Page 41 of Always Been Yours

The only thing that’s not a part of our normal routine is the excited glint in Lexi’s eye as she looks over my shoulder.

Calypso and I turn in the direction of the entrance at the same time Grady walks in with his daughters.

And the sight is devastatingly perfect. My eyes make their way from the top of his head down to his shoes. His hair looks bed ruffled and not in a styled sort of way. In the natural,I-was-pulled-out-of-bed-by-a-five-year-oldway. He’s wearinga gray short sleeved button up and a pair of those short chino shorts that show off his muscular thighs. And you can’t ever forget the pair of Adidas.

I turn back toward the table and note more than a few women who are staring at him while he waits for the hostess. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the sight of Daisy cuddling into his shoulder and his hand attached to Stella’s head only adds to his overall panty dropping presence.

I sit up a little straighter, turning back to our table, as the feeling of bitter jealousy runs through my veins. I hate that all these women notice him. And Ihatethat it bothers me.

Suddenly, a small brunette pops up at my side.

“Hi!” Daisy waves and twirls next to our table.

“Hiii,” the three of us singsong back.

She looks at us expectantly but doesn’t say anything. She just smiles and waits.

“Did you guys get a table?” Lyp cautiously asks. Looking confused about what to do with a child.

“No, not yet.”

“Do you want to sit with us?” Lexi asks. “If it’s okay withDaddy, of course.”

Calypso snorts into her coffee. “Jesus effing Christ.”

Daisy beams at us before turning around. “Dad!” She waves them over. “They asked us to sit with them!” Turning back to us she adds, “I wasn’t allowed to ask but you offered so…” She shrugs her shoulders.

Marcie, our favorite server, comes over and moves a small table over to ours as I shake my head at Lexi. But my usual annoyance is only half-hearted. From her satisfied smirk, she knows it too.

“Thanks for inviting us.” Grady takes the seat next to me. “Daisy and Stella were excited when we saw you three.”

Daisy bounces in her seat from excitement but Stella looks embarrassed at the mention of her name. I give her a small smile. “How have you been, Stella? How do you like your class?”

She nods like that’s an answer. I don’t push her to answer but Grady helps on her behalf.

“Stella’s joining the spelling bee.” His eyes move from me to Lexi before setting on Calypso with a smirk. She doesn’t even try to hide her snicker.

Lexi and I make eye contact and I don’t try to hide the smug grin on my face. Who cares if it’s been twenty years? I won that shit fair and square.

“Don’t even start,” she points a finger at my face. “Tropicalwas a hard word for an eight-year-old.”

“T-R-O-P-I-C-A-L,” Stella chimes in at the same moment Marcie drops off two kids’ menus and crayons. She picks one up and hands the other to Daisy without even looking in our direction.

After a moment of amused shock, Calypso and I tip our heads backwards in a fit of laughter. Grady simply rubs his daughter’s hair, looking at her with pride.

Lexi rolls her eyes all in good fun and turns toward Stella, “You’re gonna kill it if you can spell words like that already.”

Stella preens in her chair but continues coloring with her sister.

Once we’re sure that they’re fully invested in the sheets, Calypso turns toward Lexi again, “As you were about to tell us, the girl from Friday?”

She’s vaguer in her wording but Grady picks up on the topic at hand. “After I left?”

“Yuuup,” I answer for her.

“A bee farmer, apparently,” Calypso adds.

“You guys are so annoying,” Lexi picks up her menu. “It was good. We had fun. But she lives in Georgia and is visiting her cousinwho lives in La Jolla. We agreed to a one-night thing.” Lexi shrugs. They aren’t all failures, but they never lead to more than a couple weeks lately. “It was the guy last night you should really be asking about.”

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