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He sank lower on the bed. “I didn’t know what to talk about. No offence but I try not to talk about you too much.” He grimaced, but she only grinned in reply. “She asked me about my job so I talked about that … I think she got a bit bored, and I couldn’t think of much else to talk about.”
Emmy hugged her pillow as she gazed up at him in the dim light. “Girls like it if you ask about them and not just talk about yourself.”
He gave her a playful shove. “I know that! I asked about her, but she wasn’t that chatty so it was difficult. She seemed a bit guarded, like she didn’t want to talk about herself.”
“Are you going to go out with her again?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did you ask her?”
“Yeah. Just casually said we could go out again sometime if she wanted. She vaguely said she’d be in touch.”
“Okay, maybe it will be easier if you go out again.”
“No. There definitely won’t be a repeat.”
“But she said she’d be in touch.”
“She was being polite.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She doesn’t have my number.” He smiled to himself. “She said she’d be in touch but didn’t ask for my number. That seems like a very definite brush-off.”
“Oh,” Emmy said sympathetically. “Didn’t you ask if she wanted your number?”
“No. She wasn’t interested. It was pretty obvious.” He looked down at Emmy and pulled the duvet further up her shoulder. “You can’t say I didn’t try.”
“You could try again. Two dates is nothing really.”
“No. I don’t think so. I’m happy being single.” He decided a change of subject was in order. “Are you looking forward to seeing your mum next week?”
A deep crease formed across her forehead. “I guess so.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, uneasy at her hesitation.
“Yeah.”
“Do you need anything before you go?”
“No.” She shifted her head on the pillow. “Mum will take me shopping.”
“With all these shopping sprees in Paris, you’re going to end up with very expensive tastes.”
“What will you do when I’m away?” Emmy asked.
“Probably just work and watch Grey’s Anatomy.”
She pulled her arm out from under the covers to give him a shove. “You better not watch it without me.”
“I won’t.” He smiled and tucked her in again. “I promise.” He dropped a kiss on her head and went to stand up, but she put a hand on his arm.
“Can you stay until I fall asleep?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.” That was a request he hadn’t heard in years. While part of his brain immediately wondered whether everything was okay with her, another part was just happy that she still needed him. Given how quickly she was growing up, he sometimes worried about the day she’d be completely independent and wouldn’t need him any more.
But as she snuggled against his chest, it didn’t feel like something he needed to panic about just yet.
