Chapter 22

Foster

“Now, you’re sure you don’t want me to get you after the game?” I ask Bowie Jane as I carry her rolling suitcase down the stairs.

It’s almost noon and nowhere near time to go to Brienne Norcross’s house yet, but she’s so excited she’s already packed and insisted I bring it down. Mazzy will be here any minute to take over kid duty as I have to get to the arena for pregame prep.

“I’m sure I want to stay the night,” Bowie Jane drawls, and I can hear she’s tired of me asking.

“You’re just growing up and getting so independent, you don’t even need me anymore,” I lament in an overly dramatic fashion.

She knows this and to push my buttons, she says, “I don’t need you. I have Mazzy and she’s a far better cook.”

I look momentarily shocked as she grins at me, then I leap at her. “Oh yeah!” I scoop her up, move to the couch and toss her on it before tickling her. “Does Mazzy do this?”

“D-a-a-a-a-d,” Bowie Jane shrieks with laughter as I lightly drum at her rib cage with my fingers. “Stop before I pee.”

“Good. Go ahead and pee,” I taunt, never once letting up. “Mazzy will clean it up. I mean, you prefer her anyway.”

“I don’t,” she yells, kicking her legs. “I don’t prefer her. I prefer you.”

I stop tickling her but hold her by the waist. “Say it without the duress of uncontrollable laughter,” I demand.

She giggles and says, “But Mazzy is a better cook.”

I hold my hands up, fingers arched and poised to tickle again. “Say it,” I say with a warning flex.

“Okay, fine… I prefer you to Mazzy. I mean, you’re my dad and all.”

“Good girl,” I reply, picking her up and giving her a hard smack of a kiss on her cheek.

She wraps her arms around my neck, squeezes tight and whispers in my ear, even though no one is around to hear us. “Want to know a secret?”

I nod.

“You’re my favorite person out of all the persons I know.”

Fuck if that doesn’t make my eyes sting, and I squeeze her back. “You’re my favorite person too.”

I bend over to set her feet back on the ground just as the door from the garage opens and Mazzy steps through.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen her since I returned from New York late Tuesday night. She had breakfast ready for me the next morning and it took everything in my power not to kiss her right there and then when I stepped into the kitchen. Her glorious red hair was in a long braid and she wore workout clothes—leggings and a long-sleeve T-shirt.

But Bowie Jane was at the table and when she saw me, she flew into my arms. “Daddy… I missed you.”

She always reverts to calling me Daddy rather than Dad when she feels high emotion. Mazzy smiled at me as I hugged my kid, and then we all sat down and ate breakfast together.

Our alone time has been limited this week between practices and the home game Thursday night. Mazzy has had some of the watch of Bowie Jane, but I arranged babysitters to give her time off since she was on full duty during my road trip. She’ll be on a full five days next week when we head west.

I’m not sure what it means, but for some reason, I was disappointed not to have Mazzy and Bowie Jane at my game Thursday night. Bowie Jane was a given… it was a school night and I don’t want her out that late. But Mazzy had the night off and two tickets, and I told her to come. I even told her to bring a guest.

But she didn’t, instead opting to play a gig with Leo at a bar. I was slightly jealous, slightly annoyed and slightly proud of her. It was weird to be wrestling with those feelings, especially since we still only have the one date under our belts.

That will be corrected tonight, though.

“Mazzy,” Bowie Jane says with excitement when she sees her standing just inside the doorway. I’m forgotten and she runs to her, throwing her arms around her waist.

My daughter has always been super affectionate. Her mom and I raised her with a lot of love and touch in the form of kisses, cuddles, hugs and holding hands. When Bowie Jane and I watch a movie together, we sit side by side on the couch, and we hold hands. It’s not lost on me that she has slipped into an identical affectionate relationship with Mazzy in the last few weeks, and I imagine that’s only going to strengthen as time rolls on. It provides so much comfort to know that my daughter isn’t just getting basic childcare, she’s receiving love and support from Mazzy.

Mazzy hugs Bowie Jane tightly, her eyes landing on the suitcase. “Kid… you know we’re not leaving until five p.m., right?”

