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Eventually, he relents. “I don’t want to get in the way of you and Colby,” he says miserably.
My stomach drops. “Oh, sweetheart,” I say, hugging him against me once more. “That’s not possible, I promise you.”
“But you like him!” he shrieks, still managing to keep the noise down somehow. “And he likes you.”
“And I like you as well,” I say firmly. “Alot.Do you like me?”
He’s the one to pull back this time and look at me like I just grew a second head. “Girl, what? Duh.”
I laugh as relief flows through me. There’s my boy.
“Jalen,” I say patiently as I sweep a curl of his hair back from his face. His brown eyes are beautiful, and this close, I can see just how many freckles he has across his nose and cheeks. “I like you and Colby equally. I like you very much. That’s why I invited you on this epic trip to visit my family. There is no either/or. Just both.”
“But—” he begins.
I shake my head. “No buts. You’re a package deal.”
He seems to mull that over for a bit. “Oh,” he says. “Okay.”
I tilt my head. “Are you disappointed?”
“No!” he cries a little too loudly. After glancing at the closed bedroom door where Colby is asleep, he looks back at me. “No, not disappointed. But, well…I’ve been trying to get Colby a Daddy, and I thought you’d be a great one.”
I chuckle and rub his back. His body feels so good in my arms. “You make it sound like you’ve been down the river fishing for one.”
He rolls his eyes and pokes my shoulder.
“You mock my pain,” he grumbles.
I shake my head again. “I promise I’m not,” I say softly. “And I know you’ve been looking out for him for a long time. Jalen…you love him, don’t you?”
“Psh,” he says with a wave of his hand. “Of course I do. He’s my ride-or-die bestiest bestie ever.” I pin him with a serious look until he deflates slightly.“Mariah on a milk carton,I love him so much,” he says sadly. “But he doesn’t need me. He needs a Daddy.”
Poor baby. I rub his back a little more. “I think he needs you very much,” I say truthfully.
“But—”
“Jalen,” I interrupt again. “Have you ever told him?”
He holds my gaze for a second before looking away and shaking his head. “No,” he says softly. “It would ruin everything.”
He doesn’t know that. In fact, I think the opposite might be true. Colby obviously worships the ground he walks on. But I think that might be a bit too much for him to hear right now.
“I don’t know what’s going on between the three of us,” I say instead. “I’m sorry, this is very new and different. All I can tell you is that I mean it when I say that I care about you and Colby so much. I suggested this trip because I couldn’t bear to be apart from you both over the holidays. And it’s clear as day to me that you both are a little bundle of double trouble. I’m not really interested in doing anything with just one of you—unless maybe you wanted to go to a glitter factory, and Colby wanted to go read in a library.”
Like I hoped, that gets a laugh out of him. He wipes his cheeks and takes a deep breath. “I have no idea what’s going on, either,” he admits with a little laugh. “But you’re right. I do love spending time with you and my baby boy.”
I nod. “So let’s just keep doing that, okay? No more talk of getting in the way or anything. We’re like…the Three Musketeers.”
He crinkles his nose. “Who are they?”
I snort and drop my head against his neck. God, he smells so sweet. Before I can get carried away, I look back up and smile at him. “I’ll tell you tomorrow. But for now…shall we agree that we’re both going to look after Colby and I get to spoil you both equally. Deal?”
With a big inhale, he grins at me before snapping his fingers. “Deal, Daddy-O.”
I let him go, but as I do, I swat his arse lightly. It takes us both by surprise, and he yelps as he jumps off the floor. “No more crying,” I say firmly. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow. Go back to bed and have sweet dreams, okay?”
His eyes flick over my face for a second. “Yes, Daddy,” he says softly.
