Page 30 of Stolen Dreams

Charlie gasps.“Oh my God, did you?”He shakes his head.“I know you do stupid things lots of times, but banging your kid’s teacher would be the ultimate stupidest thing you could do.”

“I have not banged her,” I hiss with my teeth clenched, looking around to make sure no one can hear him.The last thing I need is gossip going around.“Nor do I want to bang her.”

“Because you want to bang Lilah,” Charlie immediately counters.

“Don’t you have to go and fuck off?”I ask Charlie, who snickers.

I see Lucy walking out of the classroom with Saige beside her, the two of them laughing and giggling, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen her act like a kid.The first time she isn’t scared she said something she shouldn’t or that she was walking around with the biggest problem on her shoulders.

For the first time ever, she looks like a carefree kid, and it keeps me rooted to my spot.“She’s laughing,” I whisper, and Charlie slaps my shoulder.

“Isn’t that the best thing you’ve ever heard?”

“One of them, yes,” I tell him, nodding my head.He looks over at me, probably wanting to know what else could be better than that.

I stand beside him as I watch, mesmerized as my daughter and Saige walk into the room Autumn and Lilah are in.“How much do you want to bet those two are going to make sure to outdo the other two?”He shakes his head and walks their way.I follow him until I’m at the doorway, looking inside.Autumn and Lilah are walking from desk to desk with Lucy and Saige on their heels, and just as they leave one desk, the other two outbid them.

“How much do you think tonight is going to cost me?”Charlie asks, and I look over at him.

“I think you’ll survive.”I smirk and laugh, making the four pairs of eyes look over at me.“You guys about finished?”

“Yeah,” Lucy confirms, walking to me.“Can we get some donuts?”

“Oh, yeah,” Saige says.“Everleigh said she was going to put two aside for me.”She grabs Lucy’s hands.“Let’s go and see what flavor they are.”

“Okay,” Lucy agrees and is being pulled outside by Saige as if they’ve been friends since they were born.

“I’m so happy,” Lilah says from beside me, watching where the two girls just left.I look at her and see her wiping tears from the corner of her eye.“She was laughing and all of that.”

“Yeah,” I say, and the need to wrap my arm around her shoulders is there with such a force, I can’t stop it when it happens.“Crazy, right?”

“Today is all full of crazy things,” Charlie observes, not missing out that my arm is around Lilah.“It’s almost like it’s a full moon.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Autumn adds from beside Charlie, wrapping her arms around his waist.“Now, I think you owe me dinner.”

“Anything you want, baby.”He bends down to kiss her lips.I glance at Lilah, who shares a look with me, and I see her cheeks go pink.I’m wondering if she thinks about the kiss we had not too long ago and the almost kiss that happened tonight.

“How do we pay for all of the things?”I ask Autumn, motioning with my head.

“Lilah paid the teacher two hundred dollars already,” Autumn says, and I gasp.“So let’s go.”She grabs Charlie’s hand, pulling him out of the school.

“You did that?”I ask.

“I came prepared to spend two hundred dollars on Lucy’s project, but then you went all ‘let’s bid five hundred dollars,’” Lilah states, glaring at me, and fuck, if she isn’t beautiful and cute all rolled up in one.She takes a step forward.“Now I’m going to go see if they have either donuts or funnel cakes.”

“I never had a parent come to anything I did when I was a kid in school,” I say and see her face gets soft.“Never had a parent care if I was doing good in school or not.”She steps up to me, putting her hand on my chest, and I let her.“Never had anything good in my life, Lilah,” I share with her, giving her a piece of myself I didn’t think I would give anyone.“So I’m going to do what I need to do for her to see I care.”

She moves her hand from my chest to my cheek.“She’s really lucky to have you,” she says, and I look into her eyes.“You’re a great dad.”

“No, I’m not,” I say.“I don’t think I’ll ever be a great dad”—I shrug—“but I’m going to try my fucking best.”

“That right there is one of the reasons you’re a great dad,” she declares and her hand falls.“You care.”She gives me a soft smile.“And that is going to mean the world to her when she looks back and thinks about this moment.”She takes a deep inhale.“Behind that gruff exterior is one of the best men I’ve ever met in my life.”She gets up on her tippy-toes and kisses my cheek.It’s the sweetest kiss I’ve ever gotten in my whole life.Then she turns and walks away, leaving me yearning for everything I thought I would never want.

ChapterEighteen

LILAH

Every single word that came out of him was like a knife slicing into me.He’s never let his shield down with me.I don’t think he did with anyone, but definitely not with me.Knowing it took a lot for him to give me that, I feel the way his heart is beating in his chest under my hands.“That right there is one of the reasons you are a great dad,” I state, and my hand falls off his chest before I do something stupid, like roam them up to his neck and wrap them around him, giving the whole fucking town something to talk about.“You care.”He stares into my eyes, something he’s been doing a lot.Something I seem to silently beg him to do more and more.“That is going to mean the world to her when she looks back and thinks about this moment.”My own heartbeat speeds up, my hands trembling nervously, hoping I don’t say a wrong word that has him going off.“Behind that gruff exterior is one of the best men I’ve ever met in my life.”I can see the side smile fill his face, and I do something I might regret in the morning or even five minutes from now.I get on my tippy-toes, and instead of kissing his lips, like I long to do, I kiss his cheek.The stubble pinches my cheek, and the only thing I want more at this moment is to wrap my arms around his waist and bury my face in his neck, feeling his heat seep through my body and safe in his arms.Instead, I swallow down the lump that has formed in my throat and notice the way my eyes got so dry they burn.

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