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There was more laughter to that statement too.
“She is a character,” Garrett said.
“She is,” he said. “All things considered, I think she turned out well.”
“You did a good job with your kids,” Carolyn said.
“It was hard with Elise not having her mother around. Or not around in the right way. Sometimes I wonder if I should have encouraged her to be more like her friends.”
“No,” Stacy said. “Girls will be girls. They have to be themselves. Jocelyn is quiet and her brothers aren’t. Pushing her to be more like them wouldn’t have been the thing to do. She thrives in her world.”
“The same with Jade,” Carolyn said. “We raised our daughters well. Let them be themselves like you’ve been doing with Elise. There is nothing wrong with having a daughter that is strong, independent and speaks her mind. It’s okay for men to be that way; it should be okay for women too.”
“Well said,” he said. “I’ve always said the same to Elise, but there are times I’ve doubted myself.”
Especially when his daughter was still single and struggling with Mommy issues. Not much he could do about it even though he tried as hard as he could to give her everything she didn’t get from his ex.
“Parents will always doubt themselves; it’s part of our job,” Stacy said. “But now we get to see how Gabe and Elise navigate things. I’ll keep you posted with updates. He talks to me.”
“He talks to me too,” Jim said. “Different things. Between the two of us, we should have something to report soon.”
“Guess it’s time we take a step back,” Garrett said.
“No one says it’s ever over,” Diane said. “Let’s check out the rest on our list.”
Richard shook his head. He wouldn’t want their job. This was too much for him with just two kids.
21
SEDUCTIVE MOVE
At the end of the day, Elise went home and showered, then changed. She had plans for tonight with Gabe and she was the one that was going to put them into action.
He’d be here soon and dinner was in the oven.
She’d put together a lasagna last night and covered it up so that she could cook it while she got Gabe naked. Then they’d fuel up and maybe hit the sheets one more time.
When her doorbell went off, she went to answer it, Gabe standing there in jeans and a red T-shirt on under his thick flannel jacket. She didn’t understand the attraction to a suit and tie guy. This did it for her every time.
There was a mixture of roses in his hand that had her heart thumping.
“Wow,” she said. “I didn’t get you anything.”
Well, not true. She was going to give him something, but nothing he could take home. Unless you counted memories.
“You didn’t need to,” he said, coming in. “But it’s the day and all. No reason to bring cookies or candy. I know you had your sweets today.”
She’d sent him a picture of her cookie after he’d sent her one. It’s not like it was a secret that Gabe got them too when the Fierce women had already said their plans for the day.
“Flowers are nice though,” she said, taking them and sniffing. She didn’t think any man had ever sent her flowers other than her father.
That was a sad thought once it popped into her head.
And a sweet one that it came from the guy she’d told herself she had to keep at arm’s length because of their history.
It was time to put those misconceptions and stupid childhood actions to bed.
They were adults. They could move on and act like them.
