Chapter 30
THIRTY
Addison
I didn’t know why I was nervous. Out of all the first-time moments in my life—standing in front of a classroom, walking across a stage to strip—this should have been easy.
But it wasn’t.
I was more anxious now as I headed up Ridge’s driveway and rang the doorbell than I’d been during either of those two occasions.
Several days had passed since the incident at his house, preparing me for today. Within that span, I’d had multiple conversations with him regarding his chat with Jana. Not only the night it had happened, when we’d stayed awake for most of the evening before I took a rideshare home in the early hours of the morning so Daisy wouldn’t see me when she got up, but our chat also continued over the next couple of days. I wanted to fully understand where Jana’s head was at, and I wanted to wait to see if she changed her mind about my spending personal time with her daughter.
I just wanted to respect her as Daisy’s mother and as a woman.
But it turned out, she stayed firm on her decision.
A week hadn’t even passed before Ridge asked if I would come to his house and hang with him and Daisy. I was hoping during that timeframe, any lingering memories she had of that night would fizzle out. Ridge had told me they would, and he was right. She recalled me being there, but that was it. As for her saying anything about it to her fellow students, Ridge had bribed her not to.
As far as I could tell—and I’d know—Daisy had kept our secret.
But I didn’t know, if things continued to progress between her father and me—and I hoped they would—if his adorable little girl, who was running toward the front door right now, would be able to keep that secret contained. Ridge’s all-glass entrance made it easy to see her coming from the living room, rushing toward the foyer to greet me, her ponytail high on her head and full of curls.
Ridge had told me he was going to prep her a little and tell her I was coming over to play. He’d told me that she said she felt like the luckiest girl in the whole world to be able to play with her teacher at home.
Which couldn’t have been any cuter.
“Miss Lark, Miss Lark, you really came.” She held the door just wide enough that she could stand in the opening, the grin on her face contagious.
“I did.” I ducked down so we were at eye level. “And I brought you a present, but you can only have it under one condition.”
Her eyes lit up and widened. “A present?”
As I held it behind my back, I said, “Yes.”
“Okay, I promise everything.”
I laughed. “Whenever you see me outside of school, you either call me by my real name, which is Addison, or my nickname, which is Addy. But when we’re at school, you have to call me Miss Lark. Do you think you can do that?”
She bobbed her head. “I can do that, Miss—” Her mouth formed an O when she realized the mistake she was about to make, and then she giggled. “Addy. I like Addy. It’s cute.”
“I like it too.”
“Addy, does that mean I get my present now?”
I stayed kneeling and smiled. “I went on a walk this morning, and I passed the most beautiful store.” Her big blue eyes were getting larger again as I spoke. “I saw these in the window, and because I knew I was coming over here to play with you, I thought you absolutely had to have them.” I moved my arm out from behind my back, and I handed her the gift.
She jumped up and down. “You bought me daisies! They’re pink! And light pink! And dark pink!”
“Do you like them?”
She nodded. “I love them sooo much. I want Daddy to see them. Come on!”
As I followed her inside and shut the door behind us, she yelled, “Daddy, Addy got me flowers. She said I could call her Addy, so don’t get mad I’m not calling her Miss Lark. And the flowers are pink, and they’re mine!”
When I reached the kitchen, Ridge was at the counter, putting away what looked like the remainder of their lunch, and he smiled the second he saw me. “Addison …”
I winked. “Ridge …”
He left my gaze to look at his daughter. “They’re beautiful. You’d better take good care of them.” He placed something in the fridge, shut the door, and asked, “Did you thank Addy for the flowers?”
“I don’t remember.” She turned toward me. “Miss—Addy, did I thank you?”
His smile caused every inch of my body to not only flush, but blush. And if I had to guess, he wasn’t even trying to cause this reaction inside me; he was staying completely appropriate in front of his daughter. He just had this effect on me.
I grinned at Daisy. “Not officially, but your excitement made up for it.”
“Daisy, you know better than that,” Ridge said to her. “What do you say to Addy?”
She rushed over to me and threw the arm that wasn’t holding the flowers around my waist. “Thank you sooo much. I love them to pieces.”
I palmed the side of her head and leaned down to squeeze her. “You’re sooo welcome.”
When she pulled back, she said, “Daddy, I need them to last forever and ever. Because flowers die, and these are too pretty to die.”
He chuckled as he walked to the far side of the kitchen and opened a cabinet, taking out a vase that he handed to me. “If you ask Addy nicely, she’ll show you how to put the flowers in water so they have the best chance of lasting.”
“Will you show me, Addy?” she pleaded.
