Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
“Happy Birthday, Daddy!”
All the air rushed out of Pres’ lungs as his daughter landed squarely on his stomach. She leaned forward to smother him in kisses and he wrinkled his nose, pretending not to enjoy every minute.
“What time is it?”
“I don’t know. I can’t tell the time.” Delilah shrugged.
“The clock in your room is numbers.” He was suspicious now. Mostly because he couldn’t see much light coming in through the curtains. “What did they say?”
Delilah pulled her lips in, like she was trying to stop herself from speaking.
“Delilah…” His voice was low. “Tell me the number.”
“I think I saw an eight,” she finally said.
“What was the first number?” he said, grabbing her waist and tickling her. It would be easy for him to roll over and grab his phone to check, but he was enjoying this.
Watching his daughter try – and fail – to lie was always funny.
“Five,” she admitted.
“So it’s five am.” He nodded slowly. “You know what that means?”
“Time for cake and milk?” she said hopefully, lifting her eyebrows. That’s what they had for breakfast on all of their birthdays. Sure, the cake was usually a little over dry because he wasn’t exactly the best baker. But mix it with a little milk like your mouth was a cement mixer and the result was pretty enjoyable.
“No. Time to go back to bed and let your father sleep.”
“But I can’t sleep,” she said. “It’s your birthday. I want you to open your gifts.”
“No gifts get opened before seven,” he reminded her. “That’s the rule.”
“Santa is no fun.” She pouted.
“What’s Santa got to do with it?” he asked, confused.
“That’s what you told me last Christmas,” she reminded him. “That Santa says nobody can open gifts before seven. Birthdays and Holidays.”
He’d said that? Pres blinked. He must have been sleep deprived. Not that it was a terrible idea. In fact, he wanted to high five his former self.
“Santa’s the one in charge,” he told her. “We just have to do what he says.”
She crossed her arms in front of her. “We could have cake while we wait?” she said hopefully.
“We could,” he agreed solemnly. “But we won’t.” For a moment he wondered if it would be bad to tell her the Tooth Fairy forbade it. But yeah, lying to his kid was a bad idea.
Especially since he’d never be able to keep track of all the mistruths.
“Why don’t you go back to bed for an hour?” he suggested. “Then we can get up and have some breakfast.”
She pressed her lips together again, her eyes moving like she was thinking hard. And he knew she was trying to find another excuse to stay here and not have to go back to sleep.
He sighed, because that extra hour felt really enticing. The storm had caused some delays on the construction site, and they’d been set back by a few days, so they’d worked extra hours once things dried up to try to catch up. His whole body ached and all he wanted to do was sleep, spend some time with his family.
And spend some time with Cassie, too.
He lifted the coverlet. “You can stay here if you promise to sleep.”
Delilah’s face lit up. Mostly because he tried so hard to keep her in her own bed. Not because he didn’t love having her sleep with him. For those first few weeks after Jade died, he’d wanted his daughter with him constantly. Had panicked if he couldn’t see her at all times.
But he’d also learned that his kid was a messy sleeper. She tossed and turned and kicked and sometimes talked in her sleep.
For the sake of both their sanities, he’d learned that keeping her sleeping in her own bed was the best course of action.
And truth be told, he probably should have insisted now, because she was wriggling under the covers like a damn snake in an attempt to get comfortable. He lay back, closing his eyes, praying to the god of parental sleep that he could have at least another half hour.
“Daddy?”
Okay, so the god of parental sleep didn’t exist.
“Yeah?” He didn’t open his eyelids this time. He wasn’t sure he could.
“I can’t wait for your and Uncle Marley’s birthday party.”
“It’s not a party. Just a cookout. No clowns or party games.” Thankfully.
“It is so a party. Grammy said so.” There was a pout in Delilah’s voice. “I can’t wait to see everybody.”
“Uhuh.”
“And Cassie is coming. I love Cassie.”
His lips twitched. “Yeah, I know.”
“Do you think she’ll do my hair if I ask her?”
He groaned. “Not if you don’t sleep.”
There was silence for a moment. But then it was cruelly broken again. “What if I can’t sleep?”
“Huh?”
“If I can’t sleep does that mean she won’t do it?” Delilah persisted. “It’s not fair. I can’t help not sleeping.”
Oh holy hell. He turned onto his side and opened his eyes, almost jumping out of bed because his daughter’s face was in extreme damn close up.
“When did you move?” he asked groggily. She was staring at him like he was some kind of ogre.
“I don’t know. But what about my hair?”
“Your hair will be fine. I promise. Now go to sleep.”
She huffed and shuffled back across the mattress. Finally. He let his eyes close and blew out a mouthful of air.
