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Oh, Damn it. My feet are moving to her side before she finishes that sentence.
“Vee.”
I slip onto the stool next to hers, and my hand reaches over for hers, but as soon as I touch her soft, silky skin, I freeze. It’s like a bucket of warm feathers washes over my rough edges, tickling every inch of that heartless space inside. I thought I would hate this. I thought my skin would try to crawl itself out, but instead, I am fighting the urge to pick her up and hug her tight.
“Little mermaid, I am not a mom, but I could never be mad at you. Never, Vee.”
“Okay,” she whispers, swallowing hard. “I-I couldn’t sleep on that bed. It was very hard and cold. Mine is soft and warm. Also, Auntie kicks at night, did you know that? I usually sleep with dad or alone, but she really kicks.” She bulges her eyes, shifting closer to me. “Really hard, too.”
I roll my lips, biting on them to stop myself from laughing. This little girl is the best thing I have ever seen. Her mind is of a grown adult, yet she still has the innocence of childhood in her. Her face is so expressive, it’s hard to believe Vassar is her father. That man looks like he was carved out of the stone.
“That’s not good,” I tell her, and she nods vigorously. “We’ll have to do something about it.”
Right at that moment, I hear new footsteps walking down the free-floating stairs—yes, I made him sleep in a different room—as Vassar comes down. In gray sweatpants—yes, his dick is visible—black, tight t-shirt, exposing the beautiful ink on his arm and disheveled dark hair.
But that’s not the worst part.
The worst is when he steps off the steps, raising his arms up in a stretch, and his shirt rides up, giving me the perfect glance of his lower stomach and that dark trail of hair disappearing into the band of his briefs.
The second worst part is the heat floating to my cheeks and between my legs, while I am holding his daughter’s hand. Fuck me. This whole setup was the worst idea I’ve had, yet if I had to do it again, I would.
Don’t get attached, Kira. Please, for the love of everything there is to love, don’t.
Too late, idiot…
Vassar comes closer, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and when they land on us, or more specifically, where my hand is holding Victoria’s, he stops dead.
“Angel?”
“Daddy,” she calls out happily but doesn’t move or takes her hand away from mine, and that warm feeling washes over me again.
“Kira.” He gives me a chin tilt in a greeting. Wow, what a guy… “How did you sleep, Vee?”
“Good,” she answers quickly, but her hand squeezes around mine, alerting me to keep another one of her secrets. “Daddy?”
“Mm-hmm?” he hums, already moving around my kitchen to fix his daughter some breakfast.
Damn it, I didn’t even think about that. I should have. Kids need to eat. And I need to learn all of this.
No, you don’t.My mind is trying to be helpful.
“Can I stay home today?” Victoria asks, once again chewing on the inside of her cheek, and I can only assume this is her nervous tell.
“Why?” Vas frows, dropping the flour and rounding the corner quickly, reaching for his daughter, and her hand slips out of mine. Instantly, the warmth is gone. The feathers floating away.
“Are you feeling okay? Does anything hurt? Is it your tummy?”
“No, I feel fine. I just don’t want to go.”
“Angel, you can’t miss school.”
“But you always tell me I’m smart. Can’t I miss just one day?” Vee pouts.
“You are my little genius, but you are still not missing school just because.”
Something tells me this is anythingbut“just because.” But this isn’t my place to say anything. He is her father; he knows best, and I really know nothing. However, when Vas goes back to making her pancakes, I see the light draining from this little girl. The happiness melting away into despair bordering on deep pain. Something I am intimately familiar with.
Fuck it. He hates me anyway, so what could it hurt to meddle some in his life.
