Lily slides off her chair and lifts herself onto Alyssa’s lap to get a better look. Oh fuck. Seeing Alyssa with my kid is making my heart beat out of my chest. She looks so good with her, like she could easily fit into Lily’s life—my life.
“Wow.” Lily’s eyes widen with awe. “She’s amazing. Do you think I can dance like her one day?”
Alyssa playfully taps the end of Lily’s nose. “If you practice and work hard, it’s possible.”
“Dad, I’m really going to need more private lessons.” She looks at Alyssa and asks, “Can we go back upstairs and dance again?”
Alyssa chuckles. “I love your enthusiasm, but save your energy for another day. Sometimes you can overdo it with too much training and injure yourself.”
“Is that how you hurt your ankle?” Lily asks.
Alyssa’s gaze flicks to mine, a spark of mirth glittering in her eyes. “No, I fell when I tripped during a storm.”
Lily’s eyes widen. “Oh no!”
“Luckily a nice man stopped and helped me.” Her lips twitch.
“How?”
“Okay, Lily.” I clap my hands. “Enough chatter. It’s time for bed.” And time to end this conversation.
“Can I stay up a little longer? I’m not tired,” she says around a yawn.
“It’s getting late. I’m going to need a marching band to wake you up for school.”
Lily giggles, slides off Alyssa’s lap, and kisses my cheek. “Goodnight, Dad.” Throwing her arms around Alyssa, she says, “Thanks for the lesson.”
Alyssa brushes her hand down Lily’s head. “You’re welcome. I had fun.”
We watch Lily bound away. “That kid of mine has way too much energy.”
“If I could siphon just one percent of a child’s energy, I’d be supercharged for a week.” Alyssa giggles. “She’s lovely. You must be so proud.”
My heart swells with love for my little girl. “Some days she can be a little devil. I’m dreading the teenage years.”
“Her mother—”
“Is out of the picture,” I cut her off.
Her eyes widen at my tone. I hadn’t meant to sound so harsh. Thinking of Rachel brings it out of me.
Softening my voice, I say, “She left when Lily was born.” Before Alyssa can ask any questions, I ask, “Would you like another beer?”
She shakes her head. “No thank you.” Thankfully she doesn’t ask anything more about Lily’s mother.
We sit in silence as the night air cools, the sounds of crickets surrounding us. It should feel awkward and uncomfortable, yet there’s nowhere else I want to be right now.
After a few minutes, Alyssa says, “How are things between you and your father? Harper tells me Finn still refuses to take his calls.” Alyssa would know the story about my father because it involved Harper and she had needed Alyssa to lean on through the difficult time.
“He’s still in France. He keeps reaching out, but I’m not ready for him to be in my life.”
“Do you think you’ll ever forgive him?” she asks.
“He cheated on my mother for years. Left her to die while he was screwing his mistress. How do I forgive that? Then to top it off, he almost ruined Finn and Harper’s relationship with the lies he told. Telling Finn that Harper was trying to seduce him was fucked up. Thank God they pulled through it.”
“I’m so glad it all worked out. Harper is happier than I’ve ever seen her.”
“Yeah, Finn has heart-shaped eyes over her too.” I chuckle. “I’m happy for them. Quite the party they threw for Avery.”
