Page 37 of Romance Reset
“Dad.”
“Honey, Amelia and I are in two very different phases of life.”
“Why does it have to be that way? You love her. Don’t say you don’t. ”
“I… do love her. But traveling is hard when you’re packing around a baby.”
Breanne crossed her arms over her chest.
“What?” he asked when he realized he was garnering one of those looks again.
“You and this traveling thing. I don’t get it. You hate vacations.”
“What? I do not.”
“Yeah, you do. You’re a borderline workaholic who’s always said how you hate airports and hotels and not being home.Yousay when you live at the beach, you don’t need vacations.”
He had said those things. And hearing them repeated back to him at this moment kind of bit the big one. Traveling was pretty much a way to fill the time between school breaks when the kids would come home to visit. “Maybe I don’t want to work as much, ever think of that?”
“Fine. Go and take Amelia.”
“Bree—”
“You want to travel and she wants kidsifshe can have them. Something’s gotta give, right? So compromise! You can travel until she gets pregnant, and after the baby comes, you can travel when I’m on my school breaks and you pay mevery wellto babysit,” she said with a tilt of her chin. “Uncle Carter can pitch in sometimes like you’ve always done with Piper. Or Bren. We’ll all help. What’s your excuse now?”
Lincoln faltered. Because with those statements, he didn’t really have one.
“Dad? Is this about Mom? Or me and Bren and Mom?”
Lincoln wasn’t sure this was a conversation he should be having with teenagers. “Breanne—”
“It bothered me at first, okay? You dating. It seemed weird and wrong. Bren said I was crazy for letting it get to me because it’s been three years since Mom died and… he was right. You’ve been so happy, and after talking with Amelia and getting to know her, I can see why you like her. She’s really nice, and if you’re going to date someone, it should be her.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he said. “But don’t ever think you can’t come to me to talk about anything, Breanne.”
Breanne closed her eyes briefly and nodded.
“Iknow,Daddy. But sometimes a girl needs another girl to talk to.”
The air rushed out of his lungs and Lincoln felt dazed by the observation. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Considered that? “I’m sorry your mom isn’t here for you, sweetheart.”
“Me, too,” Breanne said, her voice growing thick. “But Ameliaishere… And even though I don’t know her like you do, I think she’d make an awesome second mom, and you’re crazy if you end things because she wants a baby. You’re old but notthatold.”
“She’s right, Dad,” Brendan said from the hallway, where he lurked with Carter, who carried Piper in his arms, asleep on his shoulder.
The sight brought out feelings Lincoln wasn’t expecting. Yeah, the late nights and diaper years were hard but they were brief, and the kids in front of him were proof that those years flew by. Babies became toddlers and little girls like the one Carter carried. Then they became teenagers like the ones standing in front of him, legal adults.
“You deserve to be happy,” Brendan said.
“And so does Amelia,” Breanne added with a pointed stare.
She did. And while he stood there staring at the love looking back at him, Lincoln realized how selfish of a person he’d be to keep her from experiencing this for herself. The cuddles and sweetness and even the arguments. “Okay, okay, I see the error in my ways. No need to gang up on me.”
Lincoln moved through the crowd assembled inside of his house to get his keys from the bowl on the entry table.
“You going after her?” Carter asked.
“She won’t take my calls or return my texts, so, yeah.”
