Page 106 of Low love Low fidelity

“Love.”

As soon as Raj disconnected the call, I heard, “Daddy?”

Those soft cords could mangle or heal my heart. I knew them. My head jerked toward the door of the dark studio, and in the bright ass doorway was my baby girl. Aside her were her mother and…Lennox? The softness in her eyes belied her guilt and timidity.

Ripping my eyes away from her, I glanced down at my baby girl. My heart swelled in my damn chest as I stood to greet her.

“What’re you doing here, Pear Bear?”

ChapterSeventeen

The moment Elia met me midway for an embrace, a little body joined the two women in the doorway. As I lifted my baby from the floor, I noticed the tight ass biker shorts and Jamaican flag-styled tank JuJu wore as he rested with his weight on one hip.

“Hi, Mr. Elliott!” he greeted as Elia hugged me tightly at the neck.

“Whaddup, Ju! It’s good to see you down here, kid.”

He smiled back somewhat shyly, reminding me of his young age.

“Daddy, where’s Dale?” Elia asked.

“Yeah!” JuJu seconded her inquiry.

“Why?” My eyes swung between the two adults in the doorway. “This surprise wasn’t for me?”

Elia hugged me tighter again. “Yeah, Daddy,” she groaned.

“I mentioned Dale,” Krista explained. “and JuJu said he was in. Sorry, Dad, you’re not the rockstar for everyone.”

As I placed Elia on her feet, I shared, “Dale’s out back, freestyling with a few of his choreographers.”

“Aren’t you down here creating the music?” Krista asked.

I shrugged, eyes brushing down Lennox’s body. Her curly waves framed her pretty face. She wore casual, blue shorts with a matching cropped, short-sleeved jacket. Beneath was a simple, white tube bra. How long had they been on the island? She looked vacation fresh with orange lipstick. Lennox couldn’t stop looking at me either.

“It’s his creative style,” I tried to explain. “The music, the dancing—all of it.”

“Let’s go see if we can watch!” JuJu suggested to Elia.

“Yeah! Yeah!” she trilled, little body tight with excitement.

They were almost out the door when I yelled, “Stay back! Don’t let him know you’re there!”

Dale wouldn’t have tripped at all, but this was business. If he was in the zone he’d been in since we landed, he likely would have pretty much ignored the kids, crushing their fandom. That wouldn’t be fair to them or Dale. He was down to earth otherwise.

The kids charged out of the studio. And like a moth to a flame, I glided over toward Lennox. The moment I touched her, one hand going to her ass and the other to her scalp, she melted into me.

“What’re y’all doing here?” I asked again, recognizing the tenderness in my voice.

I lifted Lennox’s face up by pulling the hair in the back of her head. It was one of my favorite things to do to her, was the same way I wanted to kiss her for the first time, again, a year-and-a-half ago. Each time we kissed was a fantasy come true.

“I’ll let her explain her reason,” Krista began. “My reason is, after talking—and sometimes verbally fighting—with her on the phone for three hours on Sunday, the next day she called to invite Elia and me to fly down here to surprise you.”

My attention went down to Lennox, still suspended in my hold. “Why?”

“Because I’ve been missing you.” Her voice was so small.

“I know. But this is a lot. Expensive, too,” I probed for more answers, releasing her hair.

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