Filed to story: Finding the Secret Daddy for My Baby Novel >>
Elliot stroked Jared’s hair with a grin. “I can entertain myself.”
Meanwhile, Anastasia began to busy herself in the kitchen. Since she had spent so many years cooking for her son, she had completely mastered her way around the kitchen. Moreover, to cater to her son’s taste, she had even spent many years looking up recipes and studying the concept of heat distribution. That meant she was quite adept at home cooking.
Since the pork was for herself, she added more spice and seasonings; for her son, she made do with some vegetables on top of the steamed egg custard with shrimp. Both dishes would be enough for him.
As she entered and exited the kitchen on occasion, she would see Elliot watching television with her son at one point and playing with Jared in his room at another. It was turning out not to be an entirely bad thing to have Elliot in her home. At the very least, he could keep her son company.
Sometimes, what Anastasia feared most was that she and her son had lacked a man’s influence in their lives.
Now that Elliot was there to accompany Jared, she found that it was a good thing.
Dinner was finally served and she knocked on her son’s door after untying her apron. “Time for dinner.”
It didn’t take long for Jared to come sprinting out and exclaim upon seeing the food on the table, “It’s all of my favorite dishes!”
At this point, Elliot also took a seat. Jared had loved egg custard so much that he was digging into it with great gusto, which left Elliot unable to resist the adorable sight of the little boy eating so earnestly.
Now, he had also discovered that Anastasia was excellent at cooking. The pork that she prepared was just soft enough; it was fatty but not greasy and although it was a tad bit too spicy for him, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t take one bite after another.
It was incredibly appetizing. Although Anastasia had prepared some rice to go with the pork, she didn’t eat much as she was afraid of gaining weight. Instead, she slowly and patiently chewed before swallowing her share. On the other hand, although Elliot was equally elegant, he kept heading into the kitchen for more servings of rice.
As Anastasia watched more of the pork disappear, she couldn’t help feeling a sense of accomplishment
“Mr. Presgrave, is the food that my mommy prepared delicious?” Jared asked inquisitively.
“It is. It’s exceptional,” Elliot couldn’t help praising and even glanced at Anastasia.
With a light cough, she advised, “You should have more if you like it.”
“You have no more rice left,” he grumbled.
A speechless Anastasia stared at him. Just how many servings of rice have you eaten?
“Um… I’ll make more rice in the future. I miscalculated today,” she answered awkwardly.
At this moment, he placed his cutlery down and let out a burp, which nearly caused her to burst out laughing. How could he imply he hadn’t had enough when he was so full that he was burping?
He had even covered his mouth before walking over to a glass that he spied on the shelf next to it before immediately drinking the water inside,
“That’s mine!” Anastasia exclaimed immediately.
“I don’t have any problem with that.” Elliot gave a cheeky smile as he drank.
“But I do!” she exclaimed with annoyance.
His grin turned even more roguish. “Well, that makes me want to drink from it even more.”
Anastasia was once again rendered speechless. In her heart, she had made up her mind to grab him some daily necessities, such as glasses, if he would be eating at her place for the next year too.
After that, Anastasia got up to tidy the table. As she was washing the dishes, Jared shouted from the door, “I’m going for a stroll with Mr. Presgrave, Mommy! Will you come down later?”
Turning her head, she shouted in response, “Sure! You guys go ahead!”
Jared happily went downstairs for a stroll with his hand in Elliot’s. This was the first time where Anastasia felt safe about handing her son over to a man who wasn’t Francis or Nigel.
In truth, she was somewhat surprised at herself. When had she assimilated this man into her life so seamlessly?
Ah! Sure enough, some things couldn’t be stopped. Even as she was saying that she would never have any kind of a relationship with him, their lives had entangled together without her even realizing it.
After Anastasia had finished tidying up the kitchen, she took the trash out and went downstairs, The greenery and facilities in her neighborhood were excellent, which encouraged many parents
and children to stroll about in the evenings. After tossing the trash into the garbage bin, she went to look for Elliot and her son.
The lights in this neighborhood weren’t exceptionally bright, but they were instead dim enough to create a stylish contrast against the greenery.
As she carefully studied the surroundings of the lazy chair, she suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the fitness area. Even though it was somewhat far away, she could tell that it was the sound of Jared’s laughter.
However, her heart stopped. It had been a long time since she heard her son laughing so happily. She immediately turned around only to see beneath the lamplight that Elliot was with her son at the monkey bars. The little boy was holding onto a bar and dangling in mid-air, and although Elliot had released his grip, he was still standing protectively by Jared’s side.
When Jared’s arms grew weak and he was about to fall, Elliot caught hold of him, which caused the little boy to laugh raucously again. “More, Mr. Presgrave!”
Standing not far away, Anastasia watched without going over to disturb them. In truth, the scene where Elliot and Jared played together had indeed reminded her of a father and son.
Her son looked very much like Elliot.
When he saw Jared’s insistence on staying at the monkey bars, Elliot patiently accompanied him and sometimes even softly laughed.
Elliot looked tall and straight as he stood underneath the lamplight with Jared. His sleeves were rolled up and exposed his muscular arms while his pants illustrated the strong, firm lines of his hips and legs. There was something mesmerizing about him.
Anastasia couldn’t help stealing a few looks before she finally decided that it was late and they shouldn’t take any more of Elliot’s time. So, she called out as she went toward her sweaty son, “Let’s go home, Jared!”
“I still want to play, Mommy.” Jared was hooked, for he rarely had the opportunity to do something so strenuous.
“Mr. Presgrave is extremely busy. Let’s not take up any more of his time, okay?” Anastasia advised Jared.