Noah. It’s not a family name. I wonder why Tatiana decided to name him that. Of course, we never got around to discussing baby names. Back then, when I first seduced her and she believed herself in love with me, names for children weren’t exactly at the top of our topic list. We were too busy ripping each other’s clothes off in the few stolen moments we had together to do much talking of any kind.
I drink in my son’s features. Imprinting every detail of his small face in a few seconds in my mind is a sad substitute for seeing a little person grow up over time. “Do you like ice cream?”
Tatiana tightens her hold on him.
He glances at his mother before nodding.
I smile broader, hoping to set him at ease. “What’s your favorite?”
He doesn’t reply, obviously not trusting me. Smart kid.
“Mine is pistachio.” I cut my gaze to Tatiana. “Does your mom still like vanilla?”
She glances away with a pained expression. I used to tease her about that—that she was so vanilla in her sex tastes. I fucking loved that about her. I loved that she was so innocent. So shy. That she’d only been with me. That she was mine to teach. To corrupt. And judging by that look on her face, it hurts her that I remember. Did she think I’d forget one goddamn thing about her?
Noah takes his thumb from his mouth and mumbles shyly, “I like chocolate better.”
“Chocolate, huh?” The urge to hug my child to my chest is so big I have to curl my fingers into my palms to prevent myself from touching him again. “How about Jasper takes you for an ice cream?” I throw a thumb over my shoulder. “Reino over there is my friend. He’ll drive you.” I straighten, take my wallet from my pocket, and remove a twenty. “My treat.”
Noah’s eyes grow round as he looks at the bill I hold out to him.
“Not before dinner.” Tatiana’s husky voice is shaky. “You know the rules, Noah.”
We need to talk, and Noah can’t be here for that conversation, but I get why she doesn’t want to let our son go with a stranger, let alone one who works for me. For all she knows, I could be planning on kidnapping him.
I suppose I am, but I’m taking his mother away with him. I have to be clever about it, though. I’m not going to traumatize my kid.
“How about we all go?” I give Noah the money and put away my wallet. “You can have all the toppings you want.”
He’s not a hundred percent convinced as he looks at the bill he holds between his fingers. As I said, smart kid.
He tears his gaze from the twenty to look at his mother. “But what if I’m not hungry for food after ice cream?”
“Food first.” She takes the money from Noah and shoves it into the welt pocket of my jacket. “Thanks for the ice cream money, but we don’t need it.”
Noah’s face drops, but he doesn’t argue with his mother, who clearly needs every penny she can get. What she means is she doesn’t want my money. Or to go out for ice cream. Naturally, she doesn’t want to go anywhere with me.
“Point taken.” I rub a thumb over my chin as I look her straight in the eyes. “No ice cream before food.” Those pale green pools have always been my undoing. “What’s for dinner?”
Warming up to me a little, Noah speaks before Tatiana can reply. “Chicken nuggets.” He wrinkles his nose. “And carrot sticks.”
I chuckle. “Not a big fan of carrots, are you?”
He shakes his head.
“I’ll let you in on a secret, buddy.” Unable to resist any longer, I brush a hand over his head. “Neither am I.”
From the smile that replaces his frown, that wins me some points. It’s true. I hate carrots. Always have.
Tatiana pulls him next to her, out of my reach. “It’s late. Why don’t you say goodbye to Mr. Morici, Noah? I’m sure he’d like to get home to his dinner too.”
“Mr. Morici is very formal, don’t you think? Dante will do.” I don’t miss a beat. “For now.”
Tatiana swallows at the unspoken innuendo of my words. Yes, I want Noah to call me Daddy, and that’s exactly what he’ll do. However, rushing my agenda will be unwise. The kid doesn’t even know me.
The thought leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I swallow it down. The situation we find ourselves in is only partly Tatiana’s doing. The consequences of what happened five years ago rest squarely on my shoulders. I remind myself of that as I use my thumb to twist the thick gold band with the onyx stone around the ring finger of my right hand.
“How about we give your mom a break from cooking and we all go out for dinner?” I don’t give Tatiana a chance to decline. “You can have ice cream if you eat all your food. I’m sure your mom won’t object to that.”
