Page 58 of The Last Thing
Unlocking the door, I push it open.
“Do you want me to be more than friends with your dad?”
She sets her bag down and takes her shoes off, then runs over and gets comfy on the couch.
“If it means you’d stay with us forever… that you’d always make him smile like that, then yes. And… I wouldn’t mind if you were my stepmom. Even though I’d probably call you my mom since I don’t have one of those. Exactly.”
Yikes.
Deck gave me a basic rundown of the situation with her mom last week, just so I’d be prepared. Sophia seems pretty well adjusted with all of it, but still, I’m sure it’s getting harder to understand that as she gets older.
“Well, I don’t know if I can promise all that, but I can promise I’ll always be here for you. Deal?”
She nods happily. “Deal.”
“Good. Now, what do you say we have some apple slices with peanut butter and chocolate chips, then start getting the quiche ready for dinner?”
“Chocolate chips? Yes, please.”
Sophia yawnsas I finish reading her a book.
I wasn’t planning on staying late tonight, but apparently me reading to her at bedtime is becoming a thing. I’m not sure if I should let it become a thing or not, but… I’m right here. One day, maybe she’ll help me read to the baby at night.
I’m getting way ahead of myself.
“I think it’s time for someone to go to sleep.”
She nestles against me. “Mhm.”
I look down and find her eyes closed as she snuggles close. My heart melts into a puddle.
I’ve never really done this. Occasionally when babysitting, but as a nanny, I was always off the clock by dinner time, usually earlier. Sophia has attached herself to me quickly, too. But the feeling is mutual. She’s already stolen a piece of my heart.
I carefully climb out of her bed, pulling her blanket up and putting the bear she loves so much right next to her.
Switching her lamp off, I creep out of her room, only to find Deck waiting in the hallway for me.
“You’re good for her,” he says, looking reverently into Sophia’s bedroom.
“What do you mean?”
He turns to me, a gentle smile on his face. “She’s been lonely. She’s needed connection. A different kind than I could provide.”
“My brand of chaos?” I ask with a light laugh.
“Your tenderness and warmth. She was instantly comfortable with you. And it’s not because you’re a woman or give off maternal energy—though you do. It’s because you’re you. From the first moment you met her, you made it a point to see her. To see who she is and what she needs. In a short time, you’ve become another safe place. For both of us.”
He stares at me with those smoldering dark eyes, and my body heats. That melty, tingly feeling tries to overtake me, but I steel myself.
After a quick glance into Sophia’s room, I shove at Deck’s chest. “Stop with the sex eyes. We need to talk.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
WILSON
It’s been a while,but usually the words “we need to talk” are not good words.
“Okay. Let’s go sit.”
