I was seriously regretting having pushed Ian so hard for details about Luke’s pregnancy and daughter last night. Not only had I known him way too long to have made such a rookie mistake of underestimating his intelligence, but the man was a fucking lawyer who dealt with custody cases for a living.

Of course that quick mind of his had added two plus two and found that baby made three. Ian had wanted to me to call Luke last night and demand answers, but thankfully Cecil had taken my side.

He’d reminded his husband that Luke was their friend too, and had been their manny for several years. Surely he deserved the benefit of the doubt until all the details were made clear.

Ian had been ready to draw up shared custody papers on the spot, but I’d held him off. I wanted a chance to talk to Luke peacefully, not take his child away. Shit, I wouldn’t even know how to be a parent anyway. I’d be willing to learn, but I would definitely need help with that—help that would hopefully come from Luke.

On the drive here, the two of them had been discussing it again. Cecil had held his ground insisting that we all know Luke is a good guy, and he must have had his reasons for not having told me already that Sam was mine.

Ian had snorted derisively. He’d already made up his opinion as to her parentage after having thought about it overnight. “Now that I know it’s possible? Nobody can deny that she has those Grazer-gray eyes.” Even Cecil had nodded in agreement when Ian had said that.

I couldn’t argue with it because he wasn’t wrong—shit, hadn’t I noticed her eyes myself? But fuck, once we got there and were mingling with all of Ian and Cecil’s friends, I felt awkward as hell.

Poor Luke was acting skittish and guilty, and I knew he’d picked up on the fact that Ian was pissed on my behalf. Cecil had been busy trying to smooth everything over until we could get to the bottom of things. Somehow I needed to get across to my friends that this was between me and Luke—not them.

Despite all of the tension I was feeling, I couldn’t take my eyes off Samantha. She really was the sweetest little thing I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t wait to get to know her better.

Rather than spook her with the presence of a strange adult, I’d been hiding behind my camera all afternoon and snapping a copious amount of pictures to commemorate the day.

Not to mention the fact that I had a lot to make up on in the picture taking department. I had zero doubts that she was mine, it was just a matter of getting Luke to admit it.

When I noticed Luke’s slip off to take a walk, I discreetly rose to follow. I wasn’t quite sneaky enough, since I noticed Tom watching me with a pleased smile.

What the hell was up with that? I shook my head and ignored him. I may have made my living as a detective, but that guys instinctive skills were downright scary—either that or he was fucking psychic.

When I went around the first bend of the path, I found Luke standing near some bushes with a painted egg in his hand just like the ones I’d been finding. He was reading the scroll as I approached.

“Hey, is that another one of those damn eggs? I wish I knew who the hell the artists of those fortune cookie eggs is, because they could make a fortune on those—pun not intended. I’ve got two of my own now, in fact. But seriously. Wouldn’t you think they’d be trying to sell those little masterpieces instead of hiding them around town like this?”

Luke looked up and blushed when he saw me, before he hesitantly spoke. “This is my second egg too. Fortune cookie eggs. That’s funny, because it’s true.”

“Can I see the scroll?” I held out a hand, hoping I wasn’t being intrusive but to curious to care.

Luke nodded jerkily and passed it over. I quirked a brow as I read the latest message out loud.

I looked up at Luke and said the first thing that came to mind. “Fuck that shit. Is one of our friends screwing with us? That bullshit message is a low blow, if those words were indeed meant for you. Although, it’s not bad advice.”

Taking a breath, I spoke a little softer. “You’d be surprised with how far a simple apology could take you, especially if it’s sincerely meant and has a few good reasons to go along with it.”

Luke sighed heavily. “Let’s walk down the path a ways. There’s a bench I like down there that overlooks the pond. We should have some privacy where we can talk.”

I agreed with a half smile and led the way back to the path. We walked along in silence for a ways. Although it was awkward—it was strangely enough, also a little companionable. It somehow felt right to have Luke by my side.

As the bench Luke had mentioned came into sight, I spoke abruptly and addressed the elephant in the room. “Samantha’s my daughter, isn’t she?”

I glanced over at Luke then. My heart broke a little as his lip trembled and he spoke in a hoarse voice. “Yes, she’s yours.”

He wrapped his arms around his waist as he began to speak in a rush. “Please, Grazer... I want you know that I never intended to keep her from you. But I couldn’t reach you when I first found that I was pregnant without telling Ian, and I didn’t want him to be the first to know. I mean, as stupid as that sounds, that’s how all this started. And then, time flew and snowballed... and then she was being born and—here we are.”

At first I thought I was having a stroke went my vision suddenly went blurry, but when I felt the wetness streaked down my cheek, I realized I was fucking crying. Wiping my eyes with the back of my arm, I headed over to the bench and gratefully dropped down on it.

All I could think about now was Samantha and all I’d missed. Her birth… The first days and endless nights of no sleep.... Even the thousands of diapers changes. The first time she’d sat up, crawled, eaten solid food… I thought about all of this and was almost overwhelmed by the sudden sense of loss.

I looked down in surprise when I felt Luke’s hand settle almost hesitantly over mine where it rested on my leg.

“I really am sorry, Grazer. I can’t ever give you this past year back, and I won’t try to excuse myself by reminding you that you clearly told me on our last date that you didn’t ever want kids. That’s not a good enough reason to have kept her from you. I was just… scared. And that was stupid of me.”

After a few moments of silence while I digested his words, I turned my hand over to hold his.

“No, I get it, Luke. And to be fair, I was quite clear that last night in the motel that possibly fertile omegas weren’t my speed. That’s why I told you I’ve always chased silver foxes instead of young pups, right?”

I chuckled awkwardly as my voice trailed off for a moment and I gathered my thoughts while Luke sat there quietly and allowed me the time I needed before I spoke again.

“Let me start by saying, I don’t hate you for this, Luke. I just… Hell. I just regret having missed so many of our daughter’s firsts, you know? And two years ago? I didn’t think I wanted kids. But lately, it’s all I’ve been able to think about. And now to find out that I have a daughter? I’m excited to know that Sammy even exists, let alone to have seen her. And now? Now, I’d just like to get to know her, if I can.”

Luke quickly agreed. “Of course! I mean... I never meant to keep you apart in the first place. Like I said, it just snowballed on me. I want nothing more than to have you in Samantha’s life. Besides, and please don’t quote the Omega Manny as ever having said this—but parenting is hard. And it’s even worse when you’re doing it alone. I’d love nothing more than to have you involved.”

Luke’s head tilted to the side as he considered me for a long moment, his eyes lost in thought before he finally spoke again.

“You know what, Grazer? Let’s start to right this wrong now. You’re staying with Ian and Cecil, right? Why don’t you come stay in my guest room instead? I realize that probably sounds weird, but it’s a good way for you to be around Samantha all the time and get to know her finally—and more importantly, for her to get to know you. I can’t give you back her first year, but I can give you as much time as you want with her from now on.”

He paused for a moment, his hand moving to his heart as his eyes watered. “Just promise me one thing, if you can. Please don’t ever try to take her away from me, Grazer. She’s my entire world.”

I reached over and wiped away the tears that were streaming freely down his cheeks. I smiled gently as I immediately rushed to reassure him.

“I have no desire to do that to you or her, Luke. Shit, I just want to be in her life, you know? Let’s save our talk about co-parenting and all that type of stuff for another time. For now, let’s just work on letting me get to know Sammy, and take it a step at a time. And, yeah. I’m sure our friends will think it’s weird, but if you truly don’t mind me being in your space—I’m going to accept your gracious offer.”