“But we won’t get to say goodbye.” Hannah’s eyes shimmered.
“There’ll be so many people.” Moisture misted over Bethany’s gaze.
I opened my mouth, but I didn’t know what to say. A quick goodbye seemed so paltry when I’d barely seen them for the last two weeks. “I’ll make sure to?—”
“Stay for dinner!” Bethany grinned and clapped her hands together. “Can you?”
“Yeah!” Hannah jumped up and down, her ponytail swinging. “We can have a sleepover.”
Shock stopped my heart. Sleepover? I’d had two of them so far with the Kinkades. Her suggestion shouldn’t be so startling. After talking with my sisters, I wasn’t sure if I should give Rhys space that could stretch into forever or try to worm my way into his life somehow. But to do that, I’d have to decide what I could give up.
“Can we, Dad?” Bethany pleaded.
I held my breath as I met Rhys’s poleaxed stare.
“A sleepover,” he uttered.
The adult thing to do would be to say no. There was too much baggage between us for platonic dinners and sleepovers, but the night wasn’t about us. The girls weren’t ready to say good night, and after today, the thought of a quick and crowded goodbye at the fundraiser was lackluster at best.
The fundraiser Rhys wasn’t going to.
The girls continued their begging while Rhys’s expression grew more neutral.
He folded his arms like he was fortifying himself for an argument. “I don’t think...”
Determination lined my spine. His kids wanted more time with me, and I enjoyed being with them. I needed more time with Rhys to figure out how I felt about getting through to him. I had to know if it was possible, and perhaps it was best to have more time with him, but above that, if this was the end of us, I didn’t want a rushed and crowded goodbye with Bethany and Hannah. “It’d be for the girls.”
His brow furrowed and suspicion grew in his eyes.He had every right to say no. My heart was on the line, and his was too. But neither of us wanted to drag two little girls into the mess we’d made of our nonrelationship.
“I’ll pull out some hamburgers,” he finally said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Rhys
The girls were asleep. They hadn’t wanted to miss time with June, so they’d camped out at the base of the couch. They were making June sleep on the actual couch since she was the guest.
After dinner, they had asked her to do their hair. My future might be filled with hair dye. They’d told June she should try orange next since she hadn’t done that color yet. Bethany wanted blue and Hannah planned for every color a girl could dream of in her hair.
I should’ve hidden in the bedroom hours ago, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to leave the party. I’d made myself useful. If they mentioned popcorn, I made some. If they wanted homemade Eggos, I made waffles and put them in the fridge. If they were thirsty, I ran them drinks. Now the girls’ mouths hung slack and they were sprawled over the floor, pillows piled around and underthem.
June had crunched herself in the corner of the couch opposite me.
“Thank you,” I said. The kids didn’t stir at my voice.
“You’re welcome. I haven’t had fun like this since my sisters and I camped in our living room.” She ran a hand through her “styled” hair. The girls had each done a braid, then changed their minds and tried to curl June’s hair in ringlets. June’s hair stuck out of her braid like she’d been in a windstorm and the curls had frizzed. She was beautiful. And the way she’d complimented their efforts left me speechless. Bethany and Hannah had soaked it up like rainwater.
They were missing this kind of interaction with their mom. It was June who gave them the attention they craved.
June peered at me out of the corner of her eye. The princess movie the girls were watching continued to play on the TV, but I’d seen it no less than five times and June had apparently done a good job of feigning interest. “While you were gone, we were talking...”
Tension stole back into my shoulders. If my kids had no qualms about asking for a sleepover with an adult woman in front of me, what were they only willing to talk about in private? “About?”
“You don’t like to talk about when you traveled with your mom.”
I fought back memories that wanted to rise up. “No. I don’t.”
She nibbled on her lower lip. “I know, but I wonder... maybe you should.”
