Page 29 of The Chad Next Door
“Did you plan this?” I ask, gladly sinking into his arms.
He chuckles. “No, but we happen to have a meddling neighbor who puts as much romance into his books as he does mystery.”
“Sounds like my kind of book.”
“You like mysteries?”
“I like you, don’t I?”
He hums, pulling me closer. “Why are you crying?” He shifts our clasped hands so he can brush my tears from my cheeks with his thumb, even though they’re going to keep coming now that they’re free.
“Because I never really thought about how Zelda’s never had a father figure in her life until I saw her with you.” I know that’s a big thing to say to him, and it might scare him off. But I want him to know the truth, to know exactly what he’s getting himself into before he does anything he isn’t ready for.
Chad stiffens a little, but when he pulls me closer, I think his reaction is more of surprise than fear. “What about her father?” He’s dropped his voice to match mine, but Zelda seems riveted on whatever story Hank is telling the kids.
Tucking my head against his chest, I shrug. “I don’t even know who he is. Bailey never told me, and he’s not listed on their birth certificates. I don’t think he was a great guy, and she knew even then that they were better off without him.”
A growl rumbles through him, making me laugh.
“Easy, tiger. We don’t need you fighting our battles for us.”
“But I could,” he says, almost too quietly for me to hear him. “You don’t have to be alone.”
“Something tells me you’d be a pretty good knight in dented armor.”
“Why is my armor not shining?”
I laugh again at the indignation in his voice. “Because you’re the one taking all the hits for me. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” he repeats as if it isn’t obvious at all. He rests his cheek against my head, and we dance like that for a while, even when the music ends and only Hank’s soft voice fills the silence.
I feel so safe in his arms, like the world could never touch me if Chad is nearby. I’ve never felt this way, at least not that I can remember. With everything that’s happened—losing my parents, losing Bailey, getting the kids, the apocalyptic storm outside—safe feels like a miracle.
Eventually, Hank clears his throat, and we look over to find both kids asleep in his arms. It’s adorable, though he looks ready to fall asleep as well as he silently asks for help. Chad picks up Link, I grab Zelda, and we each take a kid to one of the guest rooms. Zelda murmurs goodnight as I tuck her in, but she’s pretty out of it after her wild dance party. I kiss her on the forehead, brushing her hair away from her face, and wonder for the first time if she needs a dad in her life. I thought for sure it would be better with just the three of us since she’s used to only having her mom, but I can’t get over the way she looked at Chad when he danced with her.
Maybe Chad’s right. Maybe I don’t have to be alone. Outside of Bailey, I’ve been alone for so long, and I’ve always been comfortable with the way I live. Yeah, it gets lonely, and yeah, I’ve dated to fill the void. But no one has ever been permanent in my life. Not even my parents. They stuck around for sixteen years, and then a car accident took them away, and my sister was starting her college career. She could have looked after me, but she and I agreed we would be walking through life on our own. She was pregnant with Zelda at that point and knew she couldn’t be there for me as anything more than a sister, and I was fine with that.
I’ve always been fine. But it might be nice to be more than fine.
I lean against the door frame of Link’s room—that’s how I’m going to think of it now even if this isn’t our house—and watch as Chad gently runs his fingers through the boy’s hair as he watches him sleep. Though it’s pretty dark so I can’t see much, he looks so concerned about Link, the way a father would be about his kid. It’s so similar to the look he had when he was telling me about his sister that the tears are coming right back.
“How is he?” I ask quietly, wondering if Chad can see how restless Link tends to be when he sleeps.
Chad’s response comes in the form of a soft whistle, which makes zero sense until Duke appears between my legs and the door and hops onto the bed. He settles himself next to Link like he’s done it a million times, and to my surprise, Link turns over and wraps his little arms around Duke’s neck. They both sigh in unison, like it’s a pairing that was always meant to be.
Instead of waiting for me to move out of the way, Chad wraps his arms around me and picks me up, carrying me back to the living room just as Hank passes us on his way to the bedrooms.
“Goodnight, you two,” Hank says with a wink.
I snort a laugh as Chad groans and places me back on my feet. “I like Hank,” I say while Chad crosses the room to turn off the lantern, leaving us in nothing but firelight. It’s romantic and cozy and exactly what I want right now.
“He has his moments,” Chad admits, and then he stalks back toward me, a man on a mission. He grabs me, basically tackling me into the couch, but twists as we fall so he lands first and has me pinned against his body in a move so smooth that it has me swooning again. “I’ll take the couch tonight,” he says as I snuggle in, my head against his chest. “You can take my room.”
“Or I could stay here,” I suggest, which sounds a whole lot better than whatever he just said.
“Nope.” The way he growls that word leaves little room for argument. “I’m giving you half an hour before it’s your bedtime.”
“So bossy.” Maybe, if I can fall asleep within his time limit, he’ll let me stay. Or at the very least he’ll carry me to bed like he did with Link, and I’d be perfectly okay with letting him tuck me in. But how am I supposed to fall asleep when I’ve got this man holding me? Now that we’re alone, I feel like every place he touches lights on fire in the most delicious way, leaving me in a state of excitement and anticipation that has driven away any hope of sleeping tonight. His heart beats loudly in my ear anyway, moving too fast for me to think he’s remotely calm right now.
