Mom side-eyed him, then bestowed a not-so-very-gracious nod in their direction, her gaze still feasting on Bella.
“And Bella, this is my father, David Tinker.You can say hello to him, too.”
“Hello, Mr.Tinker.”
Dad squatted down and smiled, holding out his hand.“Hello young lady.”
“Hello.”She shook his hand then smiled.“I was right.”
“Right about what, honey?”Gen asked.
“I knew Kyle’s dad had to be handsome like Kyle.”
“Oh, you’re making an old man blush, young lady.”Dad smiled.
“I think you’ve made his night,” Kyle said to Bella, which earned him a shy smile.
“Yep, she has, and that’s no word of a lie.Now, where is this precious girl going to sit?Want to sit beside me?”Dad patted a chair invitingly.
“Um, can I sit between you and Kyle?”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.”
Of course, that meant Mom now had to sit next to either one of her two least favorite people in the world, Gen or Minnie.She sat next to Kyle, and Gen sat on her other side, leaving Minnie to sit between her daughter and Dad.Minnie’s displeasure at being sidelined was obvious in the way she scowled at Kyle, like she blamed him for this entire situation.Which, to be fair, was true.
Awesome fun family times.
The conversation was stiff, awkward, with Mom ignoring Gen and Minnie, and Minnie ignoring everyone, and Gen trying to be polite in asking both women questions to involve them in conversation but getting nowhere.
At least Dad was making an effort, and Bella was lapping up being the star of the show.But it made Kyle realize that there were a million other ways this meeting could have occurred that would’ve been easier, especially out of the public eye.
He caught Gen’s look of desperation, and smiled, hoping to convey reassurance.“So, has everyone had a chance to look at the menus yet?Seen anything you like, Princess?”he asked Bella.
“I like it all.But it all looks so fancy I don’t know what to choose.”
Another miscalculation on his part.He’d assumed her maturity meant she’d like to feel like a grown-up, but should’ve realized the menu options were probably not what she was used to.The prices were definitely not what Minnie and Gen were used to, judging from the mutterings coming from the opposite side of the table.But he’d wanted something special, a chance for the two families to really get to know each other, and had wanted a venue that would mean people would behave and not act like they were onJerry Springer.
So far, there had been no name-calling or hair-pulling, which he’d take as a win.
The waiter came, they ordered, and Bella chose a burger from the kids’ menu.
She looked up at Kyle.“Is that okay?”
“Good choice.I’m gonna get a steak burger, so it’s good to see we have similar tastes.”
“It doesn’t cost too much?”she asked.
“Oh my,” Mom murmured.
His heart ached, and a quick glance at Gen revealed pink cheeks, like she was embarrassed at what Bella’s question revealed about the state of her finances.
He turned to Bella.“It’s one hundred percent fine.You know I’m paying for all this, right?That means you can order whatever you like.”
“Does that mean I can get a dessert, too?”
“Sure thing.”He ruffled her hair.
She grinned up at him, and his heart melted a little more.Bella was obviously enjoying being the center of attention, but he glimpsed these moments of hunger for real affection.A man’s attention.She was lapping up Dad’s attention so much that Kyle wondered just who had been the significant male figures in her life, or whether this was an entirely new experience for her.
