Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

One of the things I loved about Astoria was how similar it was to New York in that I could walk around and visit shop to shop and restaurant to restaurant.

Of course, that was pretty much where the similarities ended. Astoria was tiny and slumbering compared to New York, but I was also finding that I loved that about it, too. As I was walking down the main street in the village, checking out the shop windows and making note of where things were so I could find them later, I heard someone calling my name.

I stopped and looked around, finally seeing Becca coming toward me. She had a big smile on her face and several shopping bags in each hand. I grinned at her as she approached.

“Hey, Hannah,” she said. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing great. I see you’re doing some shopping.”

She looked down at the bags in her hands. “Maybe just a little bit.”

We both laughed.

“What are you after today?” I asked.

“Just doing some shopping for my little boy. He’s getting so big so fast I feel like I’m always buying him new clothes, and now that he’s walking, I’m constantly getting him new shoes. Not that I’m complaining. I have the best time buying him things and dressing him up.”

“Where is he? I’d love to meet him,” I said.

“Oh, he stayed home with his daddy today. They are having some guys’ time,” she said with a hint of a laugh. “But I’m sure you’ll get a chance to meet him. What are you up to?”

“It’s my day off, so I thought I would look around and try to get my bearings more in the area. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve mainly been going to the bar and to the grocery store, and that’s it. Now I think it’s about time I figure out where I am.”

“Have you had lunch yet?”

“No,” I said.

“Come on,” Becca invited with a big smile. “I’m going to bring you to my very favorite lunch spot. My treat.” We took a few steps, and then she stopped suddenly. “My very favorite lunch spot other than The Hollow. Tyler would kill me if I didn’t specify that. He has worked so hard on the menu.”

I giggled and nodded. “Understood. I won’t let your secret out.”

“Oh, good. Come on. I need to put these down, and I am dying for a big glass of iced tea.”

I grinned as I fell into step beside her and let her lead me down the street. We got to a small hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant, and when we stepped inside, the incredible smell of fresh dough, heavy spices, and rich cheese filled my nose.

It was enough to make my stomach rumble, and I realized it had been hours since breakfast. The cook stepped up to the counter from the open kitchen and waved around the restaurant.

“Have a seat,” he said. “Anywhere you want.”

I followed Becca to the far side of the dining room, and we sat down in a booth. She looked crowded with all the shopping bags in the booth beside her, but her wide smile told me she didn’t mind. A waiter came to the table within seconds of us sitting down, and we ordered drinks.

When the waiter left us with menus, Becca leaned slightly across the table toward me.

“How are you liking Astoria so far?”

“I love it here,” I said. “I feel like I finally found home.”

She smiled and nodded. “It’s a pretty wonderful place.”

“Have you always lived here?”

“I grew up here, but then I left when I went to college. I was away for about five years before I came back,” she said.

“Is that when you met Tyler?”

“No. I’ve known Tyler just about my whole life. His best friend is my brother, Nick,” she said.

My eyes widened. The waiter came by to set our drinks down in front of us and asked if we were ready to order. We made our orders, and when he walked away, I laughed, taking a sip of my water.

“Your brother’s best friend?” I asked. “I bet that went over really well.”

Becca shook her head. “It was quite a mess at first. It didn’t help that I came back here because my engagement ended, so everybody was scrutinizing when I was starting a relationship again.”

“Your engagement ended?” I asked.

I hadn’t talked about the awful relationship issues I left behind in New York to anyone, but it made me feel a little better to hear I wasn’t the only one who found solace in Astoria.

“Oh, yeah,” she said with a laugh. “He all but left me at the altar. It was not pretty. But it got me back here, and I ran into Tyler again. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and it was really good to see him. My parents were way too protective of me and immediately wanted to lock me away in the tower and keep me from ever going out into the world again. Tyler and I got closer and one thing led to another… Anyway, suffice it to say Nick didn’t respond too well at first. He thought it was really weird that his best friend was sleeping with his little sister.”

I laughed. “I can only imagine. Do you have a picture of your little boy?” I asked.

“Of course I do.”

She pulled out her phone and started showing me pictures of the little boy from the time he was born. He was absolutely adorable, and it was clear both his parents along with his grandparents and aunts and uncles doted on him. I found myself wondering what that felt like, to be a part of a family that was so sprawling and yet so close.

I longed for something like that for myself someday, but it felt so far out of my reach I didn’t even know how I would begin to find it.

Even though it was my night off, I decided to go up to the bar that night. It was