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“I am.”

This time I smile. “But I’ll listen.” I stop just short of saying, “Daddy.”

His eyes lift to mine. “That’s what matters.”

My heart does something stupid. My little side does something even stupider. She curls up inside me and thinks: There you are.

Oh, shit.

I pull my hand back before I say something catastrophic, right as the food lands.

He watches me take the first bite of pancake. “Good?”

“Mmm. Delicious!”

“Good girl.”

“Stop saying that.”

“What?” There’s a twinkle in his eye; he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“Like you know what it does to me.”

“Do I?” His voice drops half a register.

“Maybe.”

“And what does it do?”

“Later,” I manage.

“Coward,” he says, warm and a little wicked.

CHAPTER 5

He buys a card loaded with game credits before I can even find my wallet. I hold out my hand, but he doesn’t give it to me.

“Christopher.”

“What?”

“The card.”

“I’ve got it.”

“This is an arcade.”

“Yes.”

“I am literally a professional gamer.”

“Exactly.”

I narrow my eyes. “What are you plotting?”

“Nothing.”

“You’ve never looked more suspicious.”