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“I’d really like to speak to her and ease her into the idea of talking to you. If you turn up, you’ll overwhelm her. Can you give me a little more time?”
“A little,” he agreed, clearly reluctant. “But not forever. This is my daughter we’re talking about. My family.”
Why was it that hearing the word “daughter” from Wesley’s mouth sent a little dart of pain directly into his heart? Could it be that he’d fooled himself into thinking he could fill the role of father? And family—that was even worse.
“Not forever,” he agreed. “I’ll let you know once I’ve talked to her about it.”
“Good. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the visit. It’s important that we go ahead.”
Sighing, Michael eyed his beer again. “Give me a few weeks.”
“Three,” Wesley said. “Maximum.”
“Fine. Three.” Michael needed to hang up before he screamed. “Goodbye, Wes.”
“See you soon, little brother.”
With that, Michael hung up, buried his face in his hands, and groaned. What was he going to do now?
Somehow,over the past month, it had become understood that Michael would join Bex and Izzy for Sunday brunch each weekend. This Sunday, when Bex greeted him, there were bluish shadows beneath his eyes, and his smile seemed forced. When Izzy threw herself into his arms, he caught her and twirled her in the air, but his levity came across as false, and when Bex looked closely, she noticed his complexion was paler than usual.
Something was wrong. She wasn’t certain what, but he wasn’t his usual self.
“Izzy, why don’t you show Michael your new skirt,” she suggested, and when Izzy raced to her room to get it, she drew Michael down for a thorough kiss. His lips brushed hers and he made a sound in the back of his throat. Heat speared downward, and she wanted to press her body into his but they didn’t have time for that—with how glacially slow their relationship was going, she wasn’t sure they’d ever get there. To be honest, she had no clue what they were doing together, but she liked it, and sneaking in a few kisses when Izzy wasn’t around didn’t hurt anyone.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, cupping his face in her palms.
“Nothing.” He tried to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Those brilliant blue orbs stared at her as though she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen and he wanted to take her in his arms and keep her there forever. She adored the way he looked at her. Always had. Even back when they’d only been friends, he’d looked at her as though he truly saw her. “I missed you.”
It had been two days since they were together. She kissed him once more, then released him. “I missed you, too. Are you sure that’s all it is?”
He didn’t have the chance to answer because Izzy skipped back into the room wearing a purple skirt with tiny rainbows printed across it.
“Look what I got,” she exclaimed, holding out the sides of the skirt to make sure he couldn’t possibly miss the rainbows.
“Wow, that’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. Give me a twirl.”
Izzy did, and Bex could have kissed him for summoning the enthusiasm to make her feel special.
“We’re having hash browns today,” Izzy said when she finished twirling. “Me and Mum made peanut butter and chocolate cookies, ’cause you like them best.”
Bex blushed when he raised a brow. “You told Izzy about them,” she reminded him, not wanting to give him the impression she’d remembered for all these years. Although she’d definitely remembered his predilection for home-baked goods in general.
While they ate, Izzy filled the room with chatter, and Bex took the opportunity to study him. He didn’t look great, which was unusual because most days he glowed with vitality. On top of that, he was distracted. More than once, Izzy had to prompt him to answer a question because he’d zoned out. After they finished eating and cleared the dishes away, Bex got Izzy settled in front of the TV for ten minutes and drew him aside.
“Seriously,” she said, touching his forehead with the back of her hand to check whether he had a fever. “Are you okay?”
He took her hands and met her gaze, his stare oddly intense. Even though she was concerned about him, she felt that stare down to her core. It rocked her belly and sent jitters racing over her skin.
“Would you like to go on a date with me this week?” he asked, voice low, tone soft. “Just the two of us, whenever it suits.”
Bex blinked. Of all the things she’d thought he might say, this hadn’t featured on the list. Why was he asking now, when they’d been stealing kisses and secret touches for a month without going further?
“Bex?” he asked.
She ran through all of the things that could go wrong—there were many. He was her daughter’s uncle, for crying out loud. What would people think when they found out? But he’d been so sweet with Izzy, and Bex liked him so flipping much. To hell with what people thought. Going on one date with him didn’t mean the world would burn.
She smiled. “Yes, I’d like that. As long as I can find a sitter for Izzy, which shouldn’t be a problem.”
