My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 184

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Chapter 184

“I understand.” His voice was very quiet. “Emma, what are you asking?”

“I’m asking if you want this. Really want this.” I met his eyes directly. “Not obligation. Not debt. Not political alliance. Do you want to be Uncle Cas to another child? To start over with midnight feedings and teething and all the exhausting, wonderful, terrifying parts of watching a baby grow up?”

He went very still. The vampire stillness that meant something significant was happening internally.

“Because it’s okay if you don’t,” I continued quickly. “If Grace is enough. If adding another child to your family feels like too much or changes the dynamic in ways you don’t want. I need to know now. Before this baby is born. Before they start forming attachments. I need-” My voice cracked. “I need to know if you’re in this. Completely For both children.”

“Emma.” He moved closer, stopping just short of touching. “Emma, look at me.”

I did. Looked into eyes that had seen eleven centuries of history and somehow still held genuine emotion when they looked at

1. me.

“I held Grace when she was one day old,” he said quietly. “She was so small. So fragile. And I was terrified I would fail her the way I failed my daughter centuries ago. That fear hasn’t gone away. It’s just–evolved. Become part of how I love her. Carefully. Protectively. Completely.”

“Cas-”

“That same terror I feel thinking about this new baby. About being Uncle Cas to another child who didn’t choose the but will be told I’m family. About failing again. About-” He stopped. “About how much it will hurt if something happens to thern. If I can’t protect them. If eleven centuries of experience somehow isn’t enough to keep them safe.”

“That’s parenthood,” I said through tears. “That terror. That love that’s so big it’s frightening. That’s what it feels like.”

“Then yes.” His voice was rough. Raw in ways I’d never heard from him. “Yes, I want this. Want to be Uncle Cas to both children. Want to learn about whatever this baby y decides is important the way I learned about Grace’s horses. Want to-” He stopped. Then smiled. Actually smiled, the real one that made his eyes crinkle. “Want to sit on living room floors and have parliamentary discussions about things that matter to a child’s worldview.”

The smile broke something in me. The last of my fear, maybe. Or the containment around the joy I’d been holding back.

I closed the distance between us and hugged him–this ancient vampire who’d become family, who was choosing to be family again, who looked at my pregnancy announcement and smiled like it was the best news he’d received in centuries.

He held me carefully. The same way he held Grace–with the particular reverence of someone who understood exactly how fragile family was. How easily it could be lost. How precious every moment was.

“Thank you,” I whispered against his shoulder. “For choosing us. Both of them.”

“Thank you for letting me.” His voice was quiet. “Emma, I’ve lived for eleven centuries. I’ve seen empires rise and fall. I’ve accumulated power and influence and resources that most creatures can’t imagine. And nothing–nothing–has mattered as much as being Uncle Cas. As being part of this family you and Jeremy built.”

I pulled back to look at his face. “Grace wants to tell Aldric. She says he’s part of our correspondence now so he should know about family news.”

He laughed surprised, genuine. “She’s not wrong. He sent her a two–page letter about her horse names. By vampire diplomatic standards, that’s practically an engagement announcement.”

“Should we let her tell him?”

“Absolutely. Aldric needs to know that his careful reconsideration of eleven centuries of positions just got more complicated.” He paused. “Because this baby–they’re going to be even more evidence that integration works. That families like ours aren’t

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