Page 80 of Pucking Daddy

I crouch down to her level, pulling her into a hug that probably lasts too long. She squirms, giggling, and I let her go.

"What word?"

Lily hooks her two index fingers together. “Friend,” she says proudly.

Over her head, my eyes meet Zara's. She has risen from the bookshelf, arms crossed, watching us with an expression I can't quite read.

"Sounds like a good day," I say.

"The best." Lily tugs my hand. "Come see the books! Zara put all the blue ones together!"

She pulls me toward the shelf, and I go. Let her show me the organizational system she and Zara have developed, listen to her explain which dragons are the best and why.

The whole time, I am aware of Zara behind us. Her presence, steady and warm.

When Lily finally runs out of steam and heads to the kitchen for juice, Zara moves closer. Our shoulders nearly touch.

"The lawyer called," I say quietly.

"I figured." She doesn't look at me. "Your face, when you came in. Something shifted."

“Expedited hearing. Three weeks—maybe sooner.”

Her breath catches. Barely audible, but I hear it. "What does that mean?"

"It means we need to move faster." I turn to face her. Close. Too close, probably. "The marriage. The—everything."

Zara's eyes search my face. Looking for something. I don't know if she finds it.

"Jaxon—"

"Daddy!" Lily's voice interrupts from the kitchen. "The juice box is stuck!"

I don't move. Neither does Zara.

"We should talk," she says. "Tonight. After—"

"After." I nod. "Yeah."

My phone rings. The lawyer again, probably. Or Simone. Or one of a dozen other people who want pieces of me I don't have to give.

Zara's fingers brush mine as she steps past me toward the kitchen. A touch so light it might have been accidental.

15

ZARA

Developing Situation

The phone rings at six in the morning.

Not my alarm—the actual ring, the one that means someone needs something urgently enough to ignore basic human decency about sleep schedules.

I grab it off the nightstand, squinting at the screen. Unknown number with a local area code.

"Hello?"

"Zara? This is Simone Reed, PR director for the Metro Raptors." Her voice is clipped, professional, and wide awake. "I apologize for the early hour, but we have a developing situation."