the biggest I had ever seen, and it filled my heart to the point of exploding.
“You better keep those promises, you know. The only one allowed to do anything to your dick is me.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Conner said between laughs. Once his chuckles died, he gave me a quick peck on the lips and raised a brow. “So, a baby, hmm?”
I nodded. ?
??Yep. Scared?”
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Scared? C’mon, Angel. Considering how mad you were at me, I was kind of hoping you’d get knocked up. What better way to guarantee you’ll marry me?”
Despite the butterflies in my stomach, I couldn’t help but laugh at his awful proposal. “A better way is to ask. Preferably, in a romantic setting and with a ring. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, Conner Wilkes. You better not disappoint.”
With his blue eyes locked on mine, he gave me a long and passionate kiss and then whispered, “Have I ever?”
“No,” I whispered back, because that was the truth. From the moment I had walked into his kitchen, Conner had surprised, shocked, overwhelmed, and amused me, but he had never disappointed me. And deep down, I knew he never would.
EPILOGUE — CHLOE
As I opened my eyes, I couldn’t help but think about Peter Clarke and his graduation speech. For months, I had hated the man and called him an asshole for making me believe I could have everything I wanted. Back then, when I didn’t have a job, a love life, or any prospects at all, his words had felt like a punch in the face.
However, as I laid on the hospital bed and stared at Conner, my soon to be step-son, and my father fussing lovingly over my baby girl, I realized that Peter was actually a genius. Or maybe a psychic. Either way, he was brilliant, and his words were as true as the day was long.
For most of my life, I had wanted only one thing and that was to have the love of Conner Wilkes. Having achieved that, there was no way to deny that the world really was mine for the taking, just like Peter had said.
“Hey, Angel,” Conner greeted as he peeled his eyes away from our daughter to look at me. “I thought you were asleep.”
I smiled at him and sighed. “I was, but I’m glad I woke up. The four of you are a sight for sore eyes.”
He walked in my direction with our baby in his arms. “How are you feeling, love?”
After a deep breath and a long gaze at our beautiful girl, I smiled and said, “I’m absolutely perfect.”
“Yes, you are,” Conner said as he leaned in for a kiss.
THE END
A SINGLE MOM & SINGLE DAD ROMANCE
CHAPTER ONE
PIPER
He kept shooting looks in my direction, and I knew something was up. Standing behind the counter, I noticed that his nervous gaze kept flickering over to me, never straying far from where I stood as he fidgeted, shifting his backpack around. He was watching me closely, without trying to be obvious about it. Although, those nervous eyes made him all the more conspicuous.
Those eyes – they looked familiar, yet I couldn't place them. He was young, probably somewhere around sixteen. He looked a little rough around the edges, like a kid who was familiar with trouble. Of course, given the neighborhood we were in, kids his age were known to get into trouble pretty often. I hated to make assumptions about the kid before he actually did something wrong, but it was hard not to. My hard-won experience taught me that I couldn't – and shouldn't – be too trusting.
I watched him as he moved toward the back of the store, hovering around the potato chips. He paced the aisle a few times as I stepped out from around the counter and quietly walked in his direction. The shelves protected me from view, but I used the mirror overhead to keep my eyes on him.
He obviously wasn't a criminal mastermind and wasn't very experienced at this because either he didn't see the mirror or didn't realize I was paying attention. He grabbed a bag of Doritos and stuffed them into his backpack as quietly as he could, before reaching for another bag.
I stepped around the aisle. “Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you.”
The kid jumped, eyes wide, face frozen in fear as he dropped the backpack. It hit the ground at his feet with a loud plastic rustle and everything fell out, including the chips he'd tried to steal from my store. With my hands on my hips, I gave him the perfect disappointed mother look, and even though I wasn't technically that much older than him, it worked.
The poor kid stammered and looked like he was on the verge of tears. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –”
That's when it hit me – I did know the kid. Except the last time I saw him, he'd been just a little boy, not a teenager. Back then, he'd probably only been around ten or eleven. A scrawny kid with big, brown eyes and a soft voice. Five or six years had apparently changed him. A lot. What in the hell had happened to him over those years?