“I know,” she chirps back, releasing her hold on Mazzy. “I’m just excited.”

“Silly girl.” Mazzy tugs at Bowie Jane’s ponytail and turns to me. “You headed out?”

“Yeah,” I say, glancing at my watch, knowing I have to get going and yet wanting a few more minutes with my girls. But duty calls. I move into the kitchen and head toward the refrigerator. “Bowie Jane… will you get my gear bag out of my closet.”

“Sure,” she replies and runs off that way.

I open the fridge door and grab the flowers I picked up this morning. Bowie Jane and I went out for breakfast since Mazzy wasn’t there to cook. Plus, since it’s a game day, I wanted to do something special, just me and Bowie Jane. We found a florist in the shopping center where we ate and Bowie Jane pointed at it as we were leaving. “Dad… flowers for Mazzy.”

She knows we’re going on our second date tonight and I think she’s as excited as I am.

Hopefully as Mazzy is, but I’m not sure. Between my travel, her taking care of Bowie Jane, and having time off this week, our connection hasn’t been as strong. Sure, there’ve been texts, but they’ve been brief and you can only get so deep with a person via text.

I close the door and Mazzy sees the bouquet. Her eyes nearly bug as I move toward her, presenting the flowers. Bowie Jane comes out of my room, barely able to hold the weight of my bag on her shoulder. She drops it on the floor and watches with a big grin as Mazzy accepts the cluster of red roses.

Personally, I was against the roses. Mazzy seems more like a spring bouquet kind of woman, roses being far too traditional. But Bowie Jane is a simple romantic and she insisted on a dozen of them.

“Wow,” Mazzy says as she takes the bouquet wrapped in tissue paper with a pretty red bow. She bends her nose to them and inhales. “They’re beautiful.”

“Romantic, right?” Bowie Jane prods.

Mazzy blushes, my kid inserting herself right into the moment. “Very romantic,” she admits, cutting me a side glance.

“I wanted to give them to you now because if I kept them in my car and gave them to you tonight after the game, they’d be half dead. This way, you can enjoy them more.”

“I’ll put them in a vase and keep them on the counter so I can see them plenty,” Mazzy says, and then moves into me. For a moment, I think she might kiss me and oh fuck… are we ready for Bowie Jane to see that, even if it’s just a peck on the lips?

But Mazzy lifts one arm to my shoulder to pull me into a quick hug. “Thank you,” she murmurs. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, he did,” Bowie Jane says from behind us.

Laughing, we break apart and Mazzy searches the cabinets for a vase. I move over to my kid, nabbing my suit jacket off the back of the barstool where I’d put it earlier. Players must show up to the arena in suit and tie, owner rules, and it stretches across the entire league. I don’t mind though because I happen to enjoy nice clothes and I also like the way Mazzy looks at me when I’m dressed like this.

“Last chance,” I say, picking Bowie Jane up and supporting her weight with my forearm under her butt.

Her arms go around my shoulders and she stares at me solemnly. “I’ll be fine tonight, Dad. Stop worrying.”

I boop the end of her nose and she giggles. “I’ll always worry about you, but for tonight, I shall stop. I hope you have a great time at Ms. Norcross’s house but if you get scared or need—”

“I know, I know,” she drawls with a slight eye roll that I’m quite sure she learned from Mazzy. “I’ll call and you’ll come get me.”

“That’s right,” I say, although I know she won’t call.

I kiss Bowie Jane on the forehead and place her back down on the ground. I glance over at Mazzy who’s arranging the roses in a vase already filled with water. Her eyes lock with mine. “I’ll see you after the game in the family lounge. We’ll decide what to do then.”

“Sounds great,” she says, all light and airy, as if she doesn’t have a care in the world about our date tonight.

I, on the other hand, am completely psyched for it, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact we’ll most likely have sex tonight.

Okay, not true. I’m pumped for that, but I really just want some alone time with her. This week has shown how limited we’re going to be because when I’m in town and have free time, Mazzy is taking well-deserved time off, not to mention, I want all that time with Bowie Jane. It’s definitely going to be difficult navigating it all, but tonight we’ll talk about it.

Figure it out.