Page 44 of With a Cherry On Top

Before I can take a step closer, Sadie’s small voice rings out.

“My mommy has red hair like yours.”

Shit.

I snap my head toward her just in time to see her tiny fingers reach out, gently brushing the strands of Charlotte’s long, thick hair.

She flinches, her shoulders tensing, but when she turns and sees Sadie, she relaxes instantly. With an easy smile, she pulls her headphones off and hangs them around her neck. “Hey, you.”

Sadie grins, bouncing slightly. “Your hair . . . I love it.”

“You do?” Charlotte asks, voice playful.

Seriously, Sadie knows better than to talk to strangers. Of course, Charlotteisn’ta stranger, at least to me. And she’s smiling—smiling at my daughter, warm and unguarded. And I thought she was beautiful before.

She nods toward Sadie’s messy pigtails. “I like yours too.”

Sadie beams and does a little twirl, clearly pleased. Then, as if deciding she’s had enough attention, she points at me.

“My daddy was looking at you.”

Great.

My body locks up as Charlotte’s eyes flick to me, then narrow with curiosity.

I step closer, and before I can decide what to say, she leans back in her chair. “A chef walks into a pizzeria and says...”

I sigh, relieved at her playful tone. “Hi, Charlotte.”

She clicks her tongue. “Where’s the punchline?”

“Daddy, she’s funny,” Sadie announces.

I gently pull her against my hip. “Sorry about that. Sadie knows better than to approach strangers.”

“But you were smiling at her, Daddy!”

Good lord.

Charlotte’s smirk deepens, her eyes alight.

“No, I wasn’t,” I protest, but Sadie isn’t done.

She wiggles out of my hold and steps up to Charlotte’s table. After peering down at the open notebook, she gasps. “This looks like my Daddy.”

Shit, Sadie—Wait, what?

Charlotte lets out a low, satisfied laugh. Closing her notebook, she picks up her pencil, twirling it between her fingers. “Wow. You’re a little snitch, aren’t you?”

“What’s a snitch?”

“O-kay,” I interject, my pulse a little too quick. “We should let Charlotte draw. Right, baby?”

Sadie ignores me. “Do you like pepperoni pizza?”

What is with her sudden obsession with pepperoni?

“I love it,” Charlotte says. “Do you?”

---