Page 65 of Finding Home
“It’s a party people throw before they get married. Aspen’s boyfriend Jason proposed to her, and they’re going to get married.”
Lila nods before she nearly knocks me off my chair with her next question. “Do you have a boyfriend, Chloe?”
I look between her and Everett, torn about what to say. Everett does nothing to help, just watches me with curiosity in his eyes. I settle on telling her the truth, just not all of it.
“I do.”
The corner of Everett’s lips twitch, but that’s as much of a reaction as I get from him.
“Are you gonna marry him?”
Everett and I simultaneously start coughing, and I rub my chest.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. That’s a big decision.”
My eyes flick to Everett, and he seems to have put up his wall, and that bothers me. Is the thought of marrying me that bad?
“I don’t think you should,” Lila says, breaking some of the tension in the air. My brows shoot up my face, and Everett stares at her. “I think you should date Daddy.”
I work to fight my smile as Everett stares at her in disbelief.
“Has Daddy been too grumpy for you to date him?” she asks so casually it takes me a few seconds to exit my confusion.
I shake my head. “No, he hasn’t been too grumpy.”
I don’t want to be the one to tell her we’re already together. That’s entirely up to Everett. That doesn’t mean I’m not curious as to why Lila wants me to date her father.
“Can I ask you something, Lila?” I ask, and she nods as she takes another bite of her food. “Why do you want me to date your dad?”
“Because you’re nice and I think you make Daddy happy. Daddy smiles now. And maybe if you date Daddy, one day you can be my mommy. When Katie’s mom started dating Tristan, she got a new daddy, so it must work the same way.”
The way the words leave her as though this is the most normal conversation in the world has me frozen as tears well behind my eyes. I’ve never heard Lila talk about her mom. I don’t know how often she talks about her with Everett; I’ve never wanted to pry. But this precious little girl just wants a mom, and I can’t blame her. I love mine, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’s a safe space for me, and I know she’ll always be there for me.
When I look over at Everett, pain is etched on his face. He wipes his mouth with his napkin and abandons his food, turning to face Lila better.
He leans forward and tucks stray hair behind Lila’s ear, and she looks up at him. “Liles, you know Daddy loves you, right?”
“Yes, Daddy. I love you, too.”
His thumb strokes her cheek, and I’m fighting the wave of emotions fighting to burst free of me.
“And you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
She nods again.
“That means if you have any questions, about anything…” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Including your mom, you can ask me.”
Lila looks at him, a shine in her eyes making me have to close mine to not break. She doesn’t say anything, but I hear the screech of her chair against the floor, and when I open my eyes, she’s wrapped in Everett’s arms. He’s kissing her temple and whispering to her as her arms tighten around him.
I silently get out of my seat to leave the kitchen to give them some space. As I move to walk past Everett’s chair, he catches my wrist, stopping me. He pulls back from Lila and pulls her into his lap.
“Lila, you know how Chloe said she has a boyfriend?”
Lila wipes at her tears and nods.
“What if I told you Daddy’s her boyfriend?”
My jaw drops, and my cheeks heat. I quickly compose myself as Lila’s attention moves to me, a small smile on her face. I nod, as though confirming his announcement, and she slides off his lap and wraps her arms around my legs, her tears renewed as she squeezes me tight. I work to undo her grip on me and move my hands under her arms and pick her up. She wraps her arms around my neck and holds on, as if willing me to never leave.
