Page 168 of My Real Love Affair

“You’re actually good with him,” Mina said, watching from the doorway as Conrad crashed his truck into my leg for the fifteenth time.

“I’m just sitting here.”

“You’re engaging with him. Playing. That’s more than good.” She smiled. “You’d make a good father, Austin.”

I almost screamed at the very idea. “I don’t think playing trucks for fifteen minutes means I’m ready to take on the responsibility of raising one of these.”

“Crash!” Conrad yelled, ramming the truck into my shin again.

“Big crash,” I agreed, rubbing my leg. “Very realistic.”

Mina laughed. “Yeah, well, we all learn as we go. Thankfully, the little monsters are pretty resilient.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

When it was time to leave, Conrad threw a fit about me going. He had to be peeled off my leg by Isaac while screaming for me to play.

“Sorry about that,” Isaac said over the wailing.

“It’s okay.” And weirdly, it was. “Thanks for dinner. Tell Mina it was great.”

I walked out with Kent and Sylvie, who had parked near me.

“That was tense with Cash earlier,” Kent said carefully. “Everything okay?”

“Fine. Cash was just being Cash.”

“He means well,” Sylvie offered. “He’s just trying to be the best big brother he can.”

“He’s had more expected of him than the rest of us,” Kent said. “Dad put a lot of pressure on him from a young age. Made him feel responsible for all of us. It’s not an excuse, but it’s context.”

“Yeah, well, he can take his context and stick it up his ass.”

“Austin,” Kent said with a shake of his head. “Give him some grace. He’s trying.”

I snorted. “Not gonna happen.”

“Suit yourself.” Kent unlocked his car. “But for what it’s worth? You were great with the kids tonight. Really great.”

I climbed into my Ferrari. A verynotkid friendly car. I loved my Ferrari. I loved to drive fast. That was not in line with being someone’s father.

Tonight had made me realize something I wasn’t expecting. Maybe I’d been wrong about kids. Maybe the problem wasn’t kids themselves, but the idea of kids in the abstract. The thoughtof being responsible for keeping a completely helpless tiny human alive was terrifying. I’d never even had a pet. Or a plant.

Kids? That was way more than I could handle. I would end up being a shitty father and that seemed like a bigger crime than not wanting them in the first place.

Melody would make a great mother. But was I just supposed to let her take on the full responsibility of raising our kid?

No.

Which was why I had to stick to my guns. I wasn’t daddy material. I could be a fun uncle as long as there was adult supervision. That was the extent of my association with children.

CHAPTER 52

MELODY

My laptop chimed with the incoming video call, and I felt a rush of relief. Finally. I’d been trying to reach my parents since I got back from Tahiti, but they’d been traveling as well. I was going to scold them like they scolded me for not checking in.

Their faces appeared on screen, both squeezed into the frame, and I felt instantly better. My mom’s hair was sun-bleached and wild. My dad’s face was tanned and sporting a few days of stubble. They looked relaxed and happy, exactly how people should look while living in paradise.