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The frustration in her voice was palpable.
“I wish I could hug you right now,” I said.
She sighed.
“Okay. Wanna know what I think?”
“Yes,” she immediately said.
“It’s just one night. Not even that—just a couple of hours. It’s not worth you stressing out about. It would be one thing if she didn’t have anyone to go with, but she does. She has me. And I’m truly happy to take her.”
“She doesn’t even have a dress. I’d have to take her shopping right after school tomorrow. We won’t have much time.”
“You’ll find one. Take a deep breath. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
“Some days I don’t know if I’m cut out for this.”
“You’re always on the go, whether it’s work or taking care of her. You can’t even stop long enough to look at yourself and see that you’re doing a damn good job. As someone who didn’t have a mother growing up, I can assure you you’re badly needed in her life. You’re filling huge shoes, and I know you didn’t choose this role, but you’re doing the damn thing, Aspyn, and I’m proud of you.”
There was a bit of silence. “Now I’m the one who wishes she could hug you. Thank you for taking her, Troy. I owe you big time.”
“Even more of a reason to take her,” I teased.
• • •
Aspyn looked me up and down as she let me into her house on Friday night. “You look nice, Serrano.”
“Why, thank you, beautiful.”
She’d mentioned that the dress code wasn’t specified, so I’d decided on a dark blue collared shirt and black dress pants. I hoped I wasn’t underdressed, but I figured dressing down was safer than looking like a dork if I overdid it. I didn’t want to embarrass Kiki.
She looked down at what I held in my hand. “Oh my God. You bought her a corsage?” Aspyn covered her mouth.
“Don’t laugh. But yeah. I looked up what to do for a daddy-daughter dance on YouTube to make sure I wasn’t missing something. I’m clueless about what I’m getting into here. As an example, it hadn’t occurred to me that I might be actually dancing. Anyway, getting some sort of flower is a must, apparently. She can wear this one on her wrist, so it doesn’t have to ruin her dress.”
“That was really nice, thank you.”
“Don’t be too impressed. I have ulterior motives when it comes to her aunt.” I wrapped my hands around her back to pull her into a brief kiss. Then I looked around. “Where is Kiki anyway?”
“She’s taking her sweet time in there. I just helped her get her dress on, but she insisted on doing her own hair—wouldn’t let me touch it. I’m praying she doesn’t burn herself with the curling iron.”
“So, you ended up finding a dress okay?”
“Yeah. We actually found a really nice one on clearance.”
“Good. See? It all worked out.” I looked down at my phone. “We’d better get going, though.”
“Let me check on her.” Aspyn rushed down the hall.
I stood in the living room waiting, looking out the window at the streetlights.
When I turned around, Kiki was walking toward me slowly. She wore a light blue dress with a big skirt and looked freaking adorable.
I held my hands out. “Wow. Look at you. What a dress!”
Kiki spun around. “Thank you.”
“I’ve never seen you with your hair curly. It looks nice.”
Kiki had the same light, sandy-brown hair color as Aspyn. For some reason, I hadn’t noticed until now just how much they resembled each other.
“I didn’t even burn myself like Auntie Aspyn thought.” She looked down at the plastic container in my hand. “Is that a piece of cake?”
“No, silly. Look closer.” I held it out.
She smiled. “You bought me a big flower?”
“Yeah. A corsage. It’s even blue like your dress. I had no idea you were wearing that color, so it was meant to be. But you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”
“No, I like it. Thank you.”
I took it out of the plastic container and placed it over her wrist. Aspyn had her hand on her chest, looking at us adoringly. She didn’t seem like she had doubts about this anymore, which made me happy. I just wanted her to be happy. And Kiki, too. That’s what this whole thing came down to.
Aspyn walked us to the door. “You two have fun. Kiki, make sure Troy behaves, okay?”
Kiki turned around. “I will.”
I helped her into my Range Rover and ran around to the driver’s side. Before I started the ignition, I turned to her. “You okay? Ready to do this?”
She shrugged, looking unsure of herself.
“Are you nervous?” I asked.
“A little,” she admitted.
“Does that problem child know you’re coming?”
“No. I never said anything.”
“Good. I can’t wait to see her face. Don’t be nervous, okay? It’s gonna be good. And if you’re not happy there, we don’t have to stay. There are plenty of other places we can go all dressed up tonight.”
