Page 150 of The Billionaire Boss and the Barista

Hell, puberty was going to come way too soon for his comfort as well. Garrett didn’t have the full twelve or thirteen years other dads got to prepare.

“Some jiu-jitsu classes might be in order,” he said. “Or better yet, kickboxing.”

You could do more damage at a distance with kickboxing.

Garrett turned to find Emma staring at him. She fluttered her lashes. “Is this the first father of a daughter meltdown I’m seeing? Or did you also lose it at the park and forget to tell me?”

“First.” And sadly not the last.

Emma ran her fingers through her hair. “God, we’re going to be parental disasters.”

“No, we’re not,” he protested. “Well, maybe we will be at first. But we’ll muddle through.”

She closed her eyes and nodded. “I do think Stella is better off now that everything is out in the open.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Plus, I think she likes having a dad.”

“Look at you puffing up like Superman.” Emma grinned. “And you don’t have to tell me she loves it already. I’m pretty sure you’re the reason she’s accepted all this so quickly.”

They looked at each other. He opened his arms and she scooted against him, resting her head against his shoulder.

“I never realized how hard it must have been for her, not knowing who her dad was. Although, I guess it’s good my mom never made up a story for her.”

Yes, he agreed silently. They had gotten lucky. But she was also right that it must have been hard on Stella. She was only in kindergarten, and it had already been an issue.

Also, fuck small towns.

“Was it hard for you, not knowing?”

Emma’s brows puckered. Then she rammed her shoulder into his. Not hard. But hard enough. “I know who my dad is!”

“Oh.”Fuck. He cleared his throat apologetically. “I didn’t realize you knew that.Where is he?”

She shrugged. “Seattle or Oregon. Someplace rainy. With his new family.”

“Oh.”Find a new syllable, dude. That one was getting stale.

He cleared his throat, trying to decide what to say.

“And before you ask, no, he’s not in my life at all. Not since I was two or three,” she said, a hard look on her face. “He did deign to visit after I got out of the coma. I was in physical therapy, and he came by for the first and last time since he left us.”

“How did that go?” he asked, ignoring the buzz coming from his back pocket.

Her face displayed a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “He stayed a couple of hours and left. He didn’t mention Stella. She wasn’t there. But he was extra-judgy about Mom and her boyfriends so there’s a good chance he thought she was hers.He’s a born-again Christian now—so holier than thou. He was ten years older than my mom when they got together. Just another hypocrite if you ask me.”

She sniffed. “Anyway, that was enough father-daughter time for me. He’s welcome to stay the hell away.”

“Noted. No holiday invites for your dad.”

“Those two things do not and will not ever go together.”

She paused before giving him a wry smile. “I’m afraid all things father are on your head.”

He offered her his pinky. “I got this. I promise.”

She wound her own smaller pinky around his. “I know. Thank you. Why does your phone keep vibrating?”

Garrett gave her his most winsome grin. “Because I put it on silent.”

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