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His jaw tightened as he stepped toward her. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to, but he lifted his hand and brushed his thumb along her jawline. “You look fucking perfect.” The statement, although totally factual, took him completely by surprise.
And he wasn’t the only one. Vivien sucked in a short breath and her eyes widened. When her lips parted, he felt an invisible forcefield pulling him to her.
He hadn’t even realized that he was lowering his head until he heard Bree squeal behind him. “Miss Viv, you look so pretty.”
His daughter’s interruption caused him to drop his hand and take a step back. He stared at Vivien, who looked a little shell-shocked by what had just happened. He knew the feeling.
He turned and saw his daughter’s hair was dripping wet and she’d put on her Cinderella dress and pink Doc Marten boots. It was quite a look.
“You look so pretty, too!” Vivien told her.
“We’re going to Uncle Gabe’s house for dinner,” Bree explained as she swooshed her dress from side to side.
“Oh, that sounds fun!”
“Where are you going?” his daughter asked.
“Um…”
He looked over at Vivien and saw her blinking several times with a blank expression before she shook her head as if she’d just remembered.
“Oh…I’m…um…I’m going…to dinner. On a date.”
Her blank expression and stuttered response made him think that she might have forgotten, just for second, that she had forgotten she was going on a date. The thought that’s what happened made him feel good. Really good.
“That sounds fun!” Bree exclaimed.
“Yeah.” Vivien nodded looking less than enthused. “Well, see you guys later.”
Vivien turned and walked down the driveway and got into her Jeep. He wanted to stop her. To tell her not to go. But he didn’t.
“Daddy, will you braid my hair?”
“Yep.”
As they walked inside, he reminded himself of his reasons for deciding not to date. But just like his love of his house and Chicago, they were beginning to seem a lot less important.
