Those Three Words: A Single Dad, Billionaire Boss Romance(63)

He tosses me on the bed, pinning my arms overhead with one hand as he tickles me with the other.

“Stop! Stop!” I laugh hysterically. “Oh my God, I’m gonna pee!” This doesn’t deter him.

He leans over me, pretending to bite my neck just as Eleanor’s sleepy voice interrupts us.

“Daddy, you’re loud.”

“Oh God.” I pull my hands free from his grip as I scramble to get off the bed. Not that it would make a difference; Eleanor has clearly already seen us.

“Good morning, sweetie. What’s wrong?” Graham stands and walks over to Eleanor. She holds her arms out to him, her favorite bunny in her hand. Graham scoops her up and walks her back toward the bed.

I grab the sheet and pull it tightly around me. “Good morning, Eleanor,” I say, attempting to sound normal.

“You’re out of your room before seven fifteen a.m., sweetie.” Graham settles against the headboard as she curls into his chest, bringing her thumb to her mouth and cuddling her bunny.

“I can’t find Muffin,” she pouts.

“I’m sure she’s exploring somewhere. When did you see her last?” he asks.

“Last night.”

I look over at Graham and nod. “I’ll go check on her,” I say as I try to extract myself from the sheets. My stomach is in knots. Graham doesn’t seem bothered at all that Eleanor just walked in on me in his bed.

I’m about four steps down the hall when I hear Muffin’s bell jingling as she trots up the stairs. I crouch down. “Muffin, psst, psst.”

She runs over to me meowing and I scoop her up, carrying her back toward the room.

“Muffin!” Eleanor squeals, her arms outstretched. I place the kitten in her arms and stand awkwardly by the bed.

Graham eyes me and I avert my gaze, instead grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting on the very edge of the mattress.

“Did you have any dreams? More unicorns?” Graham smooths Eleanor’s hair down as she sits in his lap, completely distracted with Muffin.

“No. But, but Muffin was biting my toes last night.” Eleanor laughs.

“She bit your toes? Was she being mean?”

“No, she was playing, Daddy!”

As nervous as I am for the conversation after this, watching Graham hold Eleanor as they both play with Muffin has my ovaries and my heart about to explode.

“I need to get ready for work, sweetie.”

“Whyyyy?” Eleanor pushes her lip out.

“How about we have a family movie night tonight when I get home?”

“Yay! Movie night!” Eleanor scrambles to her feet and jumps on the bed.

Family movie night?

Graham swings his legs over the edge of the bed and stands in front of me. “That includes you.”

I look up at him, my coffee still in my hands. He smiles at me softly as Eleanor goes back to playing with Muffin.

I watch as his eyes drop to my lips. He leans in, but I turn my head to avoid his kiss. The smile instantly falls from his face. I glance back at Eleanor, hoping he understands, but he doesn’t seem to feel the same.

“Eleanor, sweetheart, take Muffin downstairs and go pick out something to wear. Miss Margot will be down to help you in a bit.”

After she leaves the room, he turns his attention back to me. “Am I allowed to kiss you now?”

Here it comes.

“I wasn’t trying to deny you. I just was taken off guard when Eleanor came into the room.”

“Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want to be a secret?” He takes a sip of his coffee.

“It’s not that.” I sigh. “I don’t want to confuse her. It’s one thing if Phil or Miss Perry knows; it’s another for a child, your child.”

He doesn’t respond, just looks at me.

“Graham, if this is just a fling, that’s okay. But I don’t want to make Eleanor think it’s something it’s not. You said yourself that you didn’t want her confused on who I am, who her mother is… I’m trying to respect that and I care about her and you—deeply.”

I can’t tell if he’s even hearing me and I’m not in the mood to argue.

I stand and put my empty mug back on the tray. “I’m going down to get Eleanor ready for the day. Maybe we should talk later?”

He reaches out and grabs my hand. “I have a work event coming up in a few days. I’d like you to attend with me.”

“Okay, I can do that.” I offer a smile but I’m frustrated. This is the second time I’ve attempted to get him to talk about things with us—or maybe it’s the third, I can’t remember—but he clearly isn’t interested in having the conversation. At least not now.

I know I should just ask him outright, what the hell are we doing, but I’m terrified. I’m scared that the reason he’s avoiding the conversation is because to him, this is all just a fling and if I put him on the spot and demand a straightforward answer, I’ll risk it all falling apart.

He pulls me toward him and kisses me deeply. His tongue snakes into my mouth immediately but just as quickly he ends it and walks toward his bathroom.

I leave his room and head downstairs to get my day started, the lingering question of would I rather lose him and have my answer or would I be okay living in denial floating in my head.