Yesterday had been a whirlwind. She had called her job and quit. She had given an excuse of Augie’s distant family needing her to move immediately. She would miss her friends at the bar, but it was time for her to move on.

Her goodbye to Sharon was tearful and heart-wrenching. She didn’t know what she would have done without her support and love. Dixon escorted her and August to Sharon’s house for her goodbye. The look on Sharon’s face when she introduced Dixon as August’s father brought a smile to her face.

“Well, this makes the goodbye a little better knowing that Augie will be with family,” Sharon said with tears flowing down her face.

“This won’t be a forever goodbye,” Deja said through her tears. “We’ll come back and visit, and maybe you can even come and visit us.”

“Take care of Deja and August, young man,” Sharon said to Dixon. “They mean the world to me. I’m not sure where you’ve been this past year, but I’ll let bygones be bygones, if you promise me that you will love and care for them.”

“I promise, I will do my best to care for them,” Dixon assured her friend.

She glanced down at a sleeping August, who had remained bundled up in his blankets. She looked up as a few large men exited the SUVs and approached.

“Alpha, welcome home,” one of the men greeted Dixon as they arrived at the truck. He held the back door open for them. Dixon turned and motioned for her to enter first. She settled into the seat and turned to find a baby carrier already in place next to her. She glanced back at Dixon to find a small smile on his face.

“My mother.” He chuckled as he gently closed the door. She laid August in the carrier and quickly buckled him in as Dixon slid into the passenger seat, while another man got into the driver’s seat.

“Deja, this is Nate. Nate, this is Deja and August.” Dixon made quick introductions. Her and Nate murmured polite greetings to each other as she finished tucking August into the seat. She brushed the blanket from his face to find him looking around the vehicle.

Her body swayed as Nate drove them away from the parked jet. Her hand shook slightly as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Nervous?” Dixon asked, turning to look at her. It amazed her that he could pick up on her feelings the way he did.

“A little. I can’t help but think about meeting your family. What if they don’t like me? I’m not like you. Will they accept Augie? Will they accept me—”

“You’ll be fine. I called my mother last night and told her the news. I still think I lost my hearing in my ear from her scream,” he chuckled.

She settled back in her seat and stared out the window at the scenery passing by. She had never been to this city before, and it was all new to her. She had never been this far away from Colorado. She was a nervous wreck.

Who would have ever imagined that on Christmas Eve, she would pack up her house and decide to move in with the man she’d had a one-night stand with?

She glanced back over at August and got her answer.

A short while later, Nate guided the SUV up a long winding driveway. Deja pressed her nose against the cold glass as a mansion came into view. It was a massive brick and stone home that was bigger than any house she had ever been in.

Nate brought the truck around to the front of the house, stopping in the circular driveway. Deja swallowed hard as she watched the front door open. A handsome man exited and stood on the small porch.

“It’s going to be fine, Deja.” Dixon turned to her. His amber eyes had a way of calming her nerves. She nodded and reached over to unbuckle the sleeping August from his seat. Dixon and Nate exited the truck. She procrastinated a little, trying to ensure that August was bundled up to prevent the chill in the cold air from hitting him. She placed a blanket over his face as she pulled him to her. She braced him against her chest as her door opened.

Dixon smiled at her and held out his hand, and she slipped hers inside of his as he guided her out of the vehicle.

“My stomach just flipped,” she mumbled, pulling August up firmer against her chest. Her eyes took in the other SUVs that followed them from the airport, then looked back at the house.

She was way in over her head.

Dixon said that he was wealthy, but she never realized how wealthy.

By the looks of the property, they were drenched in money. She blew out a deep breath as she thought of the clothes she had on. Jeans and a thick sweater, boots, and a warm winter coat. Nothing as fancy as the woman now standing on the porch.

Her hand gripped Dixon’s as he led her to the people she assumed were his parents. The large man with his arm wrapped around the woman’s shoulders was stoic, while the woman’s face looked concerned.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered, her voice shaking from her nerves. Her first instinct was to bolt and run in the opposite direction, but she didn’t think that would get her anywhere, but it would make her more embarrassed.

“Never.”

“Dixon!” the woman cried out, rushing down the stairs, throwing herself into Dixon’s arms. He released Deja’s hand.

“Mother,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. “I need you to meet someone.”

Deja swallowed hard. She could feel her cheeks warming at the thought of his parents knowing about their one-night stand. She didn’t want to come off as a cheap woman or a slut. As his mother pulled back and focused her amber eyes on Deja, she relaxed. There was no judgment, no animosity or anger. Just curiosity.

“Hello, dear. I’m Amelda Blackburn, Dixon’s mother.” The woman reached out her hand to Deja as Dixon moved to her side. Deja shifted August in her arms and shook the older woman’s hand.

“I’m Deja Scarlett.” August chose that exact moment to release a frustrated grunt and attempted to move the blanket from his face. They all laughed at his series of grunts, followed by sucking noises. Deja smiled down at her child and removed the blanket, just enough to reveal his face, and turned her body toward the woman. Amelda’s eyes melted as she took in her grandson. She gently touched his fist and cooed at him as his identical eyes met hers. “And this is August Dixon Scarlett, who loves sucking on his fist.”

“Scarlett?” The woman’s eyes flashed to Dixon’s.

Embarrassment flooded Deja as she glanced down at the ground.

“I didn’t know Dixon’s last name, ma’am,” she murmured in a low voice. The memory of filling out the forms for August’s birth certificate came to mind. Tears had blurred her vision as she signed it. The father’s name had been left blank, and the word unknown as the default.

“Don’t worry, Mother. It will be remedied,” Dixon assured her. His eyes met Deja’s and she nodded. Even if things between her and Dixon didn’t work out, she would not deny her son in having his father’s name. It was his heritage, and from the way that Dixon spoke, August was his heir.

“Come on in the house so we can get this baby out of the cold.” Amelda waved them toward the house. Dixon reached for her and pulled her to him.

She breathed him in and felt herself calm down. She tightened her grip on August as she was led into the home.

“Everything will be okay.” Dixon’s lips moved against her hair.

She hoped he was right.