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“Are you sure everything is okay, Connor?” Audrey questions, reaching down and giving my hand a small squeeze.
My eyes snap to hers. Her hair is sitting on the top of her head in a messy bun. A few tendrils fall around her face, her eyes shining with nothing but concern as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. My hand moves on its own, brushing my thumb across her bottom lip before pulling it free. Our eyes remain locked on each other, the air crackling with energy as I lean toward her.
“Crap.” At the sound of Love’s voice, we jump awayfrom each other as if we’d been burned. Her cheeks are a bright shade of pink as she picks up the paper plate flipped over on her lap. “I’m so clumsy.”
“Please continue. Don’t mind us.” Jade wiggles her fingers in our direction as she grabs a stack of napkins off the makeshift coffee table and hands them to Love.
“I’ll grab some more napkins from the kitchen,” I push to my feet and hurry into the kitchen. It takes me a few minutes, but I find another stack of napkins and a small rag near the sink.
“You can’t hide in here all night. You’re gonna have to face the music at some point.” Jade comes into the kitchen, grabs the small rag, and runs it under some water.
“I’m not hiding, Squirt.” Her green eyes light with fury as she crosses her arms over her chest.
“I’ve asked you a million times to stop calling me that, old man.” She sticks her tongue out at me. “But don’t change the subject. You’re definitely hiding.”
“Okay, you’re right. I’m hiding.” I chuckle softly before leaning against the counter next to her.
“You like Love’s mom, don’t you?” She freezes in place; hope fills her eyes as she looks at me.
“You know I do.” I sigh loudly, unable to avoid having this conversation any longer. “Does that bother you?”
I’d have loved to get to know Audrey better and see how things went between us before letting the girls know anything, but I don’t want to lie to my daughter. It’s beenthe two of us for the last fourteen years. She is my entire world, and adding someone else to that could spell disaster.
I want Audrey. I won’t deny my attraction to her, but we both have children to think about. Almost kissing her in front of our two teenage daughters isn’t the best idea. Not only could it send her running in the opposite direction, but it could give the girls the wrong idea. Both seem 100 percent on board with Audrey and me being in a relationship, but if things don’t work out, what happens? I need to take things slow with Audrey, no matter the pull I feel toward her. This is going to be harder than I expected—complete and utter torture—but deep down, I know there’s something between us.
“If I were to start something with Audrey, would you be okay with it?” I hold my breath, waiting for her response “If you have an issue with it at all, I won’t do anything. You’re my number one priority, no matter what,” I reassure her.
Jade rises onto her tiptoes and places a kiss on my cheek. “I’m perfectly fine with it. I’m not a little girl anymore, Dad. I know you love me more than life itself, but it’s time to make yourself happy.”
“Who said I wasn’t happy?”
“No one, but I can see it in the way you look at her.”
“How do I look at Audrey?”
“Like she’s the missing piece in your life.” Jade gives me another kiss on the cheek.
“Okay? That’s it? No,what are you doing, Dad?Don’t screw this up?Nothing?” I grip her arm, spinning her around to look at me. My eyes scan her face, searching for any hint that she is lying to me, but I find nothing. My little girl really is growing up.
“Nope.” Jade shakes her head slightly. “You deserve to be happy, Dad. Mom would want that for both of us.”
I release her arm and pull her in for a one-arm hug before planting a kiss on the top of her head. “When did you get so smart?”
“I’ve always been smart.” She gives me a bright smile before stepping out of my embrace and heading out of the kitchen.
“Did I give you the answer you were looking for?”
“You sure did.” I wink at her before following her out of the kitchen and plopping back down on the couch beside Audrey and shoving another bite of pizza into my mouth.
In between mouthfuls, we take turns asking every question we can think of, avoiding anything too heavy. I find out Audrey’s favorite color is red, which Jade and Love announce is beyond basic. She loves curling up with a good book next to the fire and hanging at home, watching movies with Love, more than anything else in the world, just like me.
The more we talk and spend time together, the more I let my guard down and show her the real me—the man I was before Lydia died. A man that I forgot even existed until I met her.
“How canThe Princess and the Frogbe your favoritemovie?” Love recoils, as if someone smacked her across the face.
“Because it’s an awesome movie!” Jade throws her hand up in the air before turning to me. “Dad, back me up here.”
“It is an epic movie,” I murmur, shoving another bite of pizza into my mouth, avoiding the need to elaborate further.
