Last Updated:
2024-01-02 16:34:05LUMEN
Part of being in the foster system was dealing withcaseworkers, and while I wasn’t technically working in or for the system, I still sometimes met the social workers when I was around the group home. Josalyn Brodie hadn’t been one of those, so when I stepped into the lobby of the Department of Child and Family Services, I wasn’t sure who I was looking for or where I was going. Fortunately, one caseworker I did know spotted me right away.“Lumen Browne.” Donna Bedford beamed as she came toward me. Her hug was both familiar and welcome, and a single inhalation of apple-scented body wash took me right back to being thirteen when my first caseworker had retired, and I’d been passed off to Donna. Henry had been okay. Donna was better.“Hey, Donna.”“I’ve heard you’ve been working with some of the kids at Brie Richards’ place.”I nodded. “I have. Actually, that’s why I’m here. One of her girls, Solei
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The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty three
ALECWhen Keli and I had set up our custody arrangement, I’d beencertain that the best thing for our daughter would be to have Keli be the primary caregiver and me to be the financial support. I had loved my daughter from the moment I’d learned about her – after I’d gotten over the shock – and I’d honestly believed that was in her best interest to keep her time with me to short periods that I couldn’t fuck up. Since she’d turned out to be such an amazing person, I thought that meant I’d made the right choice, no matter how much I wished I could’ve made a family for her.What I’d never thought of was how much of her life I’d missed.Not the things like her first steps or her first word. Even if Keli and I had been married, I probably would have missed them due to work and seen them on video just as I had, anyway.No, it was the small things I hadn’t even known to miss. Like sitting on the couch while she showed me e
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty four
LUMENJosalyn had given me plenty to think about, and I knew Iwasn’t going to figure it all out at once, so when I got back home, I declined Mai’s offer to watch a movie with her and her boyfriend, saying I’d head to my room after dinner to get ahead on some work. I liked Hob well enough, and Mai was the closest thing to family that I’d ever had, but I wasn’t in the mood for company tonight. I had too much going on in my head.Besides, with Hob’s crazy work schedule, he and Mai didn’t get as much alone time as I knew they both would’ve liked. He was a third-year resident working toward becoming a pediatrician, and just a generally good man. The two of them had been together for a while now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a ring was in the near future.I wished all the best for them. And I wasn’t jealous at all.I allowed myself a small smile as I bid them goodnight and settled in my room. It wasn’t very big,
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty five
ALECFor me, sex had always been an enjoyable way to blow offsteam, a place to be in control, but never an impulse I felt I needed a certain number of times in a specific timeframe. As such, I’d only indulged when the urge struck, and my schedule allowed for it.Then I’d met Lumen.Of all the sexual things I’d done in my life, I’d never had phone sex until last night. In the past, if I’d wanted physical release but hadn’t wanted to bother finding a partner, I would take care of it myself, no one else needed. Last night, however, I’d wanted to talk to Lumen, and it had turned into something sexual.“Get yer head outta yer arse, McCrae,” I muttered to myself as I shook my head.It was the middle of the week, and things had been piling up at work since I’d taken that abrupt leave Monday afternoon. I hadn’t done more than check in yesterday, which meant I’d spent all of this morning simply catching up
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty six
ALECI’d never disliked spending time with my family, but I hadalways felt as if my time and attention would be better used elsewhere. Namely, at work.I’d always known that I would take over MIRI one day, and quite without me realizing it, that had become my identity, even with my family. Instead of shifting that when Evanne was born, I’d worked even harder, seeing the family’s legacy as passing down to her instead of seeing that I could have a different part in that legacy.Becoming a full-time father without warning had shown me things about my life and myself that I wanted to change, namely how I wanted to be involved in Evanne’s life. I hadn’t realized until this week, however, just how much that change would affect my relationships with my family.I hadn’t completely ignored work this week, but I also hadn’t let it consume me either. I’d spent time with Evanne, but also with everyone else too. While I’d enjoyed myself, I’d also finally realized how little I actually knew
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty seven
LUMENThe week had gone faster than I’d anticipated, probablybecause I’d kept myself busy. Now, it was Sunday afternoon, and I felt like I’d accomplished a lot. I’d done some tutoring at the group home, thoroughly cleaned every inch of the apartment, answered phones at Real Life Bodywork for a few hours on Thursday, and gotten so far ahead in my lesson plans that I’d probably regret it if I had to redo more than a couple hours a week.The sense of accomplishment I felt, however, did nothing to alleviate the way my stomach had grown steadily more twisted as time passed without me hearing from Alec. I told myself he was busy, and my head knew that was the most likely explanation for his silence, but the part of me that had never completely healed from my parents’ abandonment could be obnoxiously loud at times.I wouldn’t have to wait much longer for answers. I’d be back in the classroom tomorrow, and Evanne would most li
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty eight