“Of course. Come here.” I brought her over to the sink and set the glass in her outstretched hand. “I’m going to turn on the water and fill it halfway,” I instructed so she knew it was about to get heavier. I shut off the faucet when I was pleased with the level and had her set the vase on the counter. “Do you know where your dad keeps the scissors?”
“Over here.” She rushed to the island, opened a drawer, and came back. “Can I cut whatever you’re cutting?”
“Yes, you’re going to do all the cutting.” I opened the plastic wrap that was around the bouquet and placed all the flowers on the counter. “You’re going to lift each stem”—I placed one in her hand—“and you’re going to cut it at an angle.” I used my fingers as though they were scissors to show her what I meant.
“Like this?” She positioned the blades exactly where my fingers had been.
“Just like that.”
“Ugh,” she grunted as she cut the first one. “That was so tough.”
I smiled at her. “Now that it’s trimmed, you’re going to place the flower in the vase.”
When she dropped the stem in, the water made a plopping noise, and she giggled. “Pretty!”
I lifted the remaining stalks; there had to be at least twenty. “You’re going to do the same thing to all of these.”
“Yay!” She took one from my hand and cut it without needing any direction, dropping it in the water and picking up the next. “What if I cut it wrong?”
She was doing the angle correctly, so she must have meant at what point in the stem it needed to be cut.
“It’s okay if the stems are different lengths.” I had her slice one a little longer. “It’ll give the boutique some dimension when it’s all done. That means, because the tops of the flowers won’t all land in the same spot, they’ll almost make the shape of a dome, so you’ll get to see the details of every part of the flower.”
“Can I see it now?”
I twirled her ponytail around my finger. “You can, but you won’t see the full effect until you’re done.”
As she continued to shorten the stems, she said, “Daddy, does this count as my chores? Because this is hard work. I’m building a dome.”
He was sitting on one of the barstools with a tablet in front of him. I didn’t think he was actually using it because if he was, I wouldn’t be able to feel his eyes. And since I’d been standing at the sink, I’d been feeling them bore through me, my skin remaining hot even though I wasn’t looking at him.
“No, little one, you still have to do your chores.”
Daisy sighed. “Addy, I have to move so many things from the washer to the dryer once it stops shaking and spinning. And I have to fold everything when it comes out all hot. The towels are bigger than me! And I fold them into little rectangles and make them in a big pile, and sometimes, the pile collapses, and I have to do it all over again.”
“Sounds like you’re a huge help,” I told her.
“No”—she shook her head—“Daddy’s making me do it for Taylor. He says I have to be on my best behavior for her, so I’m trying real hard.”
The things that came out of kids’ mouths constantly made me laugh, especially in a relaxed setting like this. “Who’s Taylor? A friend of yours or …”
“ Swiiift .” She dragged it out for several beats. “I want to go to her concert. It’s very important. She sings about me, and I have to hear her sing that song. But not just that song. I know every word of every song, and I can’t wait. I told Daddy I’ll fold towels for the rest of my life if he takes me.”
“She sings a song about you?” I asked.
“‘You’re on Your Own, Kid!’” She set another flower in the vase. “She talks about a Daisy, and it’s meee .”
“It’s you, huh?” I teased.
“It can’t be about another Daisy,” she replied. “I’m the only Daisy.”
“There are millions of other Daisys, honey. I hate to tell you, but you’re not the only one,” Ridge said. “And I’m not saying that to upset you. I just want you to know there are other people who share your name.”
“That’s not fair,” she whined. “I wanna be the only one.”
I set the rest of the flowers on the counter and put my hands on her shoulders and turned her toward me. “There are too many people on this planet to have a name that no one else has, but you know what can make you unique and different from everyone else?”
Her shoulders rose, no longer slumping. “What?”
“Your personality. The way you treat people and make them feel. The things you can do for this world and everyone who lives in it.” I gently tickled the center of her cheeks, and she giggled. “I bet, Miss Daisy, that you’re going to do some incredible things because you have the kindest heart, just like your dad, and you’re giving and sensitive, and you care so deeply about others.”
“I’m all of those things?”
“Yes, you are.” I raked back the little pieces of hair that had fallen from her elastic. “So, even though you share a name, it doesn’t matter. Because Daisy Cole isn’t just going to be a name one day, it’s going to be a statement.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to save the horses.”
Her sass made me chuckle. “How are you going to save them?”
“I’m going to let them run free so they’re not in barns anymore. I want every horsey in the world to be able to go wherever they want, and I want one outside our kitchen, so when I wake up for school and come down for breakfast, I can feed it carrots outside the window.”
“Do me a favor, pumpkin. Don’t attempt that when we’re at the barn tomorrow. I’m afraid the owner won’t be very happy with us.” Ridge rubbed his hand over his forearm, drawing my attention to the veins that popped under his skin and the muscle that tightened and the dark hair that covered it.
