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“It’s nice to meet you, Gracie.” I rubbed her little shoulder in greeting because, for whatever reason, I wanted to pull her into my arms and hug her.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said, and she had this cute little voice with a slight twang in her words. “Can Presley come inside and meet Maxine?”
My chest pounded so loud it flooded my senses. Did he live with a woman? Was Maxine her mother? I forced a smile and held my breath, desperate to suddenly run away. I couldn’t handle seeing him with another woman.
Not today.
Maybe not ever.
Yes, we’d both moved on. But I’d never had to witness him with someone else. We’d lived across the country from one another. Just the thought was painful, but seeing it? Not high on my list.
The hits just kept on coming, so I’m sure Maxine was going to be a gorgeous woman who wasn’t wearing jeans, a hoodie, and dirty boots, and she probably had her life all figured out.
Cage smirked just as a car pulled up the driveway.
“Piper’s here!” Gracie squealed before wiggling out of her father’s arms and lunged herself at me. “I have to go, Presley. I hope I get to see you again because we share the same heart. But I’ve got to go to dance class now. It’s Piper’s mama’s turn to drive. Daddy takes us on Mondays, and Farah takes us on Wednesdays. And today is Wednesday.”
“I hope I get to see you again, too.” I blinked several times because just seeing Cage’s daughter had me feeling things that had been buried so deeply I hadn’t realized they existed anymore. “Have fun at dance class.”
“Give me a minute,” Cage said, as he took his daughter’s little hand in his and led her toward the car. His long legs moved slow enough for her to keep up, and his broad shoulders were exactly as I remembered them. He helped his daughter into the car, buckled her in the back seat, and said goodbye before holding his hand up and waving as the car backed down the driveway.
The way his brows furrowed as he watched the car drive away had my heart threatening to burst.
The protective stance, the concern—it was everything I knew he’d be as a father.
But witnessing it was different.
Witnessing it hurt me in a way that I couldn’t explain to even myself.
I was getting a glimpse of the life that should have been mine.
Time had never been on our side.
And that certainly hadn’t changed.
four
Cage
Fuck.My daughter had a gift for spilling a shit-ton of information in a short period of time. It took everything I had not to laugh at how tense Presley looked at the mention of Maxine. Gracie also outed my tattoo, as well, but hopefully, I played it off well enough. My little girl had no filter. She said whatever came to her mind.
I’d taught her to speak for herself. To always use her voice.
So I couldn’t fault her for not knowing what was off-limits.
Hell, I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Presley was here in town and that I’d found her sitting outside my house just now.
I’m sure it was a shock for her to see the home that I’d built.
Just because things didn’t work out between her and me didn’t mean I hadn’t stayed true to my word about the other promises I’d made.
But seeing Gracie and Presley together—something I never imagined would happen—did strange things to me.
I’d never been a guy who liked surprises. I liked my routine. I avoided change.
But here we were, with Presley fucking Duncan standing outside my house, and she’d just met my daughter.
I walked back over to her, and she was sitting in the same spot I’d found her a few minutes earlier. I thought of inviting her inside but decided against it and dropped to sit across from her. She looked fucking stunning in her faded jeans and hoodie. Her hair was pulled back from her gorgeous face, which was makeup free.