“Do you love Cassie?” Delilah asked.
For the love of god.He opened his eyes again. “What?” he asked, stalling for time as much as anything else.
“Do you love her? I do.”
This wasn’t exactly the way he’d hoped to spend his birthday morning. And yeah, he’d talked to Cassie about telling Delilah about them, but he hadn’t planned to do it this minute. Next week, maybe. When he and his kid had a quiet minute that didn’t involve his parents or her dancing or him trying to get some goddamned sleep.
“Cassie’s a good friend,” he finally said.
“Uhuh.” Delilah clearly wasn’t happy with that. And then a sinking feeling came over him. Had somebody said something to her already?
This is a small town.Ugh, his brother was right.
And he obviously wasn’t getting any more sleep this morning.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes, telling himself that he could sleep tonight. And tomorrow.
And maybe the rest of the year.
“Why do boys have hair on their chests and girls don’t?” Delilah asked. And he’d have laughed at the change of subject if he wasn’t so damn exhausted.
“Go get dressed,” he told her. “It’s cake and milk time.”
Happy Birthday! Your official gift will be given to you at the party this afternoon. And your unofficial gift… is me. However you want me. Cassie xx
She pressed send and slicked gloss on her lips, stepping back to check her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She had no idea what to wear for a family cookout. She wasn’t sure she’d ever been to one. But it was warm outside so a pair of shorts would work. She’d teamed a gray herringbone pair with a white t-shirt and a statement necklace that she could easily take off if it was too dressy.
But the fact was, she kind of wanted to look dressy. For him.
Because Presley Hartson was constantly on her mind nowadays.
Thank you. I’m very much looking forward to both gifts. Especially the second. And just so you know, I was woken up at five o’clock by my kid. Who wanted to know about us… Presley. x
Oh. She blinked at the message, her mind racing. Had he spoken to Delilah like he’d talked with her about? She knew he wanted to do it just the two of them, but she had no idea he was planning to do it on his birthday.
She zipped her makeup bag up and slid it into the bathroom cabinet, trying to ignore the thoughts running through her brain.
But it was no good. They were as persistent as Delilah was with Presley. She grabbed her phone and unlocked the screen.
EEK! How did that go? C xx
She watched as the ‘Presley Hartson is typing’ text came across the screen then disappeared again. And yeah, she was getting impatient. She knew this didn’t mean that she and Presley were about to walk down the aisle or any other such nonsense. He was just telling his kid that they were a couple.
Dating. Friends. Whatever it took so that if the kids at school – or their parents – mentioned it, Delilah wouldn’t feel like he’d lied to her.
She knew that was important to Presley. That he was truthful with his daughter about all the things that mattered. It was another thing that made her heart race whenever she thought about this moody, complicated, glorious man.
He loved his daughter more than anything. And he’d do whatever it took to protect her from getting hurt.
He still hadn’t responded, and yeah, she felt a little disappointed, but he was probably busy. It wasn’t just his birthday, it was Marley’s too. And from what she’d heard from Maddie, the family always celebrated big when it came to birthdays and anniversaries.
She was about to go grab a coffee when her phone started to ring. She smiled when she saw his name flash on the screen.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly, accepting the call.
“Hi.” His voice was low. “Delilah’s changing her clothes for the fourth time. I thought I’d take the opportunity to hear your voice.”
“How’s your birthday going?” she asked him.
“Apart from the early start? Pretty good.” He cleared his throat. “The talk with Delilah was fine.”
“It was?” She let out a long breath. She hadn’t realized how tight her chest had been. “She’s okay with it?”
“Yeah. I put it in kid words. That we’re very good friends. That we like each other. All that shit.”
She laughed softly. “That shit?”
“The G rated stuff.”
“She wasn’t worried about me being around?”
“Not at all. She asked if you could still be her friend as well as my special friend, and I said yes. Then she asked if she could have another slice of cake and that was it.”
“So I’m your special friend?” she asked, her voice low.
“That’s what I called you, yes.” It was his turn to sound amused. “Should I have said something else? Girlfriend sounded… weird.”
“I like special friend,” she teased. “Because I have a few special things planned for you when we’re alone.”
“Yeah. About that…”
“What?” She was grinning now.
“Mom suggested that Delilah stay at theirs tonight. So the party can go on while the kids sleep. Obviously Delilah said yes.”
“That’s… convenient.” She bit down a smile. “Because I have a skintight leotard that needs your attention.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Because all I want for my birthday is you in a fucking bow and nothing else…” He cleared his throat. “No, sweetheart. I don’t think furry boots are gonna work in this weather.”