LUMENGoing back to school was easier than I’d thought it would be,and I knew part of that was because I no longer had all those worries and questions about Alec clouding my mind. He hadn’t explained, exactly, why he hadn’t gotten back to me, but we hadn’t exactly spent much time talking either. In fact, in the three hours we’d spent together yesterday afternoon, we’d had enough sex to leave my entire body sore today.I smiled as I made my way back to my classroom after our short teachers’ meeting. It hadn’t taken long for us to confirm that we were okay and Principal McKenna to tell us that we should determine what and how much our students needed to know. After that, it was business as usual.I was still straightening out my rows when I heard someone at the door. My smile faded as I saw a familiar but unwelcome face.“Vice Principal Harvey.”“Lumen.” He smiled that smarmy smile that made my skin crawl. “I t
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law fifty nine
ALECI’d never anticipated the end of the week as much as I hadthese past few days. Work hadn’t suffered as much as I’d feared it would, and if I had allowed others to take over more, I would have had even less to do. Delegating more wasn’t something I would have ever considered before, but having Evanne living with me had changed things already. Lumen becoming a part of my life had begun to alter my world view even more so.The moment Evanne had begged me to let her spend a few hours with Keli the Sunday afternoon after we returned from San Ramon, I’d immediately known what I wanted to do with those newly freed hours. After the week I’d had, I was glad I’d taken the opportunity. Between work and Keli’s unexpected presence, I’d barely had time for a few short phone calls to Lumen, and none of them had done a thing to give me even the slightest relief.Also nagging at the back of my mind all week was the fact that Ke
The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law sixy
LUMENSomething had been off with Alec since we’d gotten to therestaurant. He wasn’t being rude or anything, but he seemed annoyed for some reason. Not so much that Mai or Hob noticed, but either he was getting worse at hiding what he felt, or I was getting better at reading him. Maybe a little of both.The food and service were excellent. I only had a single glass of wine, but that had more to do with my lack of fondness for wine than it did about the quality. At least, I assumed it did. The others didn’t complain about it, anyway.Mai was brilliant, and once I admitted that to her, I was going to owe her big time. She asked questions, told stories, basically filled the silence when it threatened to become awkward. Instead of focusing on things she wanted to know about Alec, she talked about her own life, posed questions to Hob and me, tried to keep the conversation all inclusive. It seemed to be working too.
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- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
183
EOINI’D JUST BEEN READY TO CALL ALINE WHEN A TEXT CAME THROUGHthat she was coming back and we needed to talk. I went back and forth between anxiety and relief while I waited for her. We couldn’t keep doing this.Our lives were linked, and we didn’t have the luxury of waiting until we had our shit figured out before deciding to start a family. The baby was on the way, and no matter what she and I disagreed about, I had no doubt that we were on the same page when it came to being the best parents we could be. To do that, we needed to work this out sooner rather than later.Since I didn’t know if Aline had her key, I unlocked the door and then spent the next fifteen minutes or so pacing from one end of the living room to the other and back again.When she came in, I wanted to just blurt out an apology and explanation, but I also didn’t want to come on too strong. How the fuck did people do this? How did they know what to say or how to say it? I didn’t know the ans
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EOINTHE MOMENT THE WORDS CAME OUT OF ALINE’S MOUTH, I COULD SEEthat she wanted to take them back. Not because she regretted accepting my proposal or didn’t want to live with me, but because blurting it out like that had been like dropping a bomb.Now, we were just waiting for it to explode. I could read it on their faces. I read it on her face too. She realized the impact of what she’d done.And then Freedom turned on me, her expression furious.“What the hell did you do?!” She pointed at me, her clear blue eyes flashing. “How dare you take advantage of her when she was upset! Out on her own for the first time and vulner–”“We’re engaged,” Aline cut her off, clearly deciding to get it all out now that things were in motion for a confrontation. “And I’m pregnant.”Freedom’s jaw dropped, and her face went white. Aline’s jaw tightened. “So, back off.”“What?”The word came out as a whisper, confirming for me that Aline had never spoken to Freedom that way before.“Eoin is m
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
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EOINIF I DIDN’T QUIT SNEAKING LOOKS AT ALINE, SHE WAS GOING TO CATCHme and want to know what the hell I was doing. Then I’d be put in the very awkward position of either lying to her and her figuring it out or telling the truth and pissing her off. Neither scenario ended well for me.She’d agreed to tell my parents about our engagement and the baby, and I was going with her tomorrow to spend Christmas Day with her family. Both of those were things that I wanted, but I kept feeling like some other shoe was going to drop and ruin it. That she’d suddenly recognize the fact that she could do so much better than me and decide that, while she might want the baby, she didn’t want me along with it. Or she’d think about how pissed Freedom was going to be when she saw me and realize I wasn’t worth the headache.Death wasn’t the only thing that could take someone away.So, I kept watching her, paying close attention to every expression, to every shift in body language.I’d been worried at Marti
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
