Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jeff

“Drive careful,” I murmured against Della’s hair as we stood next to the open front door.

“It’s ten blocks,” she said, keeping her voice low. Her breath fanned across my bare chest. Her hands were on my hips, her fingertips light against my skin.

We’d woken up about twenty minutes ago and while she’d dressed in yesterday’s clothes, all I’d bothered with were my jeans. They were unbuttoned, hanging loose on my hips.

The morning air was cold as it seeped inside, but last night, I’d learned that Della had a thing for my abs. Not as much as she liked my ass, but enough that I wanted her to get a good look before she left today.

A tease, because damn it, I needed her to come back.

“Text me later?” I asked.

“Yeah.” She eased away, rising up on her toes for a kiss.

I framed her face in my hands and took that pretty mouth, kissing her until her face was flushed. As much as she liked my body, I fucking loved how easily she blushed. Everywhere.

“I’d better go.” She peered past me, checking to make sure we were alone.

It was five in the morning and I had no doubt that Katy was fast asleep. She rarely woke before six thirty, and on a Saturday, that kid’s internal clock had a three-hour snooze. But just in case, Della was taking off before we risked a run-in with my daughter.

It was one thing to ask Katy to keep a pizza and game night to herself. It was another not to slip that she’d seen her teacher sneak out of her dad’s bedroom one morning.

“Bye.” With a kiss on her forehead, I stood in the threshold, watching as she hurried down the sidewalk to her Jeep. Then she gave me a finger wave before pulling away from the curb and disappearing down the block.

I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair as I closed the door. Then I let free the smile I’d been holding captive. That certainly hadn’t been what I’d expected last night. But even if I’d hoped for it, nothing could have prepared me for Della. The way my body came alive, the way hers responded, was like nothing I’d felt before.

We’d stayed up most of the night exploring each other’s bodies. Della was ticklish behind her knees. She made the sexiest fucking sound when I nipped at her earlobe. She was gorgeous, but when she came, that woman was breathtaking.

A smile tugged at my mouth as I made my way to the bedroom, her sweet, floral perfume still clinging to the air. I found a sweatshirt and tugged it on, then buttoned my jeans before padding to the kitchen for coffee. A shower was calling but I wasn’t quite ready to wash Della off my skin.

Maybe once I was sure I could get that scent back.

We hadn’t talked about when we’d see each other again, but it would be soon. It had to be soon. Now that I’d had her, I needed more.

As my coffee brewed, I stood at the patio door, taking in the yard under the gray hues of twilight. I hadn’t shown the yard to anyone before, just Katy. Maybe because I didn’t have a lot of friends.

My colleagues at work were the closest thing to friends I had, but they were still colleagues. Hans and I were close but he was still my boss. None of us shared much outside of work, mostly because my world revolved around Katy. Making friends had never been a priority.

Or maybe the reason I hadn’t shown anyone this project was because it was nothing to be proud of. Not yet.

But it could be. Having Della here last night made me want to transform this space. Turn it into the place I’d told her about. A sanctuary. I wanted to see it through her dazzling caramel eyes when it was finished.

So I filled a coffee mug, sipping it carefully until it cooled, then found a pair of boots and trudged outside, making a plan for the weekend.

By the time Katy came downstairs dressed in her pajamas, her hair a disheveled nest, I’d made a list for a trip to the greenhouse and had a plan for the firepit.

“Hi, Daddy.” She yawned, shuffling through the dining room toward my chair. Like she did most weekends here, she crawled in my lap and rested her cheek on my shoulder.

She still fit here, my girl. When she was little, she’d snuggle with me for as long as I’d hold her. I hadn’t appreciated it then, too rushed to get her breakfast or move along with the day. Now she was twelve, and I could see the end of this road: the days when she’d no longer want to cuddle with her dad on a Saturday morning.

So I held her tighter until she shifted and stood, glancing around the dining room. “It was fun having Miss Adler here last night.”

“It sure was.” More than I’d planned for. What a damn night.

“Do you think she’ll come back?” Katy asked.

“Hope so.” I hoped like hell.

There was a chance that reality would sink in today. That she’d realize how much she was risking. That she’d decide I wasn’t worth it.

Had I pushed too hard? Maybe . But when she’d given me permission, when she’d asked for a kiss, I hadn’t been able to stop. If we could just keep this a secret for a couple more months until the end of the school year, it wouldn’t matter, right?

Just a couple months, then we’d be free to really explore this thing.

There weren’t many times in my life when I’d felt the world rock beneath my feet. The first had been Katy. She’d come into my life on a wail and had changed me completely. Della had snuck up on me, but there was no doubt the world had shifted again last night.

She’d felt it too, right? The temptation to find out was nearly crippling. My phone was heavy in my pocket, but I refused to dig for it. Not yet. I’d text Della later, but not yet.

