I smile. “That’s right, big guy. And do you remember what I said to you after that?”

He bounces on his feet. “Uh huh. You wuv her.”

I glance up at Devyn and she has tears pooling in her eyes as she silently watches our exchange. “That’s right. I did. So are you okay if I’m your daddy?”

Nate scrunches his little face while contemplating my question. “Can I punch you in the nuts?”

I bark in laughter. “What? No, dude. You can’t punch me in the nuts. You probably shouldn’t do that to anyone.”

“Are you gonna get mad at me like Momma does when I say a bad word?”

I smile. “Probably. So what do you say? Can I be your dad?”

He shrugs. “I guess. As long as you don’t act like a duth-bag.”

“Nathan!” Devyn scolds.

I crack a smile. “I’ll do my best, buddy.”

DEVYN

MONDAY MORNINGS ARE HARD enough but the fact that I can’t stop thinking about Riley is making it worse than usual. I keep flashing back to our little make-out session at the new house and what happened afterwards. I smile when I think about how the whole daddy reveal went with Nathan. I’ve been building it up in my mind for so long I never considered he’d be so nonchalant about it. I know it’s too early to know for sure, but my gut is telling me that he’s going to naturally accept Riley being a part of his life.

There’s a light tap on my cubicle wall. “Hey, Devyn. Do you have a few moments?”

I look up and see Gary Styles, the VP of Creative Marketing. “Sure, Mr. Styles.”

He smiles. “Now, Devyn how many times do I have to tell you? Please, call me Gary.”

I blush. “Sorry, Gary.”

He nods behind him. “Let’s head to the conference room.”

I stand up to follow him. “Sure.”

We walk down the hallway that bisects the art department from the copy department until we reach the glass-enclosed conference room towards the end. Mr. Styles…er, Gary, pulls out a chair for me at the long, rectangular table.

“Please, have a seat.”

I notice that Norah from Human Resources is here as well. What the heck is going on?

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

Gary takes a seat. “Of course. I just wanted a little privacy.” He sees me eyeing Norah and adds, “Norah is here to help make things official.”

I scrunch my brows. “Make what official?”

Gary folds his hands together on the table. “I spoke with the people from Sage Management this morning.”

That’s the account I’ve been working so hard on. Did something go wrong? “And? Did they decide to go with someone else?”

He chuckles. “On the contrary. They’ve agreed to a three-year contract with the possibility of renewal. They were incredibly impressed with your ideas. They said, and I quote, ‘You’d be a moron not to do everything in your power to keep that one happy.’”

“They did?”

He nodded. “Indeed. So…that’s why I’ve invited Norah to this meeting. You’ve been with us for almost three years now and we’ve been nothing but impressed with your work ethic, creativity, and drive. As you know, Rena Schwartz recently moved over to the media department which leaves us with an opening for Creative Director. We’d like to offer that position to you. Should you accept, you’ll take the lead on the Sage account as well as a few other long term clients. You’d have your own office complete with administrative assistant. You will lead the art and copywriting team you work with now and report to me directly. In addition to this, there’s a substantial salary increase. So what do you think? Do you want the job?”

I’m smiling so wide my cheeks hurt. “Of course, sir. I’d be honored.”

He stands and shakes my hand. “Great. I need to head into another meeting so I’ll leave you here with Norah to work out the details. Congratulations, Devyn. You’ve earned it.”

“Thank you so much. You won’t regret it.”

“I have no doubt,” he says as he walks out of the room.

RILEY

I’M WALKING INTO THE production plant for a meeting when my cell phone rings. I duck into a small alcove and pull it out of my jacket pocket. I smile when I see Devyn’s face on the display.

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Hi,” she says excitedly. “I have news. Do you have a few minutes?”

I look at the time. “I have a meeting in about ten minutes so I can spare a few. What’s this news of yours?”

“I got the job!” she squeals. “It’s effective on the first of next month. I can give you the details later but there’s a huge raise, I get an assistant, an office, the whole nine yards. It’s not normal to jump into this position for at least another couple of years but the position opened and they offered it to me anyway!”

“That’s great, baby. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she says. “God, Riley. I can’t believe how perfectly everything is falling into place. It makes me nervous. It almost seems too good to be true.”

“We should celebrate tonight,” I suggest.

“I can’t,” she says. “I’m meeting the guys at Kelly’s for Monday Night Football.”

“So I’ll join you. I should be able to get out of here in time.”

“Really?” she asks.

“Sure. Unless…you don’t want me to?”

“No, of course I want you there,” she insists. “It’s just...well, it would be our first official outing together. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“Did you change your mind? About being all in?” I hold my breath waiting for her reply. Fuck, I don’t know what I’ll do if she says yes.

“No way, Rye. Balls to the friggin’ wall, baby.”

I let out a relieved sigh. “Well, then it’s a date. I’ll see you around five.”

DEVYN

RILEY IS ALREADY AT the table when I walk into the bar. I get a goofy grin on my face when he starts walking towards me with a sexy swagger.

As he reaches me he whispers, “Are we allowed to kiss in front of them?”

I look behind him and see everyone staring at us, not even trying to be discreet. “Sure.”

Riley moves in for a chaste kiss which quickly escalates into something much more appropriate in private.

“Damn it, am I going to have to see this all the time now?” Drew complains.

We break apart and laugh as we take a seat.

Brody takes a sip of beer. “So, what’s the deal? Are you two officially an item now?”

Riley and I look at each other.

“Yep,” Riley replies. “We sure are.”

Brody lifts his beer in toast. “Well, all hail the magic pussy, brother!”

I narrow my eyes at Riley. “I’m sorry, but ‘all hail’ the what?”

Riley looks embarrassed. “Ignore him. He’s an idiot.”

Brody gives Riley the finger. “I’d rather be an idiot than pussy whipped.”

Riley smiles at me. “If that’s what I am, I’m good with that. You’ll see what I mean when it happens to you.”

“Ha! Never going to happen, dude,” Brody says.

I lean in to kiss Riley again. “You’re whipped, huh?”

He smiles. “Abso-fucking-lutely. And proud of it, baby.”

RILEY

AFTER GETTING DEVYN A beer, I clear my throat. “So, Devyn has some exciting news.”

“What’s up, Dee?” Rainey asks.

I swear the smile Devyn gets on her face lights up the room. “It turns out I nailed that account I was telling you about. I got the promotion I wanted!”

A round of whoops and congratulations go around.

“There’s more,” I say. “I bought a house on Mercer Island.”

Drew whistles. “Fancy neighborhood for someone living the bachelor life.”

I raise an eyebrow at Devyn asking for permission to proceed. With her eyes, she gives me the go ahead. “Yeah…about that. I’m not moving in alone. Nathan and Devyn are coming with me.”