Page 125 of Only for Love

I nod, my throat burning. “Yup.”

Her green eyes shine. I know she’s too young to get any of this, but itlooksas if she’s assessing me just as she did the first day she met me. I can’t take a single breath until she finishes her two-year-old analysis. Blood rushes to my ears, and my collar feels tight. I’ve been through basic training, been shot hanging off a helicopter, been beaten within an inch of my life, but right now feels as though it could break me if it went wrong.

Finally, she grins again and makes her cracker dance across the table.

“Okay,” I say, almost gasping for air.

“Okay,” Emma says, too.

Title of Daddy has been officially bestowed. Emma bites her mouth and wipes her eyes. I lean back in the chair, my conscience clear, my heart full… probably for the first time ever.

Cally finishes her crackers and ignores her milk box. Emma unbuckles her, helps her slide down, and then puts the milk in the fridge.

Clapping my hands together, I realize I’ve got to do something, or I’ll lose my mind. “Alright, good talk.”

My little girl launches herself onto me, and I drop back to the chair, letting her crawl into my lap. Her little head rests on my chest.Aw, shit.This girl makes my eyes burn.

I drape my arms around her. “God, I love you, kid.”

“Wuv you too.”

Just when I thought I couldn’t feel anymore, she said that. My life’s complete.

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