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9
Smokey – Three Months Later
I sigh as I sign the last delivery form before handing it to the driver and returning inside. Snake was supposed to be here this morning, but something came up with his girl, Sarah, whom he had fallen madly in love with. She'd been keeping him at arm's length; her fifteen-year-old sister Mary is currently staying at the hospital. She had leukemia as a kid, but it's unfortunately returned, and the doctors don't think she'll survive.
It's fucking heartbreaking to watch, and I can understand her being a little distant from him. Snake asked if I could take over, and I don't mind; it keeps me busy.
Shaking my head, I grab the keg and take it behind the bar, hooking it up so it’s ready for opening, before grabbing the crate of bottles to restock the bar, then I take the rest downstairs for storage. Livvy is on my mind as usual. She's still with dipshit Harris. I haven't seen them out and about since that evening at the restaurant—the same day she went back to ignoring me, only allowing Phil to drop April off to me. It’s fucking frustrating me to no end.
Phil stated that she is apparently still with the idiot, but he hasn't seen them together much. The few times he did was when Harris showed up at her mom's door, and Phil was there. He never stays, and she always goes outside to speak to him, but never for long.
I miss her. I miss her warm hugs and gentle kisses. I miss how she'd smile at me like I'd hung the moon, and how her arms always held me around my waist so she could put her ear over my heart.
"I just like hearing it beat; it soothes me."
That's what she confessed one evening after I questioned her about it.
She made my fucking heart race with her words, making me realize for the first time that she was in love with me, but she hadn't picked up on her own feelings yet.
I just fucking miss her.
Seeing April a few times a week helps; she's the spitting image of her momma. She's stopped calling me Daddy Two; I'm now just Daddy. According to Phil, she started to call him Papa. I asked him why, but he just shrugged. He said he liked it because it meant his husband would be “Dad”, if he ever got married.
He said his daughter would have three different kinds of fathers, making her a special little girl.
He's right, though; she is special, and being called Daddy is a fucking honor, one I plan to hold onto—if only I can get her mother on board.
I know she misses me, too. Some days, her mom, Hallie, will pick April up from the club and mention that she'd seen Livvy looking at our pictures. She and my momma have tried to come up with some ideas to convince her to try again with me, but so far, they've got fuck all.
Useless, the pair of them.
"You doing ok, son?"
I look up from putting the bottles away in the fridge to see my dad leaning against the bar, his blue eyes looking at me with concern, and I shrug, murmuring, “I guess."
He hums, raising a brow, stating, "No, you're not."
I snort, placing my hands on my hips. "I can understand that I hurt her. I didn't trust her, I humiliated her in front of the club, and I scared April, which, to this day, I'm still beating myself up over. I know I should have had a rational conversation with her. I know this…."
My dad butts in, "It's no excuse, but you had just realized how much you loved her because of how much that photo hurt you."
I nod and rasp, "I was hurt. I was broken. I was fucking scared of the feeling consuming me." I shake my head. "Fuck, Dad, I felt like someone had torn my heart out right there, and it fucking scared me to realize how much a hold her and Little Red had on me."
He nods, sighing, "She's your one, son."
I chuckle darkly. "And yet she's not giving me a chance." I hold my arms out, then drop them down to my sides. "Why? Why won't she? Haven't I proven myself these past few years? I mean, fuck, I've gotten the brothers to purchase a building near here just so she can open her dream bakery."
I shake my head. The brothers bought the bakery a year ago when Phil let slip that she'd dreamed of opening her own little bakery, calling it April's Cakes. Once he let the cat out of the bag, he mentioned she’s saving as much as possible for it, hating being taken advantage of at Baked Goods. The place is currently being remodeled, costing us a fortune, but in the end, while Livvy will own the bakery, the club will get ten percent of the profits.
My dad sighs. "I don't know why she won't forgive, son. It could be for several reasons. It could be how you treated her, it could be how hostile the club was toward her, heck, it could be because you had forgotten to tell her you’d been married before." I wince at that one because, yeah, that one was a major fuck up. Hallie had spent nearly an hour screaming at me because Livvy thought I was still married. Momma felt worse because she was the one who had called Kallie her daughter-in-law.
My dad shakes his head. "I don't know why, son, but all you can do is keep persevering with her, and hopefully, she'll open her eyes and see how much you love her…."
I cut in, "But?"
He smiles a little. "But…. Something else has happened for her to cut you off this way. I see the look in her eyes when you're mentioned. The heartache, the love. I don't know what, nor does Phil or her mom, but something is holding her back, and it’s not that fucker she’s supposedly dating."
I sigh but nod. The thought has crossed my mind, wondering if someone’s in her ear.
