Page 135 of Let You Love Me

“What?” her tiny voice wobbles as she watches the doctor prep her tools.

“Look at me, Soph.” I snap a finger. “Look right here.”

She turns her attention to me, brown curls bouncing.

“Just look at me the entire time, and if you’re scared, squeeze my hand.” She takes my hand and I motion with my other for the nurse and doctor to start. “That’s what my mother used to tell me to do when I was little.”

“Just a small pinch,” the doctor warns.

“I’d just squeeze my mother’s hand.” The doctor moves in with the Lidocaine, and Sophie clenches my hand, her knuckles turning white while I continue, trying to distract her. “And it would help me to not be so scared anymore. I did that with the stitches near my elbow after I fell off my skateboard. Barely felt a thing. You know what else helps?”

Sophie shakes her head, her mouth tight.

“Ice cream,” I say, deadpan. “Lots and lots of ice cream. Do you think after this we need to stop at The Frosty Cow?”

Sophie nods animatedly, and I pinch my lips together to fight a smile. “I bet I can eat more ice cream than you can,” I taunt.

“No way!” Sophie shouts, accepting my words for the challenge they are. “Iloveice cream.”

I narrow my eyes like I don’t believe her. “But do you love ice cream as much as I love pizza?”

“Yes. Definitely, yes!”

“Wow.” My eyes round. “You must love it a lot.”

“Chocolate peanut butter is my favorite.”

I shake my head, eyes glistening. “You are a girl after my own heart because nothing, and I meannothing, beats chocolate peanut butter. And The Frosty Cow has the best chocolate peanut butter ice cream I’ve ever tasted.”

“Can I get it in a sugar cone?”

“Is the sky blue?” I scoff. “Of course you can!”

Sophie beams at the same time, I hear the snip of scissors and the doctor steps back. “All done.”

I glance down to her knee at the same time the nurse places a giant bandage over the now-stitched wound.

“Done?” Sophie blinks, mouth agape.

“Yep. All done.” The doctor smiles, glancing up at me. “Good job distracting her, Dad.”

#

I carry Sophie in my arms out of the urgent care center and onto the sidewalk outside as we head to Lane’s car. Maybe I’m being silly or overprotective, but I had to park a ways from the entrance and don’t want her walking with her bum knee.

I shift her above my hip, taking care to not touch her knee while she prattles on about the prizes she got, and though I should be listening, I can’t seem to focus on anything other than the doctor’s words echoing inside my head.

Good job distracting her, Dad.

My heart clenches at the memory.

She called me Dad.Dad.

Until now, I hadn’t thought about how Sophie and I might appear like a father-daughter duo to the outside world.

If Sophie noticed the doctor’s blunder, she certainly didn’t show it, which is just as well. I’m sure Lane would prefer to be the one to handle any conversations about Sophie’s father, or lack thereof.

But that doesn’t mean I can get the sound of it rolling off the doctor’s tongue out of my mind.

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