AllFreeNovel
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Annie makes a face. “Don’t be ridiculous, Liam. Legs adores you.”
I grunt in response. Like a flipping caveman. Honestly.
“She does,” Annie insists.
“I do my best.”
“She’s lucky to have you. Lucky to have Luke, too. But she seems especially attached to you.”
My stomach twists, and I take a drink of my wine. “I’m lucky to have her. All I want is to be there for her. I was, uh, away for the first year of her life. I regret that now.”
“Brené Brown says that regret is necessary to facilitate change and growth.”
I ponder this for a moment, then nod. “Brené Brown sounds like a clever person.”
“She is.” Annie smiles this sweet, private little smile that makes my heart skip.
“It’s, um, important to me. That I’m always here for Legs.” My eyes trace the rim of my glass, surprised I’m giving this information so easily, so willingly. And yet, it feels like the easiest thing in the world. Something about Annie encourages me to open up. To feel in a way I never let myself feel. “Her dad left Lana before she was born. He hasn’t been in touch since.”
“What a loser,” she says.
“Agreed.” I nod. “Allegra may not have her real father, but she’ll grow up knowing she always has me. And it’s my goal for her to never want for anything.”
“Real father,” Annie muses as she swirls her wine. “There’s a big difference between fathering a child and becoming a father. And this man may have fathered a daughter biologically, but if he’s never done anything to earn the privilege of a role in her life, then he’s no father.”
She sets her glass on the ground and twists to look me in the eyes. “A real father is the man who shows up. The caring adult who’s there through everything, good and bad.”
My brow furrows as I look at my own glass. I get what she’s saying, and I appreciate her kind words.
“I just wish I’d been there from the beginning,” I say quietly.
“But you’re here now.”
“Yeah. I guess I am.”
I look at Annie, look into those hazel eyes, at once so playful and light, but filled with this energy I can’t help but feel drawn towards. I’m suddenly very glad that I’m here right now. In this moment. With her.
I’ve had approximately two sips of wine, but I feel kinda drunk.
Bold.
“Speaking of regret,” I say, my voice low. “Do you… regret the way we met?”
She cocks her head. “You mean what happened at the hotel?”
Memories of her body pressed against mine, of her slow, heavy breathing fog up my brain. Her skin was so soft.
I wonder if it still feels so soft.
I banish those thoughts, clear my throat. “Yeah. I, um, I’ve been meaning to apologize for all of… that.”
She runs her tongue over her teeth, her brows drawing together. “I think I should be the one apologizing.”
“No apology necessary. I thought I made you uncomfortable.”
Her eyes take on a heavy-lidded quality as she lolls her head slightly.
“Oh, I was very comfortable,” she says quietly. “Too comfortable, perhaps.”