But what stole my attention right back was Daisy’s giggle that turned into a snort.
“Oopsie-daisy,” she sang.
I looked back at Ridge, no longer able to contain myself, and I burst out laughing.
“Oopsie-daisy—hands down my favorite thing you’ve ever said.” I hugged her against me.
“Mommy used to say it when I was learning how to walk and kept falling. Now, I say it every time I snort—I don’t mean to do it, it just comes out sometimes, and it tickles.”
“It was perfect,” I told her.
She resumed the cutting, adding each of the flowers to the vase until the only things left were the fallen leaves.
I lifted the glass off the counter and held it in front of her. “What do you think?”
“It’s sooo pretty.”
“I think so too,” I replied.
“Where do you want to keep your flowers, Daisy?” Ridge asked. “Do you want them in the kitchen or your bedroom?”
“ Hmm .” She was touching the petals. “I want them next to my bed, so I see them when I go to sleep and wake up.”
“Why don’t you take them up to your room, then?” Ridge said.
She took the glass from my hands. “Be right back. I’ll be super fast.”
“No running,” Ridge reminded her as soon as she took off.
His eyes then moved to me—I could feel them, sense them—and I turned my head, locking our stares.
“I like this. I like this a whole fucking lot.” His eyelids narrowed. “Get over here.”
I assumed I had a little bit of time before Daisy returned, so I walked over to where he was sitting and wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged my body against his. “Me too.”
“You’re so good with her.” He gripped my ass, grazing his lips over my cheek. “Which doesn’t surprise me at all. You understand kids better than anyone. It comes so naturally to you.”
My eyes closed, the sensation of his hand and mouth completely taking over my body. “She makes it easy. She’s a good kid, Ridge. In the classroom, at home—overall. You and Jana have done a wonderful job with her.”
He turned my face toward him and held it. “I want to ask you something, and I want you to really think about it.”
The seriousness of his tone made me say, “Is this about Daisy?”
“No.” His stare intensified, shifting from my right eye to my left and back. “Brady and Lily’s wedding is in a few weeks. I’d like you to come to Scotland with me and be my date.”
It took me a moment before I said, “I?—”
“Before you say anything, I know it’s not easy for you to take time off during the school year, so I was thinking we could go for just a long weekend. Everyone would already be there, including Jana and Daisy. We’d fly in alone on one of our jets and meet them on Thursday.” His other hand rose up my side and rested on the base of my neck. “We’d come back on Sunday. We probably wouldn’t get in until late, but there’s a bedroom on the plane. You could sleep the whole way back if you needed to.”
Brady and Lily’s wedding wasn’t something I’d even considered going to since, up until the hot tub incident, I’d had no idea when Ridge planned to tell Jana about us. But given that things were still so fresh in Jana’s mind, before I even considered, I needed to know her thoughts on this.
“Ridge, how would Jana react if I was there?”
He searched my eyes. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
I nodded. “Of course. Her feelings will always matter to me, especially because she’s going to be attending with Daisy. I wouldn’t want her to feel uncomfortable in any way.”
“God, I fucking love you.” He kissed me deeply. “But I’ve already given Jana a heads-up. She’s fine with it.”
It was a relief that he’d thought to ask her prior to this conversation and that he was respectful to her about us. Still, I needed to be assured one more time. “You’re absolutely positive there won’t be any drama by my presence?” I pressed. “I don’t want to cause any type of commotion?—”
“If I thought that was going to happen, I wouldn’t invite you. I’d never put you in that situation, and I certainly wouldn’t bring drama to someone else’s wedding.” He traced his thumb over my lips. “I want you there. I want you there with me.”
I heard the patter of feet on the floor, and I moved to the other side of the island, resting my hands on the counter, trying to calm down my heart and breathing—both affected by everything he’d just said. And even though he was barely within reaching distance, I could still feel him.
On my neck.
On my lips.
I could taste him on my tongue.
“Soon, I’m not going to let you move away,” he said, his voice low. “I want my daughter to see the way I love you.”
All that did was add to the explosion that was already taking place within me. But it went deeper, his statement churning through my throat to my chest, settling in the base of my stomach that was a mess of tingles, so the only thing I could utter was, “Ridge …”
As Daisy came running into the kitchen, she stopped right next to me, her breath coming out in pants, her ponytail a few inches lower than it had been before. “I showed my pet animals the flowers, and they think they’re so beautiful. They say thank you.” She smiled and hugged my side, looking up at me. “Want to help me fold towels now? And then we can go to my room, and I can show you all my animals?”
I stole a quick glance at Ridge, whose smile hadn’t faded even a little bit. I returned the gesture and glanced back at his little girl. “I would love that.”