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I chuckle, then release her. “Just giving you a teeny tiny sample of how I felt during my youth. Blue balls foryears.”
She turns around with an eye roll. “Don’t even get me started on whose fault that was.”
“Both of ours,” I quip, flashing her a wink as I walk backward toward the door. “I think I made up for it, though.” I point my head toward her baby bump.
“Times two,” she taunts before I go to the living room.
“Hey, Owen. Did you change out of your school clothes?”
“Not yet,” he says with his eyes glued to the TV.
I walk in front of it, crossing my arms. “Okay, can you please go do it now? Everyone will be here soon.”
Owen leans to one side, then the other as he tries to see behind me. “I will.”
“No, now please.”
Finally, he looks at me and huffs. “You aren’t my dad. I don’t have to listen to you.”
My brows shoot up in shock. He’s never talked to me this way before, and I’m not really prepared for how to respond.
“I didn’t say I was, but your mother asked you to change, and since you haven’t, now I’m telling you. So you either do what you’re told or you lose TV privileges all weekend.”
“You can’t do that.” He scowls.
“I sure can.” I stand my ground, keeping eye contact with him. Owen and I have a great relationship, but there have been so many changes recently, and he’s not been taking them as well as we’d hoped. Between the news of the babies, me being here a lot more, and talking about moving soon, he might not be getting enough attention.
“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes, slams the remote down, then walks away. I contemplate stopping him so we can sit and talk about what’s going on, but I promised Katie I’d finish getting dinner together. However, as soon as it’s just the two of us again, I’m going to make sure we discuss everything.
“Is it done?” Katie asks as soon as I take the pot roast out of the oven.
“Looks done to me.” I set it on the counter. “Smells delicious too.” Katie rounds the counter and stands next to me to look. “So do you.”
“Thank you.” She rises on her tiptoes and merges her lips with mine. “I overheard you and Owen.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I’m a mom. I hear everything.” She smirks. “You handled it well, by the way. I’m sure you weren’t expecting that.”
“No, I really wasn’t. I feel bad I had to put my foot down.” I frown. “I don’t want him to hate me.”
“He’s testing you, well—us. Owen’s never had a man live with us before, and if you don’t set boundaries, he’ll walk all over you. He’s ten, going on sixteen and is trying to see what he can get away with. When he realized he couldn’t talk back to you, he did what you asked. But don’t worry, he won’t hate you. Owen’s always adored you, Noah.”
“He said I wasn’t his father,” I say softly. “Does he think I’m trying to replace him?”
Katie shrugs, opening the fridge. “Possibly, but I’ll talk to him. I’ve been so busy and not spending as much time with him so—”
“I’d like to talk to him first, if possible.”
“Sure, that’s fine. Or we can talk to him together if you want?”
“I think we need to have a man-to-man chat beforehand.”
The last thing I want Owen to think is that I’m taking the role of his father. Though he never met Gabe, it doesn’t mean it’s easy to just accept me being here all the time. I’m content with just being in his life, but respect has to go both ways.
“Sure, babe. Just remember that he’s full of hormones and will probably have an attitude and rebellious side for the next eight to ten years.”
I snort. “Considering he’s your kid, probably longer.”
