I send Lucas a text, then get ready for bed. I’m looking forward to my phone call from him tonight—and seeing him and Maddi again tomorrow. I know I should be worried that we are moving too fast, that this is too good to be true, but I’m willing to take the risk. I’m willing to put myself out there because I know I will regret it if I don’t at least see where this thing between Lucas and me will go.
Chapter 8
UNEXPECTED SLEEPOVER
LUCAS
“What do you think of the name Merida?” Madeline asks.
I smile while I’m browning beef for my version of Hamburger Helper. I call it “my” version because I use the box’s seasonings but add a can of cream of broccoli soup and a bag of mixed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. The first time I made it like this was in the hopes I could get Maddi to actually eat vegetables without throwing a fit. Thankfully, it worked.
“Like the princess from Brave with red hair?” Courtney asks.
I’m a little surprised that she knows the princess from a Disney movie—but also for some odd reason not surprised at all.
“Yes, she’s my favorite. I want to learn to shoot a bow and arrow just like her,” Madeline replies.
Both girls are lounging on the couch with the dog Courtney adopted today between them. The dog is round and short, with rusty-red hair that’s curly in some spots and straight in others. With dark, wide-set eyes that are a little uneven and an underbite that shows off one missing tooth, the dog is so ugly she’s kind of cute.
This morning, when I told Madeline what our plans were for the day, she was champing at the bit to get to Courtney’s apartment. We ended up leaving our place an hour before we were supposed to. I made sure to call Courtney to let her know we were on our way, and when we got to her place she made us breakfast: pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. The pancakes were in the shape of hearts. I knew Courtney made them that way just for Maddi, who loved them.
After eating and cleaning up, we went across town to the ASPCA. As soon as we arrived, we were taken to the kennels. I honestly didn’t think Courtney would find a dog to adopt on the spot. I thought she would need some time to decide if she really wanted to own a dog, but I was wrong. As soon as the volunteer stopped in front of a scraggly-looking mutt and told us that the pup had been there for over five months without finding a home, both my girls fell in love. I suggested that we take the dog for a walk to make sure she was the right fit, so we took her to a park near the animal shelter. Courtney and Madeline played with her for over two hours. Watching both girls with smiles on their faces, running with the dog, throwing the ball, and just having fun, I knew that even if Courtney didn’t adopt the dog, I would go back and pick her up. When we finally took her back inside, I wasn’t surprised by Courtney’s immediate decision to adopt. After we filled out the necessary paperwork, we went to the pet store for supplies before heading to my place. The moment we got in, both girls and the dog went to the couch. I started dinner.
“I think it’s the perfect name. What do you think? Do you like the name Merida?” I look up and see that Courtney is addressing the dog, holding her furry red face in her hands. The dog licks at Courtney’s face, causing her to laugh. “I think she likes it.”
“Merida!” Maddi claps her hands to the tops of her thighs, and the dog rushes to her lap, licking her face and making her giggle.
“Do you want to watch Brave?” Madeline asks.
Courtney looks at my baby with a smile that is so sweet my chest actually aches just from the sight of it.
“Yes. I haven’t seen it since it came out in theaters.”
“YAY!” Maddi shouts. She shoots her hands up in the air while the newly named Merida woofs. She carefully scoots Merida off her lap and heads for her collection of movies.
As the movie starts up, I add the soup to the meat. I feel eyes on me, so I look over the peninsula in the kitchen. My breath catches when my eyes lock with Courtney’s soft ones.
God, she’s beautiful, and so damn sweet that she makes my jaw hurt like I’ve got a toothache.
If I didn’t know it was too soon, I would swear that I was falling in love with her.
“Daddy, can I help make the crescent rolls when it’s time?”
“Yeah, honey,” I answer. Then I look at Courtney once more. “Babe, do you want some wine?”
“Yeah, but I’ll get it.”
“I got it.” I go to the fridge and grab the bottle of wine I picked up for her. It’s the same kind she had last Friday when we were out to dinner—a wine that I tasted on her lips as I brought her to orgasm on her couch.
I open the bottle and pour her a glass while wondering if it would be too much to ask Levi and Fawn to keep Maddi for me one night so that I can be alone with Courtney. A whole night of just us—in her bed or mine. Since my divorce I haven’t even had the desire to have a woman sleep over or to spend the night out, but with Courtney I want that. I’ve enjoyed every moment I’ve spent with her. I love the way she can make me laugh without even trying. I love that she’s easy to talk to and as laid back as I am. I can’t get enough of her. Yes, I want her to get to know my daughter, but I also want to get to know Courtney—in every single way there is to know her. In and out of bed.
I take Courtney the glass of wine, letting my fingers linger on hers before I let go of it. Then I touch the top of Madeline’s head and watch her smile up at me before I head back to the kitchen to finish up dinner for both my girls.
“Can Courtney read me a story tonight?”
At Madeline’s question, my heart starts to beat oddly inside my chest. Since she was a baby, I have always been the one to read to her at night before tucking her in to sleep. She never even asked her mom to read to her. It’s our thing.
“I . . .”
“Please, Daddy?”
Looking into her hope-filled eyes, I nod. “I’ll see if she’s up to it,” I answer gruffly as she gets into bed and pulls the blankets up over her lap. “Courtney?” I call.
Two seconds later, she appears in the doorway. Her bare feet are sticking out from under her light jeans, which are molded to her from ankle to hip. She has a simple red T-shirt on. Her hair, which she wore down today, is now up in a messy bun on top of her head. When I see her so comfortable here and with Madeline, my heart stops its awkward thump and settles into a soft tempo.
“What’s up?”
I realize I’ve been staring at her. “Madeline was asking if you’d like to read her a story tonight.” At my question, her eyes flare and then fly to Madeline.
“I . . . ,” she begins, unsure.
I hear the sound of nails clattering on the wood floor.
“Please?” Maddi begs, cutting in.
“Of course, sweetheart.” She looks at me. “If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t,” I say, meaning it.
Merida slowly comes into the room and hops up onto the bed with Maddi, lying at her side and with her head on Maddi’s stomach.
I stand up, and Courtney takes my place on the bed. My baby tugs her to lie down next to her, then cuddles up against her like she does me. Studying the two of them, I wonder if this is too much too soon. If I shouldn’t pull back a little for Maddi’s sake. But I can’t seem to stop it. Really, I don’t want to stop it.
“What are we reading?” Courtney asks.
Maddi picks up the book that she brought into bed with her.
“The Princess and the Pea. I love this book.” Courtney smiles before she starts to read. I lean against the doorjamb, crossing my arms over my chest and my feet at the ankles. I watch both girls and the dog read the book together. The girls are both smiling, and the dog is in a happy trance because the top of her head is being rubbed. I pull myself away and go into the kitchen to grab a beer, then settle on the couch. I expect Courtney to come out of the room soon, so I turn on the news and start to watch.
I must doze off, because when I wake up one of the late-night talk shows is on. When I see the clock and the time, my gut gets tight. I wonder if Courtney saw me asleep and left without saying anything, not wanting to disturb me. I scan the apartment and see her purse on one of the barstools and her shoes near the door. I get up off the couch and go to Maddi’s room. I stop in the doorway and lift my hand to my hair. Courtney and Maddi are snuggled together on Maddi’s twin bed, asleep. Merida is passed out between them.