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“What do you mean, another conversation.” I looked from Jake to Noah. “What did he say to you?”
It wasn’t that I felt the need to protect Noah. I just didn’t want to give him any reason to leave. Or at least, anymorereason to leave. For Skylar’s sake, of course.
“Nothing bad, babe.” His eyes sparkled and once again I forgot to tell him to stop calling me babe. “Wanna get out of here?”
That was the question the last time he wanted me to follow him. Or him follow me. Whatever.
I dropped the subject knowing Jake wouldn’t do or say anything that would hurt me. I let out a long breath. “Let’s go and get our daughter.”
7
NOAH
Iwas an operator. A good one at that. Staying cool under pressure was what I did. That’s not to say I was never nervous or scared. I’d just learned to hide it well. And I never let it get the best of me. At least, I used to be.
Despite the fact that I had met Skylar the day before, I was still nervous as hell. The girl I met was precocious and sassy. She had no fear of saying what was on her mind. And I had Everly to thank for that. I was glad my daughter had the confidence to be honest, and stand up for herself. But, hell, if I didn’t find her intimidating.
“What if she doesn’t like me?”
Everly stifled a smile, but her eyes softened as she turned in the passenger’s seat to face me. “From what I understand, you two hit it off during that first water fight, yesterday.”
“Yesterday, we were not father and daughter. I was not a parent.”
Everly nodded as if she understood. “She’s a pre-teen girl. There’s a big chance you’re not going to like her a lot of the time.”
“What?” From the little time I’d spent with her that seemed unlikely. “She’s smart and funny. Why would I not like her?”
She didn’t roll her eyes exactly, but I could feel the condescension in her stare. “She’s nearly thirteen, which means she knows everything. The one thing she is passionate about, she happens to be really good at. That brings with it a certain amount of arrogance. Which can be really annoying when she’s right.”
“Wow. Way to sell it to me.”
“And you’ll put up with it because you get days like yesterday when she is adorable and humble. A good friend and kind to the little ones. There are days when you can see the beautiful woman she’ll become, if you can just get past the moodiness and the tantrums.”
“Tantrums?”
“Oh, not the toddler kind. There’s no kicking and throwing herself on the floor. But there are tears and outbursts about me being the strictest mother in the school. I cannot imagine you’ll have it easier. Something tells me you’ll want to shelter her more than I do.”
“That stands to reason. Of course, we want to shelter her. We’re her parents.” I paused for a moment. Oh, God. I was a parent. If things went as they were supposed to, I was going to be the primary male role figure in her life. As messed up as I was, that couldn’t be good for her. I would need to get to know — wait. There were things I needed to know first.
“Are you seeing someone?” Not once did I take my eyes off the road. I really didn’t want to look at her when I asked that question.
“What?” Her voice had raised an octave. “Why is that relevant?”
“Does Skylar have a male role model in her life?”
“Oh.” Her features relaxed and once again those turquoise eyes softened. “No. In fact, until Cassie met Jake, she didn’t know many men, really.”
“Seriously?” Surely, she had family. “What about your dad? You don’t have siblings.” Surely, there was an uncle in the mix somewhere.
“Mason and Jake are more like uncles than my brothers ever were.” She pointed out the window. “Make a left there. The dance studio is in the gray building on the next corner. As for my dad? I try not to subject her to that unless it is absolutely necessary.”
I pulled into the parking on the side of the building. We were a little early, but Everly still got out of the car.
“Where are you going?”
“She doesn’t know this car.” I was still using Nick’s Escalade. I suppose I needed to get one of my own. And soon. “I want to make sure she sees us.”
I followed her lead and got out, as well. Standing alongside her, I continued our conversation. “What’s wrong with your father?”
