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“I’m upstairs,” Alex called back. “No tip, though.”
“Cheapskate.” I headed up the stairs and found him in the master bedroom, covered in paint, a roller in hand. He put the roller on a tray and gestured grandly. “What do you think?”
A fresh coat of white paint covered the room.
“It looks nice. Better than new.”
“Thanks.”
Holding up the box, I smiled. “But why don’t you take a break?” I followed up that little enticement by walking over and giving him a kiss. “Unless you aren’t hungry.”
“I’m hungry as hell, but downstairs would probably be better,” Alex said. He grinned, and I tried to not to laugh at all the paint all over his face.
I headed toward the stairs, and he followed.
“Do you have all the rooms painted?”
“Most of the rooms, yeah. Most of the baseboards replaced, too. Along with the tiling in the kitchen.”
“Wow.”
Alex shrugged. “Just want a place to live, and a place where Kadie can visit.”
Once back downstairs, we sat cross-legged on the floor of the empty living room. I set the pizza box between us, and I opened it with a flourish, humming a little trumpet fanfare.
“I hope you like Hawaiian pizza,” I said.
“Right now, I’d like about anything,” Alex said with a smile.
He eagerly snatched up a slice and starting eating. I realized I hadn’t thought ahead. No plates or napkins or anything. But he didn’t seem to mind, so neither did I.
We munched down our pizza in near silence over the next few minutes, the sweet pineapple mixing with the savory ham. I’d picked the flavor on purpose. A lot of people I knew didn’t like Hawaiian pizza, but Alex had always loved it, and we used to have it all the time back in high school.
“This is good,” Alex said. “Almost the best pizza I’ve tasted.”
I smirked. “Did you have anything else to eat today?”
“Just some eggs this morning.”
“Well, there’s your explanation then.”
Alex finished off another slice but then frowned slightly.
“Something wrong with your pizza?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Have you told Kadie yet?”
“Told her what?”
“That I’m her father.”
My stomach knotted, and I swallowed. “No. I guess I was looking for the right time, and I suppose I wanted to be sure.”
“Sure of what?”
“That you were staying.”
“Definitely staying.”
