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“Well done, Daddy. That was a great try.” She’d patted his face.
His lips twitched. Damn, she was growing up too fast. She skipped in her new shoes and fairy dress and hair-that-was-almost-a-braid to his truck, waiting patiently as he locked up and grabbed the gift that his mom had bought for Delilah’s friend, Lucy, and walked over to help her into the cab.
The party was at one of those trampoline play areas. As soon as they walked in Delilah saw her friends and they squealed, welcoming her into their group as she showed off her new shoes.
He put the gift on the table next to some others and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking around for somewhere to sit.
“Pres,” a voice said. He turned to see Alice. She’d been one of Jade’s friends. They’d been pregnant at the same time and had attended some birthing classes together. He’d known Alice’s husband – her ex-husband now – a little. Enough to have someone to talk to when the girls were babies.
“Hey.” He gave her a smile. “How’s things?”
“Great. Listen, Maisie was asking if Delilah could come back to ours after the party. She could stay over if that works? The two of them haven’t seen each other for so long.”
They were at different schools now. And shamefully he hadn’t kept up the friendship after Jade died.
“I haven’t got her pajamas. Or clothes for tomorrow.”
“You could go home and pack them up,” Alice said hopefully. “I’ll be here to keep an eye on the girls.”
“Let me ask Delilah.”
“Sure.” Alice smiled.
Of course she didn’t need asking twice. By the time the words were out of his mouth, she and Maisie were jumping up and down with excitement. So he went home and packed some clothes and her toiletries, being sure to put Lola in there just in case. And then he drove the twenty minutes back to the trampoline play center, handing the bag over to Alice.
Delilah ran over to him. “Did you pack my unicorn pajamas?” she asked breathlessly. The braid he’d worked so painstakingly on was half undone, and her face was red from all the bouncing.
“Yep. And your favorite dress for tomorrow. And Lola’s in there in case you need her.”
It felt strange saying goodbye to her. But it shouldn’t. She had plenty of sleepovers at his parents’ after all. But this was different. He trusted his mom implicitly. He knew Alice was a good person but…
It was still hard letting go.
Delilah hugged him. “Bye, Daddy,” she said cheerily.
“I can stay until the end of the party,” he told her. “There’s no rush.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t do that. You can go.”
Well okay then. Apparently only one person here was feeling a little sentimental right now. He hugged her back, told her to be good, and then she was running back to the party.
“If there are any problems, call me,” he said to Alice. “I can be there in ten minutes.”
“She’ll be fine. I promise,” Alice told him.
Yeah, she would. He just wasn’t so sure about himself.
When he climbed back into the cab of his truck he let out a long breath. What a couple of fucking days it had been.
He’d spent last night tossing and turning, thinking about Cassie. Thinking about kissing her, about touching her.
Making her come.
It had been a hell of a long time since he’d thought about being inside of a woman. Truth be told, he’d been surprised by how much the softness of her skin turned him on. How the way she sang made his chest ache.
How he wanted to lift her against the bar wall and thrust inside of her until she saw stars.
He dropped his brow to the wheel, letting out a groan. He needed to go home. To get her out of his mind.
