Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
I pull the door to a close once Gigi’s inside. I hear the thud of her boots being abandoned in the hallway.
When I hear the TV come on in the living room, I start to speak, “I think today went well with you and Gigi.” Me and you, not so much. “Gigi seems to really like you.”
“I really like her.” A smile touches his lips. “Not to be pushy, but when can I see her again?”
“She’s at pre-K during the day tomorrow. But you can come for dinner tomorrow evening, if that works for you?”
“Yeah. That’d be great. What time should I come?”
“Four, if that isn’t too early. Then, you can spend some time with her before dinner, which is at five thirty. She’s usually bathed and in bed by six thirty, seven at the latest. If she doesn’t get a full night’s sleep, she’s cranky. Gigi is not a morning person.”
“Like you,” he says.
His words poke at the sensitive part of me that remembers why he knows. All the mornings I woke up, wrapped in his arms.
And all the mornings since that I’ve woken up, alone and without him.
“So, four’s okay?” I say.
“It’s perfect.”
“Okay, well…”
“Thanks for today, Cam,” he says. “For letting me spend time with her. I really appreciate it.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Zeus. You’re her…” I stop myself from saying father, as Gigi hears everything, and I don’t want to risk it. “You have as much right as I do to spend time with her,” I say in a quieter voice.
“Yeah.” He exhales a sad sound, pushing his hand through his hair. “I know. It’s just…I don’t know.” He shrugs, looking helpless. “It’s surreal, you know.”
I nod because I can only imagine what he’s feeling.
“It’ll get easier,” I softly tell him.
“Yeah. But it won’t get me back those four years.”
There’s a brief silence between us.
Then, I ask, “Have you spoken to Marcel?”
He shakes his head. “I’m waiting until I’m in a place in my head where I don’t want to kill him.”
“So, you’ll be speaking to him in about ten years?” I say.
He laughs a sound from deep inside his chest. “Fuck, I’ve missed you, Dove,” he says, surprising the hell out of me.
I have so many barbs on my tongue that I want to fire out, like, Well, you wouldn’t have had to miss me if you’d kept your dick in your pants, but I bite them back and keep my mouth closed.
“I should get inside.” I take a step toward the door.
My hand is on the handle when his voice pulls me back. “Why are you with him?”
I turn my face to him. “Who?”
“Deputy Dick.”
“I’m not with him, Zeus. We’re just friends.”
“With benefits.”
“I’m not discussing this with you.”
“He’s not good enough for you.”
“And you were?”
“No.” He steps closer to me. “I was never good enough for you. I was just selfish back then, and I wanted you so fucking much.”
Until you didn’t.
I laugh, a bitter sound. “So, you cheating on me and dumping me was your way of being unselfish. Wow. I’ve heard some shit in my time, Zeus, but this…” I shake my head, disgusted.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No? Then, what did you mean?”
Another step closer. So close that I have to tip my head back to look up into his face. He stares down into my eyes. The look in them is so intense, my insides start to tremble.
Then, he shakes his head and takes a step back. “You’re not ready to hear it yet.”
He starts to walk away from me.
My heart wants me to yell at him, I’m not ready to hear what yet?
But logic tells me to say, “I’m not interested in anything you have to say.” And that’s exactly what I do.
He stops at my words. His back turned to me. A few beats later, he looks over his shoulder at me. “I didn’t give that waitress my number. If you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t,” I say too quickly, giving myself away. I hate the relief I feel that he didn’t give Megan his number.
A smile creeps onto his lips. “You always were a terrible liar, Dove. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And yet again, he walks away from me, getting the last word in.
It’s been almost two weeks since Zeus showed up on my doorstep and discovered that he had a daughter. He’s seen Gigi every single day. Even on Tuesday when she has a street dance class after pre-K. He asked if he could drop her off and pick her up. He also took her out alone on Sunday morning—to the movies to watch a reshowing of Tangled.
I did chuckle at the thought of Zeus Kincaid watching a Disney princess movie.
But it shows what he’s willing to do to be with her. I can’t fault him at his instant devotion to her. He’s fallen hook, line, and sinker for our girl.