AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Time to put my big girl pants on. I kiss my daughter’s blond head, stroking the fine strands, then take a deep breath. “Hey, Bailey, can I talk to you about something?”
She nods. “Uh-huh.”
“You know how I told you that when you were born, your dad went away and that’s why it was just the two of us?”
“Yeah. He didn’t want me.”
My heart turns to a small, hard ball. I squeeze my daughter close. “That’s not true, honey. I never said that, did I?”
“No, but why else would he go away?” Her head pops up, and light hazel eyes meet mine. “I know he didn’t want me. It’s okay, Mom. I was sad about it for a while, but I’m okay now.”
Who knew nine-year-olds could deliver such hard gut punches? It takes all my self-control not to burst into tears. I can’t believe my daughter’s been through this kind of pain at such a young age. That’s my fault too.
With my arm around her shoulders, I lean my cheek against the top of her head. “If you could, would you want to meet him?”
Bailey is silent for long enough that I pull away to meet her gaze. Her brows are furrowed, and she’s chewing on her bottom lip. “I don’t know,” she finally says.
“That’s okay,” I whisper. “You don’t have to decide right now.”
“Is he mean?”
I shake my head. “No. He’s nice.”
That seems to surprise her. “Oh. What’s he like?”
“His name is Colin. He has brown hair and green-brown eyes, and he works with computers.”
She’s silent for a while. “Would I have to call him Dad?”
“No. You could call him whatever you want.”
“So I could call him Colin?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “And if you decide you don’t want to meet him, you just let me know and you don’t have to.”
Pursing her lips, Bailey kicks her dinosaur-clad feet up and down. She grabs the socks from my lap and starts running them through her fingers, tracing the logo, touching the seams. She drums her fingers on her thighs, then finally lets out a loud huff. “Okay, I’ll do it,” she decides. “I want to meet him.”
My throat gets so tight, it’s hard to breathe. Finally, I manage to croak, “All right.” I hug her once more, then pull away. “What do you want for dinner?”
A mischievous gleam enters her eyes. “Pizza?” she asks hopefully.
With my tight budget, ordering pizza has always been a special treat. And my little emotional blackmailer knows I can’t say no after a conversation like the one we just had. Laughing, I nod. “Fine.”
When Bailey has disappeared back to her room, I finally pull up Desmond’s messages to answer.
Mia:The apartment looks amazing. Thank you. And Bailey loves the socks, by the way.
15
DES
I can’t help walkinginto Blade Barbershop the next morning. My feet carry me to the doorstep without me being able to stop them. My hand pushes the door open before I can change my mind.
Mia stands on a footstool, tearing down Halloween decorations in the front corner of the room. She glances over her shoulder at me, wobbles, and lets out a little squeak. I’m beside her in an instant, hands on her waist, steadying her. The heat of her body soaks into my palms like sunlight warming my skin.
I drop my hands and take a step back.
“Thank you,” she says, stepping off the stool and onto the ground.
