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“What do I think? What do I think!” Tom had a flair for the dramatic at times, so I sat back in the dining room chair that gave me a view out to the front yard, the living room where Lila was, and the kitchen. “I fucking love it, Chris! I really love it. It’s modern and timely, and that dude sounds like one scary fucker.” Not that I disliked hearing how brilliant and wonderful I was, but my agent tended to go a little overboard. “Get started right away. Your editor is expecting twenty-five thousand words by the end of next month.”
End of next month? “It’s now near the end of this month,” I reminded him.
“Exactly. Time to get writing and earn that huge advance.” Tom ended the call before I could tell him that I’d more than earned that advance.
Still, his words of encouragement put a smile on my face.
“Why are you smiling, Daddy?”
I looked up and turned to Lila, who was a perfect blend of her parents with her mother’s honey blond hair and my hazel eyes that were more green and gold than brown. “Because I’m happy. Why are you smiling?”
She shrugged. “Because you are.”
That made me laugh. “I’m happy because I figured out what my next series will be. At least I think so.” I hadn’t expected the success that had hit after my third Glockman novel, but it had only grown from there. Now there was a team of people around me who made sure it happened. Every time.
“What is it?” She put her colored pencils down and gave me her full attention, so eager at the thought that I might share this new story with her like I usually did, minus some significant details of course.
“Not yet. I need to sit with it a while,” I told her because there was no way in hell I would tell my little girl anything about matchmakers. Between the single mothers from her school and the trio of matchmakers now in our lives, Lila had been dropping hints about wanting a new mom, even if it was only a stepmom.
“Did I tell you about Steve’s new TV? It’s huge!” Big green eyes grew wide with excitement at the mention of her best friend Brittany’s, new stepdad. “We watched Jurassic Park on it and it was so cool! Brittany was scared later though, and I let her share my sleeping bag.”
“That was nice of you.”
Lila shrugged it off like it was no big deal, and I loved that she was nothing like my ex-wife who only thought about her own wants and needs.
“She’s my best friend,” she said easily. “And she kept talking until I let her share with me.”
Another laugh escaped and I stood. “Hungry?” One of the perks of working from home was that on days like today when the teachers had one of those in-service days, I didn’t have to worry about childcare. I could work from home while I kept an eye on Lila. “We should start thinking about lunch.”
She bounced up from her knees with a smile so wide I could barely see those familiar eyes. “Pizza?” My little girl had a mild addiction to pizza, and she wasn’t ashamed to ask for it at least twice a day.
“Maybe.” No red-blooded American man could resist the pull of pizza, but as a dad it was my job to make sure she ate a few vegetables each day.
“That means no,” she said with an adorable pout.
“No, it means maybe. Have I ever lied to you?” My lips twitched when she tilted her head to the side, to give my question serious thought.
“No.”
“Then why would I start when it comes to pizza?”
A knock sounded at the screen door before she could answer and Oliver’s smiling face appeared. “Did somebody say pizza? I could go for pizza. I’m starving.”
“Uncle Oliver!” I might have felt slighted about her joy at seeing Oliver if I didn’t know it was equal parts affection for the man and double teaming me on pizza for lunch. “You want pizza too, don’t you?”
As soon as Lila flipped the latch he stepped inside and patted his belly. “I always want pizza, little girl. Don’t you know that by now?” Oliver winked and turned his gaze to me. “What’s up, writer boy?”
“Figuring out lunch, which I guess means pizza.”
“Yay!” Lila bounced up and down. “Wait, I need to change first!” Anxious like the young woman she was becoming, too damn soon for my liking.
Pilgrim Pizza House was packed. But I managed to find us a table while Oliver placed our regular order, extra meat, extra veggies and extra cheese, while Lila made her way to the mini arcade in back, armed with ten quarters.
“There’s a twenty minute wait, so I got mozzarella sticks and fried mushrooms to hold us over.”