So I stood from my chair and made my daughter breakfast. After we’d eaten and the dishes were done, I told her to run upstairs and get dressed while I put on a clean pair of jeans. Then we drove to my favorite local nursery to get some supplies.

“Daddy, can I buy this for my room?” Katy held up a small potted succulent from a stand on the path to the checkout line.

“Sure,” I said as my phone rang.

My heart jumped as I hoped for Della’s name. But it was Rosalie. I bit back a curse and answered. “Hello.”

“Can I talk to her?”

Why Rosalie refused to call Katy’s number on the weekends when she was with me I’d never understand. But I held out the phone, keeping a snide comment to myself. “It’s your mom.”

“Hey, Mom,” Katy answered. “He told me that you were sick .”

There was as much skepticism in her voice as I felt in my soul, so I turned away, not wanting Katy to catch me smirking.

“That’s okay, Mom. I’m good to just hang with Dad today.”

Then Rosalie must have asked her something she didn’t like because her nose scrunched up. But then she nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you then. Bye.” Katy held out the phone.

“What did she say?” I asked.

“That she was still sick today, but tomorrow, she wants me to come over since I didn’t get my full time with her.”

Damn . “Let’s just see how she feels.”

“Yeah.” Katy sighed.

Eventually, maybe she’d start to refuse Rosalie. But she wasn’t at the point yet where she’d tell her mother no.

If Katy didn’t want to spend time over there, then it was Rosalie’s problem to figure out why. Maybe one day, Rosalie would realize that Katy wasn’t the type of kid content to spend her weekends watching TV for hours and hours on end. She was happiest if there was an activity, like a game or even a trip to the nursery.

“Are you going to help me when we get home?” I asked, pushing the cart toward the cashier.

“What are we doing?”

“Building a firepit.”

“Yes. Can we roast marshmallows?”

“Probably won’t get that far today but maybe by tomorrow.”

“Are you going to pay me?”

“Yeah.” I pointed to her plant. “That’s your payment.”

“Daddy.” She scoffed. “Seriously?”

“Did you want that plant or…”

She debated it during the entire checkout process until the cashier gave her a pointed look and she placed it on the counter, a new addition to the twenty other mini plants in her bedroom.

Katy usually remembered to water them, but during the weeks she was at her mother’s, I made sure to keep her little bedroom garden alive and flourishing.

When we got home, she helped me unload supplies, but her help on the firepit lasted only an hour before she went inside for a water break and never returned.

Meanwhile after every two bricks I stacked, I checked my phone, hoping for something from Della. And got nothing.

Worry started to build, twisting and knotting in my gut. Did she regret last night? Fuck, I hoped not.

After another thirty minutes and still no text from Della, I took a water break of my own, then I went upstairs to find Katy.

She was in her room, lounging in the chair swing that I’d given her on her birthday.

“Hey.” I leaned against the door, rapping my knuckles on the jamb.

Katy gasped, slamming closed the diary she’d been writing in and moving so fast she nearly toppled to the floor.

“Easy.” I took a step forward, too late to catch her, but she caught herself before she crashed.

“You scared me.” She tucked the diary beneath the chair’s pillow cushion.

What had she been writing about? She probably had a crush. Hell . I wasn’t ready for crushes. Not yet.

We’d have to have “the talk” sooner or later. I wasn’t leaving that one to Rosalie. But not at twelve. Not yet.

“What are you doing?” I asked her.

“Just writing in my diary.”

I regretted giving her that diary now. Especially if it contained hearts and doodles.

My head began to spin.

No crushes. Period. The only person in this house allowed to have a crush was me.

“Are you going to come back outside and help?”

Katy shook her head. “Nah.”

“So you’re just going to be up here.”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” I turned and walked out the door, stopping just outside the threshold.

When I looked back, Katy was watching. Waiting. “Can you close the door?”

I frowned. But did I close the door? Yes. I wanted her to have her privacy. Still, I stomped down the stairs, too loud, casting a glance to the ceiling every few steps.

She was hiding something. Katy never hid anything from me. But she was definitely hiding something. What was in that diary?

“Ugh.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and retreated outside, staring at the half-completed firepit. These were the times when I wished Rosalie and I were on better terms. That I could get a woman’s perspective. “Fuck it.”

I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Della’s number, pressing it to my ear. Maybe she’d know if something was happening with Katy at school. Though mostly, I just wanted to hear her voice.

It rang three times before she answered, sounding out of breath. “Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Hi.” That whisper was followed by five agonizing heartbeats of silence.

Della hadn’t called me today. She hadn’t texted.

Yep, she was regretting last night. Shit.

“Listen, about last night—”

“Della!” A man’s voice echoed in the background. “Let’s go, baby.”

Baby.

What the fuck?