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“I just don’t want her coming in and taking away our time.” She looks up as she says this, and her eyes are glassy. My chest aches at the pain staring back at me.
I reach out and touch her hair. “Sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere. I promise. And Gracie wouldn’t want to ruin our relationship. Trust me.”
“How do you know?” A tear leaks and rolls down her cheek.
I push past the tightness in my chest and offer her a small smile as I think of Gracie’s selflessness. “Gracie is so welcoming of you. She offered to take a break so I could talk to you and make sure you were okay. She didn’t have to; she thought of you instead of herself and how she feels about me.”
She stays silent, obviously thinking about what I’m saying. I stroke her hair one last time to offer comfort before I return my hand to hers, holding them as I speak. “Listen, you can set some boundaries and tell me what you want to do to ease into this.”
I hold my breath and hope she at least will think about accepting Gracie. I know she has welcomed her stepdad with open arms, and she could do it for Gracie too. Gracie was right about going at her pace. I got all caught up and forgot about Aria. And including her in what life changes were happening around her, ones that would have a huge impact on her life.
Lesson learned.
“I want one day or night with just us two. No Gracie,” she says quietly.
A small smile of relief spreads on my face. “Okay. What else?” I encourage, wanting her to keep communicating and getting everything off her chest. I can work with this. I can fix this.
“And maybe the next day or night we hang out with Gracie.”
My heart swells at the thought of her accepting Gracie, and me being able to have both of them together hits me differently. My smile is taking up my whole face now.
“And you promise not to insult her behind my back?”
She shakes her head, her tears all dried up, but her eyes still red. “I won’t do it anymore. I promise. But I am sorry, Dad. I did like her; she seemed fun and really nice.”
I grin like an idiot who struck the lottery.
“Thanks, sweetheart. She is, you have no idea. You wait, I think you’ll like her more than me.” I wink at her.
And she laughs, disconnecting our hands and running them through her hair. “Yeah, I can’t believe she got you to eat a burger and fries.” She smiles at me with wide eyes.
I chuckle, knowing I can’t believe it either, my grin growing. “I know.”
She bites her nail again and peers at me shyly. I frown, wondering what she’s thinking now.
“Does Gracie hate me now?” she mumbles nervously.
I sigh. “Not at all. You’re a kid in a new situation. If anyone can understand being a teenage girl, it will be her.”
She drops her hand away from her mouth, happy with my answer, and the beat of silence tells me the conversation has ended. But I urge her one last time.
“Is that all that’s on your mind? You don’t have anything else to say?”
She shakes her head before offering me a warm smile. “No, Dad, that’s all.”
“Okay. Don’t stay up too late on that thing. It hurts your eyes, remember?” I stand and press my lips into her hair, and she leans in, welcoming it.
I’m mentally drained from the up and down of the day. I exit her room, yawning, my whole body feeling heavy. I pull my phone out to text Gracie but change my mind. I bring up the to-do list instead.
“Marc, your designs, please,” Jason asks at the next meeting, pulling me from my daydream about the plan for Gracie I have set up.
As I sit across from Gracie, her pinched brows tell a thousand words. She’s in pain. What she doesn’t know is it won’t be for much longer.
I stand and take the lead, showing my design concept of the meeting rooms.
When I take a seat, I glance at her, finding her biting her lip. When she sees me watching, she drops her lip from her teeth.
It’s Mason’s turn, and I listen to their concept, albeit a bit distracted, knowing after this I get my time with her. And I plan to soak in every minute I can.
