Page 45 of Dating the DILF
“Don’t worry about it.” He pulls back and cradles my face. “Lulu barely noticedIwas here, let alone anyone else. She had her friends, a balloon twister, and ice cream cake, she’s fine.”
“I let—wait, there’s ice cream cake?” I lean forward and bury my face in his chest. “Ugh, that’s not important. I let her down.”
He moves back, distancing himself and breaking contact. I watch him leaning on the doorframe, his eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me.
“The party is unimportant, Chicago. This—” He waves a hand behind him, motioning in the direction of childish squeals and laughter. “This is just the window dressing. The superficial show we put on. What matters is you were here when it was just us. You rearranged your schedule so you could be with us on her birthday. All those people back there, they don’t matter. What they think doesn’t matter. You, me, and Lulu, we’re the only ones that do and you could never let us down.”
In one quick motion, he pulls me to him and twists us so that I am pressed up against the wall.
“We love you, Charlie.” His mouth is so close to mine, his breath ghosting across my lips. “You can’t get rid of us that easy.” He smiles against my mouth and then his lips take mine in a playful kiss, his tongue claiming me.
In that moment, my last shred of doubt disappears. The last two months have changed who I am and what I want out of my life. I believe with complete conviction that Miles is my future. Even if I’m wrong and I’m left heartbroken,thisis worth the risk. This deep and genuine love that Miles has opened my heart to is new and frightening, but it’s wortheverythingand I won’t give it up for a job.
I place my hands on his chest and push him back lightly, giggling at his groan of frustration.
“Enough of that, take me to the child so I can beg for forgiveness.”
He starts to lead me down the hallway, but I stop him, needing to acknowledge his confession and trust him with my own.
“I love you, too. Both of you.” Then I push past him following the sounds of merriment. When I turn to look back at him, he’s watching me, his gaze heated, and a satisfied smile plastered across his face.
“Let’s go, Kent. There’s ice cream cake to be eaten.”
“Charlie, save me!” Lulu throws herself over my lap. “The monster’s gonna get me!”
Tyson is chasing her, growling loudly, and when he reaches me, Lulu hops off and runs away screaming, peeking over her shoulder to make sure he’s following.
“God, I would kill for that energy.” I sigh, watching the two of them run around the yard.
“It’s all about to come crashing down, just you wait.” Shannon laughs.
I take a sip of my coffee and peer across at her. The last of the guests left not long after I arrived, and Shannon, Camden, and their kids are the only ones remaining. I was grateful I got the chance to see Robert and Grayson before they left, and I was even more grateful that Thomas had already gone.
The yard is empty now, except for me, Lulu, Tyson, and Shannon. Miles and Camden are inside arguing over hockey stats while Brianna plays games on her tablet. The ground out here is littered with remnants of the party and it reminds me of the way I look when I get home from a big night. A disheveled imitation of my former self, and another wave of sadness washes over me that I missed it.
“What do you mean?”
“Those two”—she points toward Lulu and Tyson—“are on a massive sugar high and they’re about to crash. Trust me, it’ll be our very own reality show. Toddlers, tears, and tantrums.” She grins at me over the edge of her coffee mug, her blue eyes crinkling in amusement.
“I think the last thing this family needs is another reality show,” I snort out, glancing across at Lulu and deciding Shannon can’t be right. I haven’t seen her throw a tantrum once in the time I’ve known her.
“I’m so glad you didn’t hold that fucked-up show against him.” She reaches over and places her cup on the large outdoor table that is sitting between us, swapping it for a handful of nuts. “He had good intentions, but I really don’t know what he was thinking agreeing to it.”
She tosses a wrapped chocolate truffle to me and I catch it easily.
“It does seem unlike him,” I agree, trying to feel her out. “He doesn’t come across as someone who seeks out attention like that.”
“Oh, he’s definitely not, but I think Ted was just feeling hopeless, you know. He was suddenly a single dad to a baby, doing it all on his own and he saw the future he had always dreamed of just slipping away.”
“Ted?” I quirk a brow at her.
She laughs lightly, the melodic sound ringing through the yard. “Sorry, inside joke.”
“Now you have to tell me,” I insist, her easy humor causing my lips to tilt with a small smile of my own.
“We started calling him that in college. After Ted fromHow I Met Your Mother. He was always the incurable romantic, searching for the one.” A soft smile plays across her face. “He called Camden and me, Lily and Marshall. Renee was our Robin. We were like a live action version of the show.”
Renee was our Robin. As in Robin who ends up with Ted. Was Renee destined for Miles? He’s always been adamant that there was nothing romantic between the two of them, other than that one night. Now I’m not so sure.
