“Thank you for tonight,” I said, fighting an inevitable blush. “It was everything and more.”
His smile was so bright, it nearly outshone the full moon overhead. “I didn’t scare you off, yet?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
“That’s good. It means I still have a chance.”
“A chance?”
“Yeah,” he said, leaning forward to press a kiss to my cheek. “A chance to make you mine.”
grady
. . .
“Charlie,baby, it’s time to eat!” I called, then put my phone away and set our dinners down on the table. I’d spent most of the afternoon staring at the one-sided text thread under Cleo’s name, wondering if I should stop being a chicken shit and text her. Even though I hadn’t checked to see if I was unblocked, I knew Cleo had done it anyway.
My calling her out like that yesterday was a dick move, but it was effective. There was no way she would’ve risked missing an important message for Charlie’s sake. She cared too much about those around her. It was something I admired.
“Is it cheesy mac, daddy?” Charlie asked. She flew into the kitchen like a bat out of hell, nearly knocking the chair over as she jumped into the seat. There was still dirt on her face from camp. She’d been too busy yapping about what happened today to clean up for dinner like I’d asked, but I couldn’t be too mad. Not when she was this happy.
I ruffled her hair as I walked by. “Yeah, but you gotta eat your veggies, too. Thems the rules. You know that.”
I wasn’t the best cook, but I had a few tried-and-true staples up my sleeve. Thankfully, they were all things my daughterwould eat without much fuss, so I didn’t have to worry about messing up anything new.
Charlie’s bottom lip stuck out in the cutest pout. That was one of the hardest parts about being a dad, especially when she learned from an early age how to play me like a goddamn fiddle. “Fine,” she huffed, stabbing at the roasted broccoli like it offended her. “If I finish, can I have more cheesy mac?”
“What’d broccoli do to you?” I asked, unable to stop myself from laughing as she stuffed it into her mouth. There was no way she’d still want seconds after finishing her plate—if she finished it at all. Her eyes were usually ten times bigger than her stomach.
“Keep me from more cheese,” she said with a mouth now stuffed full of chicken.
Guess I couldn’t argue with that logic. “Alright, fine. But let’s see how you feel first. You may be too full.”
She furiously shook her head. “No, Daddy. I’msohungry. I’ll have room.”
The two of us sat in silence for a moment as we tucked into our meals. To Charlie’s credit, she did seem like she was starving. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her devour food so quickly. “They’re feeding you at camp, right?” I asked, raising a brow.
I didn’t mean that literally, of course, but Charlie’s appetite had increased significantly since Monday. Maybe I should pack some extra snacks or something. Was that allowed?
Barbeque sauce and cheese joined the smeared dirt on her cheeks. “Oh yeah. They give us the best sandwiches ever! And Miss Cleo always has cookies for us.” She slumped back in her chair with a dramatic sigh. “I’d do anything for one of them right now.”
Even though I knew it wasn’t just for Charlie’s benefit, somehow the knowledge of Cleo baking cookies for the kids every day made my chest hurt. When that woman put her mind to something, she really gave her all.
“You’d rather have a cookie than my cheesy mac?” I asked, quirking a brow.
I could see the gears turning in my daughter’s mind as she thought about it. “Yeah, I think so.”
My hand landed over my heart. “Ouch. Way to hurt your old man’s feelings.”
Charlie just shrugged. “If you’d had one of these cookies, you’d get it, Daddy. They’re the best in the whole world.”
“But you haven’t tasted every cookie out there,” I countered.
“Don’t have to. I just know,” she said, stuffing her mouth full of the last bit of broccoli. She looked down at her cleared plate. “I think I’m full now. Can I video mommy?”
“Sure, baby.” I fished my phone out of my pocket and held it out for her. The moment I remembered her sticky fingers, though, I held back. “How about you go wash up first? She might not recognize you with all that stuff on your face.”
Charlie blew out a breath. “Fineee,” she said, trudging out of the kitchen to the hallway bathroom.
