Page 132 of My Favorite Boss

He shook his head. “Like I said, an idiot. I was afraid to have kids in case I treated them the way my mother treated me. I held tight to one lesson she drummed into my head. Not to love. Not to rely on someone. Those were the lessons I should have ignored.” He paused, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear in a tender gesture. “You have taught me to love. To be open. I can do better than she can.”

“I know.”

“Tell me how,” he asked, his tone almost pleading.

I cupped his cheek, loving how he leaned into my touch. “You’re a good man, Alex. You’re intelligent and thoughtful. You take care of people around you without even thinking about it. You treat your partners well. You’re a trusted friend. You hide your goodness under a grumpy exterior, to keep people away, but you care about them.” I smiled. “You’re a deeply beloved fiancé. You’ll be a good dad. I know it. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I won’t be like her—I know that now. You would never let me. And I can’t be because, unlike her, I can love. I do love. I love you. I love the nugget.”

“The nugget?”

“The baby.”

“You pick awful names.”

He grinned. “I pick great names. Hedgy, Nugget, and Maggie darling. All excellent choices.”

I shook my head, and he lowered his voice. “I love you.”

“Really?” I whispered. “You’re not just saying that because you feel bad?”

“You want to know a secret, Maggie darling?”

I nodded, the tears beginning to glimmer in my eyes.

“I send you the flowers every week.”

I blinked. “What?”

He picked up a pen and scribbled on a napkin. “It’s not Ty. It's T.Y. Short for thank you.”

I blinked again.

“It wasn’t what I told the kid to write on the card. He shortened it. You were so confused, it made me smile. All your sleuthing trying to figure it out amused me.”

“Why did you send me flowers?”

“At first, because you deserved them. It was only going to be the one time to say thank you. But the way you reacted—as if the flowers were the best gift you had ever received—I had to keep sending them. And the more you meant to me, the bigger the flowers became. You were right from the first run-in, Magnolia. You were, you are, perfect for me. Personally, professionally. In every way. I wanted you to know, yet somehow the mystery made it even better.”

“You acted miffed every time they were delivered.”

“I was a little pissed this Ty person was getting all the credit.”

I laughed. “But he didn’t exist. You just let me think he did.”

“I had to—I didn’t know how to tell you it was me. But I loved seeing your reactions. The way you touched the petals. Took the flowers home.” His lips twitched. “Your concerns about poor Ty and his girlfriend never getting the flowers he sent.” He chuckled. “I was sure you’d figure it out.”

I shook my head. “I wondered at one point, but it was too out of character for you.”

“You are too out of character for me. It’s another reason I love you so much.”

“That is the grandest gesture I’ve ever heard of. A little twisted when I think about it, too. Over the top.”

“I am over the top when it comes to you.”

I sniffled. “So, you’ll stop sending them?”

“Nope. I want to be your secret admirer. I liked the way you would smile when the bouquets arrived. Excited, yet worried. When they were late, you were disappointed. I loved watching your reactions.” He cupped my face. “I love you, Magnolia Myers soon-to-be Bane.”