I’d spent way too many hours wondering what other colors hid in her underwear drawer.
“There’s nothing missing, silly.” Millie’s voice forced my attention back. “His name is Suga not Sugar.” She rolled her “r” for effect. Not that it helped, I was still as lost as I’d been a few moments ago.
I didn’t think a six-year-old would be able to pick up on my utter confusion. But she did.
“Remember Jimin?” she asked.
“The pancake guy?” I asked, pointing to her plushie.
A little laugh bubbled over her lips, and she hid it behind her hand. “I like Jimin,” she said, still giggling. “And Kate likes Suga.”
That was it. It was all the explanation I was going to get. Which meant I had to do some serious deep diving into the world of K-pop to find out what made this Suga person so special that Kate had his name spread across her chest.
It should be my name.
“Well,” Kate snapped. “You came, you saw, you can go now.”
“Actually.” I moved right into her space. That subtle perfume she favored assaulted my senses in the best damn way possible. “I didnotcome. But, I do see.” Lowering my head, I whispered next to her ear. “And no, I will not go.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. The only evidence that I had some kind of effect on her.
“Fine. You stay,” she hissed. “We’re going. Come on, Bug.”
Taking Millie’s hand, she marched to the elevator.
I was next to them every step of the way. “Where are we going?”
Kate glared. But thankfully her fury hadn’t rubbed off on Millie.
“Sunday lunch at Gram and Gramps’s.” She smiled a wide gap-toothed smile. “You should come. Grams always says there’s enough food to feed an army.”
“Millie,” Kate warned.
Judging by her tone, she didn’t want me there. Which of course made me want to go even more. I just needed to do something I should’ve done earlier.
Putting my hand on Millie’s shoulder, I squeezed gently. “I’m sorry I disappeared yesterday.”
Kate stopped. So did Millie.
Because I wanted to look into her eyes when I spoke again, I crouched in front of her. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, and I promise it’s nothing you did. Sometimes grown-ups do weird things.”
Scrunching up her nose, she stared at me with those big green eyes filled with sadness. I’d never felt like a bigger asshole in my life. And I completely understood where Kate’s fury had come from.
“Can you forgive me, princess?” I put my hand over my heart. “I promise to do better.”
Kate made a strangled noise.
Millie patted my cheek. “It’s okay, Tristan. I understand. Kate says that grown-ups are constipated sometimes.”
I barked out a laugh. “Constipated?”
The poor kid stared at me like she didn’t understand what I found so funny.
“Complicated,” Kate supplied quietly.
“Yes, that one,” Millie said. “Can we go now?”
Clearly, she was done with the conversation and in a hurry to get to Sunday lunch. And although anything family related wasn’t my thing, spending time with Kate and Millie was.
