Page 76 of Finding His Silver Fox Daddy

“Hi, sweet boy.” He leaned in to kiss my temple before pulling away again.

“Hi, Daddy.”

His eyes squeezed shut for a brief moment before he opened them to meet my gaze once more. “I thought I’d never hear those words from you again, Tristan.” He leaned over for the tissue box sitting on the counter by the sink and handed it to me. I cleaned myself up, blowing my nose for good measure, and tossed the used tissues in the trash before turning back to him.

He tucked an errant curl behind my ear with a teary smile. I hadn’t realized he was crying, too, but I could feel his pain like my own, pain I knew he was feeling for me. Our hearts locked into place then, in that moment. And I never wanted to be without him again.

But we had to talk first.

Pushing myself up to a more comfortable position, I leaned my head back against the wall. The movement made me realize this floor was getting hard on my tailbone, and Henry was older than I was. He couldn’t be comfortable.

So I stood and offered him my hand. “Come on, Daddy. I think we have some things to discuss.”

He let me pull him to his feet as he nodded. We quickly took turns washing our hands, then Henry said, “Lead the way, Angel Baby.”

I didn’t take him far, just out into the main space and over to one of the comfortable sofas that made up his theater room. I kept his hand in mine as I pulled him to the cushions, needing to feel him close.

After a few deep breaths, I turned to him. “So it seems we have a lot to talk about.”

He simply nodded, probably sensing I had more I wanted to say. God, a guy who listened was worth his weight in gold.

“Thank you for apologizing earlier. No permanent harm done.” I smiled tentatively. “I need to know one thing, though: Are you going to be helping Carl with things in the future?”

He started shaking his head before I even finished. “No, baby. I didn’t even help him that day. I called and told him I wasn’t going to be at his beck and call anymore. He’s a grown man. I have much better things to do with my time—and much better people to spend that time with. Namely, you.”

We shared a smile before I responded. “Good.” Then my face dropped. “But I want to share a little bit about why I reacted so strongly to that phone call.”

He nodded, face solemn.

I scrubbed a hand through my hair to tame it. “Growing up, my parents ignored me. It was almost like they didn’t want a child, and I was really lonely—I felt unloved and unwanted. And then, when I was in high school, I dated this closeted football player. Such a cliché, I know.” I huffed a humorless laugh. “Long story short, he cheated on me with the head cheerleader, and I only found out after being with him for two years. When I confronted him about it, he seemed shocked that I would even expect monogamy.”

“Oh, Tris,” he breathed.

“Yeah.” I sniffed. “I’m not proud of it, but it crossed my mind that you might be cheating on me with this Carl. I knew that wasn’t true—you would never—but my thoughts started spiraling when I thought that someone I cared about wasn’t choosing me yet again.”

Henry reached for my hands, holding both in his as he very deliberately held my gaze. “Tristan, I need you to know I made the wrong decision that day, even if I didn’t follow through with it. I knew that almost as soon as I agreed to help him. I’m going to work every day to never make that same mistake again. Tris, I choose you. Only you. You’re my priority, now and always.”

I teared up again, welcoming the happy tears for once. “I . . .” I sniffed. “I am?” I sounded like a lost child, but I didn’t care. I was his boy, and if that made me a little childish from time to time, I wasn’t going to fight it. I couldn’t be happier.

He nodded, smiling sweetly at me as he placed his hand on the side of my head. “Of course, baby. You’re everything, my sweet boy. My Angel Baby. My Devil Daddy, too.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and I snorted a laugh.

“Oh my god, Henry,” I gushed, still laughing. “I’d love to show you just how much of a devil I can be someday. Maybe soon.”

His eyes flashed when they met mine, and I cleared my throat before we both went down that thought spiral and got off track.

“Tabling that for later . . .”

He nodded.

“So I guess you’ve figured out I get overwhelmed sometimes. The feelings just get to be too much, and I don’t know how to handle it.”

“I can understand that. Why did you run down here when it happened?”

I sighed. “Because I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

He frowned, tilting his head to one side as he appraised me. “What changed your mind?”

“You did.” I smiled, reaching up to caress his cheek. “You did, Daddy. You showed up for me, showed me you were there for me without bulldozing your way in. You gave me the choice, gave me autonomy while still showing me you cared about me. You were there, and nothing made me want you more.”