Daisy noticed every subtle wince Matt tried to hide when Amelia launched into another Jameson story, or when she gushed about having a second grandma who looked just like her. He was too good a man to let his hurt bleed through to Amelia, but Daisy saw it anyway.
When Amelia finally paused for breath, Matt slid in smoothly. “Sounds like a lot has happened. I’m surprised you didn’t mention any of it when I called.”
Amelia shrugged and sipped her lemonade. “I wanted to tell you the big stuff in person. I’m surprised Mom didn’t say anything.”
Daisy’s and Matt’s eyes locked across the table, the silence saying more than either of them dared.
“It must have slipped my mind.”
“How could something this big slip your mind? Did you think Matt would blab?”
Daisy closed her eyes and shook her head. “No.”
“Blab?” Matt asked.
“Like tell everyone. Mom and Jameson said I can’t tell anyone that he’s my dad for a while because he’s so famous.”
“Right.” Matt understood. “That makes sense.”
“So you can’t tell anyone either, okay?”
Matt mimed zipping his lips and throwing away the key.
Amelia giggled and took another sip of her drink.
Changing the subject completely, Matt smiled. “How about we plan a trip to the aquarium soon? A rain check for the time I couldn’t go.”
Daisy’s fingers tightened around her napkin. When Amelia opened her mouth to tell Matt that Jameson had already taken them, Daisy watched as his smile faded and his eyes dropped to the ground.
“It was super fun, but I would like to go again, if you want?”
“We can play it by ear, kiddo.”
Their food came and went, and soon they were piled into Matt’s car heading home. After a little more chatter, Amelia went off to bed, and once she was asleep, Daisy poured herself and Matt each a heavy glass of wine before settling on the couch beside him.
She watched as he rolled his thumb along the ridge of his glass, a tell Daisy knew from long hours and hard talks. The tension she’d felt earlier crept back in.
“Are you upset?” she asked softly.
Matt stared into the dark swirl of his drink. “No… I don’t think so.”
“Can you tell me how you feel?”
He rubbed his lips together. “On one hand, I’m happy for Amelia. She seems thrilled to finally know her dad. But on the other hand, I feel… sad, I guess. Because I had no idea this monumental moment was happening in her life until I walked right in on it.”
“I wanted to tell you, but—”
“But we don’t talk when I’m away,” Matt cut in. His voice was gentle, but the edge was there. “But this, Daisy… this was different. This was something you could’ve broken your stupid rules for. This was something I needed to know.”
Daisy scoffed quietly. “First off, you agreed to those ‘stupid rules.’ And second, I didn’t want to bother you with it, didn’t want you to feel…”
She stopped herself, but his eyes pressed her to finish.
“Unimportant. I didn’t want you to feel like you were being… replaced.”
Matt gave a bitter laugh. “Well, walking in on your new family without a clue didn’t exactly help with that.”
Daisy set her wine down and inched closer, cautious. “Amelia adores you. That will never change. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. That was my mistake. I’ll be better about this, I promise. It’s all just so… new.”
