Her voice is steady. Completely professional.
Like she has no idea what her mere presence is doing to me.
“Thanks,” I say, forcing my tone to match.
She lingers long enough for me to notice before stepping back and leaving a space between us that feels way too big.
I don’t like it.
I drag a hand over my jaw and refocus on the file she put in front of me, but it takes longer than it should to settle into work.
“Is everything okay with that report?” she asks from across the room.
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’ve been staring at it for a while.” I can hear the lightness in her voice. “That usually means that something isn’t adding up.”
“I’m thinking.”
Before I can stop her, she’s next to me again. Her proximity makes it harder than it should to keep my thoughts straight.
“Are you questioning my math?”
I glance up to see her lips twisted in a frown, her eyes narrow as she peers down at the report in front of me.
“No.” I snap the folder shut. “I’m just?—”
A knock sounds on the front door before I can finish the thought.
It’s definitely for the best.
Lilly straightens. “Are you expecting someone?”
“I’m never expecting anyone.” The words are little more than a growl as I shove my chair back from my desk and head for the front door.
My irritation over the interruption is warring with relief that I was stopped before I said something I couldn’t have come back from when I open the door and see Tessa standing on the porch with a box in her arms. “Hi, Dad.”
“What are you?—”
“Saving you from yourself,” she says with a grin as she brushes past me into the house. “Like usual.”
I’m not laughing as I follow her into the kitchen, where she sets the box down.
“I was in town, and I grabbed your grocery order,” she says before turning to me. “They said you’d?—”
“I was going to go.”
“Sure you were.”
Lilly appears in the hallway, her face lighting up when she sees Tessa.
“Oh my God, hi!”
They run into each other’s arms like long-lost friends and share a moment ofgreeting that reminds me exactly how old Lilly is.
Young enough to be my daughter.
“Give us a few minutes, Dad,” Tessa says. “I really need to catch up with Lilly.”
