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My gaze shifts to Hope who swiftly looks away, hiding her misty eyes from me.
I didn’t realize how emotional this would be…for all of us.
Ray remains quiet for a beat and my heart hammers in my chest awaiting his response. Did I push too hard? Wasn’t Ray ready?
“You married Ma?” He finally speaks, slowly. “When?”
“While you were at school.”
“Oh!” He suddenly grabs my hands and plays with my fingers. “You don’t have a ring.”
But I do. A smile tugs on my face as I pull out the ring box that we picked up from the jeweler on the way to school. Ray fumbles with the lid, unsuccessfully trying to open it. I finally do it for him and the simple, plain band that Gigi gave me sits on a navy-blue velvet cushion.
“Wow!” Ray’s eyes widen and I don’t remember a time when my hands shook this terribly.
I keep saying Ray is the biggest deal of my life, but in this moment, I don’t feel like the confident businessman.
“What do you say, buddy? Shall we ask Ma to put this on my finger and make it official?”
He excitedly nods and pulls the ring with his trembling hands out of the box. Bringing his other palm below his fingers clutching the ring, he turns to his mother.
Hope tries to pry the ring from his tight grip, but he doesn’t let go. She glances at me before placing a kiss on his forehead.
“Why don’t you and I together put it in on your dad’s finger?” she asks him but her gaze never leaves mine.
The worddaddoes something in my chest. A warm feeling ignites and overwhelms me. My heart feels heavy and for a moment I think I might be having a heart attack.
“You will be my dad?” Ray asks in his soft voice filled with wonder.
“Yes, buddy, I would love to be your dad.” My voice is hoarse with emotions.
“Me too. I never had a dad.” His voice turns a notch up in excitement. “And…my dad is a prince. Ma, my dad is a prince.”
“Yes, he is.” She smiles against her misty eyes.
I place my hand forward and they both slide the ring on my finger. Hope’s eyes gleam when she looks up and my pulse picks up.
Why does this feel like the most important moment in my life?
I clutch my fist, grasping their hands. “I promise to give you both so much happiness.” I say the words, but they don’t seem sufficient as a myriad of emotions courses through my heart.
“Now you have to kiss Mom.” Ray jumps excitedly in his chair.
“Ray—” Hope starts to protest, but before she can say more, I tug her forward and put my mouth on her soft lips.
She freezes under my touch and her still body ignites the dormant fire inside me. I feel my cock stiffening in response.
What the fuck?
I release her in a rush.
Fuck! That was unexpected.
I have to keep my relationship with Hope friendly and platonic. She cannot know the real man that hides behind my playful face. There’s no way in hell she’d want to have any connection with me if she knew my truth. She’d take herself and Ray away from me and my life would once again be fucking meaningless.
I regain my composure, looking away from Hope, and wink at Ray who has covered half his face with the tablecloth. I pull him closer and kiss his forehead before he giggles.
“Where are we going?”Ray asks from the back seat of my car where he’s buckled in his booster seat.
