Page 38 of Book Bae

“Yeah. I have a princess to add to my kingdom now.”

She giggled softly. “Yes, you do.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Micaiah, I can’t say that I’m feeling much different. I already knew the answer. My concern was more about how you would take the news.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about where I’m concerned, beautiful. I’m still the same guy that you met. Promise that won’t change. If anything, you’ll see me become more protective. That comes with the territory of having children.”

“I get it. This is a new experience for me, and I know I’ll be protective of her too.”

I didn’t want to tell her that I was just as protective over my daughter’s mother as I was my daughter. She would come to see that in time. Instead, I made plans to have dinner with her so that we could discuss our expectations.

NEXT DAY

I tried to contain my confusion as the car service Micaiah sent for me pulled up to a palatial estate. The home was modern transitional comprised of beautiful river rocks with modern, flat-panel shutters, and a beautiful gabled roof.

Micaiah met me when the car pulled up to the front steps. He opened the door for me and smiled as though he was excited that I was there. I tried to still my racing heart at the sight of his handsome face and his welcoming reaction to seeing me. I didn’t want to allow my mind to travel down roads that might confuse the situation. The man was simply excited about his baby, not me.

“This is a beautiful house, Micaiah. Is it yours?”

“Thanks. Yes, it’s mine. Would you like a tour?”

“I would love a tour,” I stated in a breathy voice as I looked up at the house and then all around me.

“Let’s go.”

He led me inside and showed off his four-bedroom, five-bathroom home. Besides the traditional rooms like a living room, dining room, kitchen, den and office, he also had a library that I didn’t get to see, and a gym. Outside, he had an in-ground pool, a basketball court, both floral and herbal gardens, and a four-car garage. It was seven thousand square feet in total.

I was so confused because now, sexy baby daddy had turned into affluent baby daddy, and though I had wanted to ask where his wealth came from, I didn’t want to be rude.

It was clear he made a nice living, but it couldn’t be on a security guard income alone, unless he owned the firm. Why wouldn’t he have mentioned that, though?

After we finished the tour, he took me to the dining room where he had prepared a feast of Greek slow-roasted lamb with a lemon and olive oil sauce, Greek lemon potatoes, and a horiatiki salata, which was a Greek salad. I devoured the cucumbers, red onions, kalamata olives, tomatoes, and feta cheese.

“The acidity of the salad balances the richness of the meal perfectly. Look at you. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that you were a professional chef.”

He chuckled. “No, I just enjoy nice things, and cooking comes with that. I don’t always want to go to a restaurant, but I want to be able to eat nicely, even if I don’t want to go out. So I’ve learned to cook a thing or two.”

“Well, it’s great, and the Artisan bread is so delicious.”

“Thank you.”

I spooned more of his homemade tzatziki sauce onto the lamb and bit into it. I loved the cool, refreshing blend of the cucumber and Greek yogurt.

“I have to admit, not only am I impressed that you remembered I love Greek food, but I’m more impressed that you cooked it yourself.”

“My mother taught me how to cook when I was younger.”

“She did the thang!”

He chuckled. “I’ll be sure to pass the compliment along.”

I wiped my mouth and tilted my head. “I’ve been trying not to ask this question, but I guess there’s no other way around it. We’ve discussed so many things, including my business, but I have no idea what you do for a living.”

I watched as his face grew slightly taut before he placed his napkin on the table. He clasped his hands together and rested his forearms against the edge of the table.

He sighed. “I’ve got something to tell you, Myraj. I don’t know how you’ll take it, but trust that there’s a good reason that I didn’t tell you in the beginning. I’m in the literary field.”