And now her smile was huge, because Delilah was almost certainly wearing the most inappropriate outfit. “I’ll let you go,” she told Presley. “And I’ll see you later.”
“That you will.” His voice was full of a promise that sent a shiver down her spine.
This man… He’d be so easy to fall for. It would be the getting up again that would be almost impossible.
“Ah, no.” Their mom slapped Marley’s hand as he attempted to steal a cookie. “Don’t touch. Those are for the kids.”
“But it’s my birthday.” Marley pouted. “And I want a clown face cookie.”
“Because he’s a clown,” Hendrix said, grinning. Their younger brother had been away for a week, spending time at the beach with friends. He had a glow to him that could light up half of the town.
“Shut up, golden boy.” Marley flicked his ear and Hendrix groaned.
“Don’t do that. You know I hate it.”
“Then don’t be mean to me on my birthday.”
“How old are you again?” their mom asked. “Six?”
Marley gave her a big grin. “Not being able to remember your kids’ ages is the first sign of losing your brain.”
“I lost my brain when I gave birth to you,” she muttered. “Now get out of here and help your dad.” She looked at Pres. “Not you, I need you.”
“Why can’t I stay?” Marley asked, grinning at Pres. Pres rolled his eyes at his twin. They’d long since grown out of competing for their parents’ love, but it didn’t stop Marley from pretending.
“Because I say so. Now shoo.” Their mom pointed at the door, and Marley leaned forward to kiss her cheek, before he and Hendrix left the kitchen. The wall of glass doors were open that led to the backyard, and his two brothers walked onto the grass, joshing each other as they made their way over to where their dad was setting up the grill.
“So…” His mom smiled at him. “How’s your morning going?”
“Good.”
“Delilah seems excited about the party,” his mom said, reaching up to push his hair out of his face. “Especially about seeing Cassie again.”
Ah. So that’s the reason his mom wanted him to stay. Pres bit down a smile because damn, news got around fast.
“Uhuh.” Not that he was going to make it easy for her. It was his birthday, he could have a little fun teasing his mom if he wanted to.
“Delilah said you and she had a chat this morning,”
“Did she tell you she woke me up at five?” he asked.
“No. Ouch.” His mom grimaced. “I remember when you were like that. One Christmas you got so excited you made yourself sick. We had to wait until four before Santa could fill yours and Marley’s stockings. Your dad wasn’t pleased.”
Pres grinned. “Yeah, well I’m paying the price now.”
“She said that Cassie is your…” His mom tipped her head to the side. “Special friend.” Damn if she didn’t hold her hands up and do the old quote mark gesture with her fingers as she said it.
He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or roll his eyes.
“Did she?” he said. And it was his mom’s turn to look impatient.
“So?” She leaned forward, her gaze intent. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or are you going to leave me hanging forever?”
He smiled fondly at her. This woman had always been his rock. Even before he’d become a single dad and she’d stepped in to help him.
“So Cassie and I are a thing,” he told her, his voice low.
“Oh my God.” She grabbed him, hugging him tight, her head resting in the crook of his neck. “Oh, Pres, I’m so happy. So, so pleased for you. You deserve this. You all do.”
He hugged her back. Damn, he’d forgotten how emotional she could be. But he couldn’t help but smile. When she pulled away she stared up at him, her eyes full of tears.
“Why are you crying?” he asked her.
“Because I never thought I’d see the day,” she was trying hard not to sob. “I prayed for it. I longed for it. I just want you to be happy. And for the longest time it felt like all you were doing was surviving.”
He shrugged. There was a truth in her words. “We’re just dating, Mom. Not getting married.”
“Exclusively?” she asked.
This time he couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you see a long line of women standing at my door.”
Exasperated, she slapped his arm. “Stop that. I’m serious.”
“Yes, Mom. We’re exclusive.” The thought of anything else made his gut twist. “Now can I go out to help Dad? Or do you need me to do something in here?”
“You can go help him.” She hugged him again. “I’m so happy for you both. Cassie is just a lovely woman.”
“I know.”
“And she’s so good with Delilah.”
His throat felt tight. “I know that too.”
“Of course you do. You wouldn’t let just anybody into your daughter’s life.” His mom’s voice was soft. “I’m so proud of you, honey. Not just because you’re a great dad. I’m proud because I know how hard it’s been to let somebody in.” She wiped the tears from her face with a tissue.”
“Thank you.” He meant it. In so many ways. He leaned forward to kiss her.
She nodded. “Now go before I start crying again. Today is supposed to be a celebration. No more tears allowed.”
“I can go for that.” He winked at her. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too,” she told him. “So, so much.”