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EOINTHE SCENT OF PEACHES WOKE ME UP, AND IT TOOK A MOMENT FOR MEto remember why my bed smelled like fruit. Aline. My eyes opened, my need to reassure myself that she really was here greater than me wanting to sleep a little longer. Once I saw her, I couldn’t look away.We were both on our sides, her back to my front. Her body was curled up, making her look even smaller than she was, and a surge of protectiveness went through me. I slid my hand from her hip to her stomach, wondering when I’d be able to feel the changes to her body, when the baby would start to move, how big it was right now.Was it a boy or girl? Would Aline want to know before or have it be a surprise? When would we be able to tell?I had a lot of research to do, I realized. I wanted to do this right, and that meant not leaving everything up to Aline. Some of the questions colliding together in my brain were the kind that she and I could talk about. I could find the answers for all the others myself. S
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
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EOINI PUT MY PHONE DOWN ON THE COUNTER AND GOT A BEER FROM THEfridge. If I wasn’t driving anywhere tonight, I didn’t need to worry about how much I drank. If I couldn’t be with Aline, taking care of her, getting a little drunk sounded like a good idea. Not so much that I’d be hung over tomorrow, but enough to take the edge off.It was a hell of an edge. Pregnant.I was going to be a father.Maybe. Aline could decide to terminate the pregnancy, but after how her parents had struggled to have kids, I didn’t think that was going to be the route she took. If she did, I’d be there with her, but even as shell-shocked as I was right now, I was hoping she’d have the baby.My baby. Fuck.I needed to sit down, but the few chairs I had were covered with shit from my storage unit. The floor would have to do. I leaned back against my refrigerator and took a long drink.I’d never really thought about being a father. My parents never pressured any of us kids about giving them
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
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EOINI DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY ALINE WOULD – AGAIN – THINK I DIDN’Twant her. I knew her family was really overprotective of her, but I couldn’t imagine that translating into any type of emotional abuse. She was a certified genius and one of the most selfless people I’d ever met. And she was gorgeous. The fact that she’d been a virgin – barely even kissed if Freedom had been right about that too – confused the shit out of me because she had to have had guys all over her.Just the thought of any other man near her made my arms tighten around her. I still had my hand in her pants, could hear her ragged breathing slow and even out…and I was jealous of men I didn’t even know, men who might not even exist.Men I didn’t want to exist.I wanted to be it for her. The only man who’d ever know what she looked like when she came.Shit.The thought should have terrified me, but it didn’t. Even though I was painfully hard, I was content to stand here, holding her, rubbing her back with my free hand.
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
177
ALINEEOIN’S PLACE WAS GORGEOUS. AND HUGE. NOT AT ALL WHAT I’D BEENexpecting, even after he’d told me that he’d leased a condo rather than an apartment. I’d already known that he’d come from a wealthy family, so it wasn’t the cost of a place like this that surprised me. It was more that this didn’t seem like the sort of place that a single, not-quite-thirty, former military man would live. This was more of a…family home.A beautiful one, but I was starting to feel like seeing all of it, being here with him while such a large question was looming over us, was untethering me from reality. I had experienced this strange disconnect only a few times in my life, most of them recently.“Hey.” His hands were on either side of my face, his skin hot against my cheeks. “It’s okay.”I looked up at him, and then his mouth was on mine, firm pressure without being aggressive, and the contact sent a wave of warmth washing over me, pushing away thoughts of anything else.This man could distract
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
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EOINMY BROTHER, ROME, HAD OUTDONE HIMSELF WITH THIS CONDO, ANDI’d made a point of telling him that when he’d met me there before I’d gone to pick up Aline this morning. I hadn’t, however, told him about what was going on.I wanted her to meet my family. I knew that by now, but I didn’t want it to happen with a question mark over our heads. So, until we got those test results, only Alec knew that this was a possibility. No matter what happened, though, I wanted her to see my new place because, at some point, I planned for it to be our place.Some of my tension had left when Aline had told me that she was okay and that the IUD debacle hadn’t been my fault, but it’d been such a small bit that as we moved into Playa Vista, my stomach was one giant knot of nerves. Most of it was because we still didn’t know for certain whether or not she was pregnant, but there was still a part of it that had to do with how she felt about my new home. I wanted her to love it.I took her hand as we w
- The Billionaire Impotent son-in-law
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ALINEI DIDN’T KNOW IF I’D THROWN UP FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO BECAUSE Ihad morning sickness or if it’d been nerves, but either way, it hadn’t been pleasant. I’d been able to force down some crackers, and they’d helped with my upset stomach, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to completely quell my anxiety until I had the results of the blood test. Even if I was pregnant, the waiting was far worse than either answer would be.Eoin seemed to share my sentiments as he arrived nearly twenty minutes early, and apart from the drive, hadn’t been able to sit still. Even in the car, he’d been moving, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel or on his leg, flipping through radio stations, that sort of thing.The latter would have annoyed me normally, but nothing about this situation was normal. And if I were to be entirely honest, I didn’t mind the radio being on because neither of us had said more than a few words, and I preferred the background noise that prevented a total awkward silence betw
