Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
He nodded. Bringing our joined hands to his lips, he kissed the top of mine. “So how does this work? It’s been a long time since I went steady with anyone.”
I chuckled. “Went steady? What are you, sixty?”
He tugged me from next to him up onto his lap. Pushing a lock of hair behind my ear, he said, “I know dating is part of your job. I won’t ask you to give that up yet, but maybe we could have a few ground rules.”
“Okay . . .”
“I’d like us to be exclusive, as far as anything physical goes.”
“Of course. I’d like that, too.”
“Anything else that you have to do for work, just don’t tell me about it. Don’t even mention you have a thingy.”
I smiled. “I’ll figure something out for work. I can do articles on different types of dating out there, interview people for worst-date stories . . . my research doesn’t always need to be me trying out a different type of date.”
Sebastian cupped my cheeks. “So we’re going steady?”
I smiled. “We’re going steady, you nerd.”
We sealed the deal with a kiss. When it broke, I looked over my shoulder toward Birdie’s room. “What about Birdie?”
“I’m thinking I should tell her. What do you think?”
I nibbled on my lip. “That’s up to you. But I guess it’s better to be honest than to have her find out by catching me sitting on your lap like this.”
He nodded. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. How about after that, the three of us go out to dinner and a movie or something. Me and my girls.”
My heart melted, and I couldn’t contain my smile. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good. Me too.”
CHAPTER 21
SEBASTIAN
This was definitely something I was going to have to wing. It wasn’t like I had a handbook at the ready on how to tell your child that you’re dating someone. Someone who wasn’t her mother. I knew Birdie had wanted this, but I often wondered if her attitude about that might change once it actually happened. My palms were sweaty as I walked down the hall, headed toward my daughter’s room. Birdie knew Sadie would be joining us for dinner and a movie tonight. She might have suspected something, but I needed to have “the talk” regardless.
Birdie was listening to music, bopping her head and lying flat on her stomach. Her long legs reached much farther than they used to. She was getting so big. It was hard to believe she’d be eleven soon. I couldn’t even think about what having a preteen would be like.
I knocked to get her attention.
She looked up and took out her earbuds. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Hi, pumpkin. You looking forward to the movie?”
“Yeah. And getting to hang out with Sadie, too.”
That makes two of us.
“Good.” I sat down on the edge of the bed. “So . . . that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
A look of concern crossed her face. “She’s still coming, right?”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course, honey.” Rubbing my palms together, I said, “What I need to tell you is that Sadie has become more than just the dog trainer. She and I . . . have gotten to know each other and, well, we really like each other’s company.”
The few seconds that passed felt like torture.
Her mouth curved into the slightest smile. “I’m not surprised.”
My brows lifted. “Really?”
“You act sort of funny when she’s around. Plus, she’s pretty.”
“How come you never told me that you suspected something?”
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
“So it makes you happy that I’m dating Sadie?”
She nodded.
Feeling a sense of relief, I grinned. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Yes. I really really like her.”
I grabbed one of her stuffed toys and looked down at it as I spoke. “You know it’s important that whoever I spend time with be someone you get along with and who also makes you happy. I would never bring anyone around who didn’t fit in with us.”
“I know, Daddy.”
“I also hope you know that just because Sadie and I are getting close, that doesn’t change how much I loved your mother. Okay?”
Birdie glanced over at a photo of Amanda that hung on the wall, then said, “I know. Mommy’s never coming back. You’d still be with Mommy if she were here. Mommy knows that.”
That was an interesting comment, because I often wondered whether Amanda and I would have lasted had she not gotten sick.
Placing the stuffed animal back down, I said, “Do you have any questions for me?”
“Is Sadie going to live with us?”
Well, that was more direct than I was expecting.
“No. Not anytime soon. Maybe someday if things work out. This is still very new. That also means that there’s a chance it might not work out.”
“You mean you might mess it up?”
I chuckled at her assumption. That’s probably the more likely scenario, yeah.