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Jayden looked at his mother, who came to stand behind him.
Christian could feel Priya vibrating with her own nervous energy, felt her need to wrap her arms around Jayden in reassurance. But she kept her distance, letting Jayden explore this new development however he needed to.
Trusting Christian to do it right, too. His heart settled at the faith she showed in him.
“Then why didn’t you come back?” Jayden said finally, eying Christian up and down. His gaze was very much like his mother’s—far too intent for a little boy. “You don’t like us?”
Christian put one hand on his son’s shoulder. Emotion whipped at him how terrifyingly small he was and yet he could skewer Christian with one look. Words came to his lips and fell away. He sighed and decided to go with the truth. “I recovered from the accident but I was still sick in my head for a long time. I...”
“Here?” Jayden said, tapping Christian’s temple with a small finger.
Christian nodded. “Exactly. It made me forget about your mama and your great-grandpa.”
His eyes solemn, Jayden nodded. “Does it still hurt?”
Refusal sprang to his lips but Christian held it off. More than anything, he did want an honest relationship with his son. With Priya.
Eight years of being lost in your own head meant he was never going to take things for granted ever again. And definitely not this little boy who had already burrowed his way into Christian’s heart. God, how had he doubted even for a second that he wouldn’t feel this overwhelming love for his own child? “It does hurt once in a while. I have bad dreams, too,” he added, wondering if he was overburdening a child with the truth.
But somehow it was easier to confide in Jayden than Priya. Which he knew would send her into a rage, justifiably so.
“I don’t want you to worry about me, okay, Jayden? I’m getting better every day. Especially now that I’ve got you and Grandpa Ben and your mama back.”
“Okay.”
Sticky little fingers pressed into his temples on both sides. Christian drew in a rough breath, a quiet sob building in his chest. His brows drawing together in concentration, Jayden looked determined to help him. He forced himself to stay still, to keep his expression steady.
“I sometimes get a stomachache.” Jayden cast a surreptitious glance at his mother. “Grandpa Ben lets me eat donuts for breakfast. And then the same day, Grandma gives me cake for evening snack. I eat them without telling the other. That’s when I get sick.”
Christian furrowed his brow. “Oh, I don’t think you can be expected to say no to donuts or cake.”
Jayden grinned a crooked smile. “That’s when Mama talks about you. When I’ve been naughty. She says something about an apple and a tree.”
Laughter burst out of Christian’s belly.
Jayden leaned toward him and Christian was assaulted with the smells of soap and grass. His chest expanded to pull in more and he knew he’d just fallen in love with this beautiful boy of his. That in a matter of few seconds, the entire axis of his life had tilted.
He’d lost his parents when he’d been not much older than Jayden. Ben and he had always had a combative, contentious sort of relationship. In hindsight, Christian knew he’d been one hell of a troublemaker for a sixty-year-old man to look after.
It was only when he’d met Jai in middle school that he’d settled down. A bit.
“Don’t tell Mama about the sweets, okay? She’ll feel sad.”
“Yeah?” Christian whispered back, his gaze flickering to Priya, whose hawk-like attention had been distracted by her mother. They were in a deep discussion, the older woman’s face all animation while Priya’s spoke of calm resolve.
This morning, she was dressed in a white dress shirt and black trousers, with her hair pulled back in a braid. Teal-colored pumps added a splash of brightness to her outfit. When he’d finally wandered into the main house both mornings long after noon, the staff had informed him that Mrs. Mikkelsen had left for work. Whenever it was that she’d returned, he’d been gone.
Even from the distance that separated them, Christian could appreciate the long line of her legs, the dip of her waist, the rounded curve of her breasts in the tight-fitting shirt. Any assumption he’d made that the impact of seeing her would lessen after forty-eight hours ground to dust.
“I know why she sometimes gets sad,” Jayden said, tugging at Christian’s attention.
“Would you like to tell me?” Christian said, in what he hoped was an encouraging tone.
“Mama’s got an important job. She’s a CEO. That she means she’s like—” Jayden scrunched his brow “—the boss of all the bosses. I learned that when she did a show-and-tell for my class. And she says it’s like...super important for her to do a good job. To make sure bad people don’t steal the company. Especially now that Grandpa Ben’s retired.”
That his stubborn grandfather had retired from the company was news to Christian. As was everything else, of course. He’d hit his quota of shocks after learning about the existence of a seven-year-old son. After the kiss he and Priya had shared. Everything else had felt extraneous to his world.
It still did.
