Page 28 of The Chad Next Door
“I know what you meant,” I tell him with a smile. “Wanna talk about it?”
He sighs. “Micah was only four when our mom died, and her dad isn’t…” He shakes his head. “He loves her to death, but he doesn’t really know how to show affection. And when Mom died, he was pretty beat up about it. I think Mic often felt lonely because the twins were back with our dad and her closest sibling was Sam, who…” He grimaces. “I really don’t like Sam. He’s kind of the worst.”
I snort a laugh, even though it’s not really appropriate for this moment. Story of my life. But I also rub my hand across Chad’s broad shoulders, and that seems to make him relax a little as he leans closer to me. “Who’s Blondie?”
“Brooklyn. My sister.”
“One of the twins?”
“Yeah, with Houston. I asked her to check on Micah as soon as the storm passes and she can get through since I can’t… Micah gets these panic attacks if she’s alone for a long time, and I’m worried she…” He groans and falls backward onto the bed, throwing an arm over his face. “I shouldn’t have left Sun City. Micah needs me, and I can’t…”
Though I love seeing how much he cares about his family, I hate that he’s suffering so much. I can’t do anything to help his siblings, but maybe I can help him. Hopping up, I grab his arm and tug it away from his handsome face. “You know what you need?”
He scrunches up his expression, rightfully wary of the crazed look I probably have. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“You need a dance party.”
His eyes go wide, and he shakes his head. “You really don’t want to see me dance.”
“Oh, now I really do. Come on, old man. Show me your moves.” I try to tug him up, but he weighs so much that he doesn’t even budge. “Okay, sasquatch, you’re going to have to help me here.”
“If I do that, then you’ll make me dance,” he argues.
“Sure will. Up you go!”
But instead of sitting up, he tugs me forward, pulling me off balance until I land on top of him with anoof.
“That one was your fau—” My words get cut off as soon as he tucks some hair behind my ear in the softest of touches, his fingers lingering in my hair. Then his thumb brushes my cheek, leaving me shivering with anticipation.
He gives me a little smile that I can barely see in the darkness. “Thanks for listening,” he murmurs. “I worry about them, you know?”
“I know. And it’s nice that you care about them. But I can’t be mad that you came here.” Partly because I’m really enjoying the feel of his hard chest beneath my hands, but that’s just a superficial reason. I’m glad he’s here because I would have been completely lost without him and I’m terrified to think what we might have been dealing with if he hadn’t been here to rescue me over and over. I already knew I was in over my head with the kids, but he has made that even more painfully obvious over the last couple of weeks.
Chad leans closer, his eyes dropping to my mouth for half a second. But instead of kissing me, he brushes his nose against mine, tempting me to do the deed myself. “If I come out there, will you slow dance with me?”
I smile so wide that it hurts. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“On how much you’re willing to bust a move first. Zelda won’t let you do otherwise.”
Though I’d rather stay where I am, I slip off the bed and hold out my hand to help him up. He takes it, thankfully sitting up on his own, and together we head out into the living room where Hank is trying to teach the kids “the lawnmower” dance move. Chad and I join in—he’s laughably bad at dancing and clearly knows it—and for the next hour, I don’t think about the storm. I don’t think about Bailey. I just think about how much fun this is and how much I would love to do this all the time, just like this.
But then the music switches to a slow song, and everything changes.
Without hesitation, Chad reaches out his hand to Zelda and directs her to step on his feet after giving her a spin. He mutters something to her that makes her grin wide, and then he scoops her up into his arms and does a twirl before setting her back down. She’s beaming, stars in her eyes as she looks up at the man who came out of nowhere and caught us all by surprise.
Something tickles my cheek, and I brush it away only to realize it’s a tear. I almost never cry, but these happy tears aren’t going away because how am I supposed to handle seeing the tender way Chad is dancing with my kid?
Chad sees me crying, and he immediately tenses up. Thankfully, Zelda doesn’t seem to notice. Chad keeps his eyes locked on me as the two of them sway, concern wrinkling his brow, but then a tiny little voice pulls my attention away.
“Wanna dance with me, Hope?”
So much for holding in my tears. Link is right in front of me, his little hand held out in the same way Chad held his hand out for Zelda, and I have most certainly died right here in the living room. Swallowing, I nod and take his hand, letting him lead me closer to where Chad and Zelda are. Though he can’t quite figure out the stance, Link does his best to mimic everything that Chad does, every once in a while glancing over to make sure he’s doing it right. I’m pretty much sobbing now because at this point I’d almost given up hope that Link would ever be very affectionate with me. Now, he’s holding both my hands and smiling up at me, and I’m doing everything I can to smile back.
The song ends, transitioning to another slow song, and I glance over at my phone because I don’t remember there being anything but beat-heavy dance songs on this playlist. But my phone isn’t on the end table where I left it. Instead, it’s in Hank’s hands as he sits in the armchair, and he winks at me as he slowly turns the volume down and holds his arm out for Zelda to climb into his lap. Wait…
“Mind if I cut in?” Chad says, tapping on both Link’s and my shoulders. Link relinquishes his claim on my attention and scurries over to join Zelda with Hank. Chad pulls me in with deliberation, sliding his hand into mine as he wraps an arm around my back and nudges me deeper into his hold.
