AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Morning,” Tommy said, seeing me first as I shuffled into the main living space the next morning.
Wearing only his black sweats, Barry was at the stove. He turned around, his lips curling as he looked at me. His white T-shirt swirled around my upper thighs. I was rumpled from sleep, but the way he looked at me made me feel like I was outfitted like a queen.
“Just woke up, huh?” he said.
I shoved my snarled hair out of my eyes. “What gave me away?” I asked wryly.
“You look a little unsteady.” Tommy hopped up, took me by the arm, and guided me to the table where he’d been sitting. “Dad has that effect on people. He’s a lot.” Tommy glanced at his dad, then back to me. “But he’s a lot good. You get that, right?”
“I do. I love your dad.” I covered my mouth. “Is this okay? I mean, for him to know about us? I’m sorry, I didn’t think. I did just wake up.” After being serenaded, I’d slept so deeply, resting securely in Barry’s arms. “I smelled the coffee and—”
“It’s fine, Addy. You don’t need to apologize. Tommy knows all about us.”
Amusement glittering in his gaze, Barry brought the pan he held to the table, tipping the handle to slide a fried egg onto his son’s plate.
Giving me another scorching look, he asked, “How do you like your eggs?”
“Any way you want to cook them,” I said.
Any way he wanted to give me anything, I would take it. I trusted him. I knew he wanted only the best for me. I’d finally gotten it right with him, and my mission would be to show him in every way possible that he’d gotten it right with me too.
“I usually just have coffee in the morning. Unless I’m doing the cooking.”
“Well, this morning I take care of you, yeah?” Without waiting for an answer, Barry took a mug from the shelf, poured coffee from the carafe into it, and brought it to me.
“Thank you.” I gave him a grateful look. Cupping my hands around the warm mug, I breathed deeply before taking a much-needed sip. “This is good.”
“I hope so.” Barry kissed the top of my head. “I like my coffee strong.”
“I like it strong too. Obviously,” I said as my lips twitched, “since I’m with you.”
“Babe.” He rolled his eyes. “Stop being adorable.”
“I haven’t done anything except roll out of your cozy bed and stumble into your kitchen.”
“That’s all you need to do to be adorable.”
“Okay.” My smile widened. He was my happy. I had to smile with him.
“What’s on your agenda today?” he asked casually as he cracked an egg with one hand.
“Work,” I said in the same tone, though this felt big, eating breakfast with him and his son. Like I was included, like I was part of something, like I belonged. “We had a big rush last night at Footit’s, an unexpected one. I need to go to the store again.”
“Ads I took out are already paying off.”
“What ads?” My eyes rounded.
“Ones for Footit’s. You have a great place there. Music’s top notch.”
“How do you know?” I asked. “You only visited once.”
“Addy.” He gave me a look. “Catch on and stay caught up. I came back to Southside for you. The apartment, the furnishings, making my move, I’ve been planning this reunion with you for a while. Failure wasn’t an option. That meant getting the lay of the land before I moved here since I wanted exactly this. Me, you, my son, us merging our lives together. And Footit’s is a big part of your life.”
“Okay. Wait.” I held up a hand. My life had been slow for so long, and now everything was happening fast. “This is a lot to take in.”
“I’ve been up front with you.” He came to the table, sliding an over-easy egg onto my plate, which was perfect, just what I wanted without me even needing to verbalize.
“You have been,” I said. “It’s just that it’s only now coming together in my mind. The planning that must have been involved, the steps you’ve taken. You’ve already gone through them. I’m just wrapping my head around it all right now.”
