Page 68 of After-Hours Heir

He poured his espresso shot into a mug, and then turned to his hot water and added some to the coffee. “The worst part is that I liked them. The worst part is that I knew they weren’t true. Not in any capacity. But still. When I watched them I would almost feel something.”

She was looking at him like he was sad again.

“Let’s watch Christmas movies,” she said. “Because we’re having a family. Because there is nothing stopping us from having beautiful Christmases, Christos. If we both want our family to look different than the ones that raised us, it can.”

“Can it? I’m…me. You love Jones & Abbott, which is fine, but…”

“I’ve already been thinking about that. I love my job. I don’t think being a mother requires that I lose an integral part of myself. I’ll always be a happier person if I’m able to spend time on the things that I’m passionate about. But I don’t need to makethe publisher my child’s life too. And I don’t need for them to be a certain thing, or to be a certain way. And I think the major thing is that over the last few months I’ve realized that when you have a family it brings balance to your life. Because the publisher felt like my baby. It felt like if something happened to it then my life would be over. But now it feels like my life is bigger. That’s only a good thing. I can care about more than one thing. I’ve been working on that, actually.”

“Tell me about that.”

He passed her the coffee he had made. And began to make another.

“Cream?” she asked.

He opened the fridge and took out a carton of half-and-half, then set it on the counter in front of her. She put in a generous amount and handed it back to him.

“I started trying to make more friends at work. I told them the real story of what happened between us.”

“You actually told them about our text relationship?”

“Yes. And the anonymous in-the-dark sex.”

“I’m not sure that I want friends if that’s what it entails.”

She waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I spoke of you in flattering terms.”

“Is it flattering if they’re true?” he asked.

He was not insecure when it came to sex. Especially not the sex between the two of them. It was the only place he was certain he did everything right.

She laughed, while he finished making himself an Americano.

“Let’s go back to bed,” she said.

“Go back to bed?”

“Yes. I think that we should lie in bed and watch Christmas movies today.”

“I don’t do leisure time.”

“I know. But I think you should. We’re having a baby together. We got married. And I don’t think it’s reasonable to think that the two of us aren’t going to have a relationship.”

He realized that what she was saying was true. He just wasn’t entirely certain about what to do with it.

“Agreed.”

“And that means we’re going to have to practice this. Being in a relationship. So that we can practice being a family.”

Family.

Again, it was something that threatened to overtake the frozen feeling in his chest.

“Okay. I will try leisure time.”

Which was exactly what they did. They went back to bed and played Christmas movies back to back. He watched her cry at each and every one.

He couldn’t remember ever being so close to human emotion.