Page 10 of Baby for Stepmom

Delila was quiet as she thought over her options.

My dad micromanaged everything she bought. I walked in on him ranting at her over toothpaste because he’d said the brand she’d gotten was too expensive. There was no way she could buy emergency contraception without my dad finding out.

“You promise that things will go back to normal… as long as your dad takes me on this date?”

I nodded solemnly.

Hell, if my dad suddenly snapped out of it and started treating Delila like the treasure she was, of course I would back off.

But if he didn’t want her… now that I had gotten a taste of my stepmother, I was never going to let her go.

Delila sniffed like she was trying to force herself not to cry, as she nodded in agreement.

“Alright, then. Let’s call my dad, see if he comes.”

My stomach churned as I had to force myself not to think about what would happen if my dad actually came back home.

This woman, who was everything I’d ever wanted… the perfect mother to bear all my children—it felt like all it would take was my father to have one stupid change of heart and that would tear my entire future away.

Well, I gave Delila my word, and I would stick to it.

I padded barefoot over to the dresser, where my stepmother’s phone lay. I pointed the screen of the phone at her face to unlock it and scrolled through her contacts until I got to my father.

I called him, putting my dad on speaker. Holding my breath as it rang once, twice. Three times. Then the call picked up, and the ambient noises of driving filled my parent’s bedroom.

“Ryan?” Delila leaned toward the phone. Despite the slight tremor in her voice, she still sounded hopeful.

Even after all the times my dad had let her down, cancelling date nights at the last minute, Delila still wanted to believe in him.

“What?” my father snapped.

“Are you coming home?” All of her attention was on the phone, as she bit her lip, waiting for his reply.

My dad breathed out an irritated sigh, as if Delila had said something unreasonable. “I got to meet up with a client. It’s going to be another late night for me.”

“But you promised me. You said that you were taking me to that Mediterranean place…”

“I told you I’m working. We’ll go out some other time.”

“Can you just reschedule or something? I really need you tonight,” Delila tried to hold it together, her voice breaking slightly on the last word.

“You are so fucking ungrateful. I am out here busting my ass. Working to give you a good life, and you’re going to complain about it because I can’t take you out for some stupid overpriced salads, or whatever that place was.”

“Ryan… please.”

The phone clicked as my dad hung up.

The silence was heavy. My dad’s rejection landed on my stepmother like a slap.

Soft sniffles finally broke the quiet in the room as the tears Delila tried to hold back finally trickled down her face.

This was exactly why I had to do this. Why I had to save Delila from the man who had never deserved her.

Even if he was my dad… if he couldn’t see what he had, that was his problem. My father had no idea what he had just done. He had no idea how bad he fucked up when he stopped appreciating my stepmother. Because I would never forget how gorgeous she is. I was never going to let Delila go.

Delila—she was as good as mine now.

A notification flashed across the screen on my phone. I grabbed it, smirking when I saw the text came from my dad.