Something like this should scare me.
At least, it should have before Lily.
Now, I couldn’t wait for the time when I could finally make Lily mine legally. I should be scared about where my thoughts were going, but I wasn’t. I was excited. The future didn’t look so empty anymore, filled with nothing but meaningless sex and the lonely existence of bachelorhood.
Now, it was filled with hope and excitement.
I just needed to convince Lily of that first.
“What were you guys talking about? Who’s keeping what from who?” Abby asked, bringing us back to the previous conversation. I groaned and leaned my head back against the chair.
“Nothing,” I answered, at the same time as Ashley said, “Dereck is keeping something from us.”
Abby ignored me and turned to Ashley. I tuned them out and turned back to Nathan while Ashley recounted our conversation. He had only turned seven this year. And it seemed he grew three inches every time I saw him.
Was it normal for kids to grow this fast? I didn’t know. Nathan had found my phone moments before when I was distracted, and he was now playing the only game I had on there. The one I downloaded because he asked me to.
I ran my fingers down his chubby cheek, and he scrunched his face up a little but didn’t say anything. Too engrossed in his game.
And for the first time since I met Lily, I was envisioning a future filled with children and laughter.
I wouldn’t mind bringing an entire soccer team into the world, but I would also be happy with one or two. I would leave that entirely up to her, considering she was the one who had to go through the labor.
I knew from the wistful note in her voice when we talked about careers and family that she wanted children. She just didn’t want them at the expense of her career. And I would make sure it never came to that.
I realized too late that it had gotten too quiet in the room. When I looked back at the women, they were both staring at me, mouths wide open, with a disbelieving look on their faces.
“What?” I asked, a note of unease in my voice.
“You’re seeing someone,” Ashley said.
“When can we meet her?” This came from Abby.
These women were a scary thing when they got together. “How—what makes you think there even is someone?”
Ashley offered a smug smile. “That’s not a denial.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe it. Has it finally happened? Has the great Dereck Anderson finally been brought down to his knees?”
I rolled my eyes at the joy in Abby’s voice. Ashley chimed in, “I told you it was going to happen. Jaxon’s next. I’m sure of it.”
Abby smiled, looking way too hopeful. “You really think so? Bethany would be so happy to hear that.”
“Ladies, can we not discuss other people’s love lives, or lack thereof?”
“But there is a love life happening. Yours,” Ashley said with conviction, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get out of this conversation unless I gave them a name.
They both looked at me expectantly. I let out a tired sigh, and Nathan, probably sensing my exasperation, patted his tiny hand on my chest.
“Her name is Lily,” I finally said.
They exploded at the same time. Nathan jumped from fright in my arms, and I grabbed ahold of him, rubbing his back reassuringly while I glared at the women.
They ignored me and turned to each other, talking over one another. I gave up trying to understand what they were saying, instead turning to Nathan.
“Your mom and Aunt Ashley are crazy, huh, buddy?”
“I know, Uncle Dereck. But Daddy says we still have to love them anyway. Especially when they hang out with Auntie Bethy.”
I laughed at that.
“What’s going on here?” a booming voice called from the door.
“Daddy!” Nathan yelled, jumping out of my arms. I missed his warmth instantly.
I watched as Lucas’s eyes softened as he took in his son, right before lifting him up in his arms and planting a loud kiss on his cheek. Nathan giggled and wiggled closer to him, and my heart ached at the sight, and I realized that wouldn’t have happened had I not been thinking about a future with Lily.
Yeah, I was a goner.
From the moment I had laid eyes on Lily, I knew there was no turning back. I knew she would have me by the balls, and I didn’t mind it one bit.
“Fuck,” I said, the word getting lost in the excited chatter of the women.
9
Dereck
I stood by my desk and mulled over all the reports and contracts our company had been a part of over the last three years.
It was as I had suspected.
Now in our sixth year since we started this business, we hadn’t grown significantly in profits. Our revenues had been growing, but then so had our expenses, which cut into the profits. Which was to say, we weren’t losing money, but we weren’t bringing in a lot of it either.
We were stagnant.
If we wanted to see a significant rise, we needed to bring in more projects, namely more overseas projects.
It had always been the plan to get the business to cross global lines, but we only had the one Oliver Kempton account that could be considered, though he didn’t reside in Paris. Kempton was an American businessman who had been able to do what we hadn’t. He’d brought his business overseas to almost every leading city around the world, including London, Singapore, Tokyo, and even right here in New York.
Especially right here in New York.
I had no doubt the other partners had already seen the problem, and I wondered what plans they had to bring us out of this rut we’d found ourselves in.
I was about to pull my phone
