10. Jordan
JORDAN
After my conversation with Carter, I had to rush out of the coffee shop to meet up with my contractor.
As usual, he was late and apologizing before he'd even gotten out of his truck. "I’m so sorry, but we’re gonna need another two weeks.
" The look on his face was genuinely guilty, but that didn’t make me feel better about not having a proper place to take Kylie back to.
"County's backed up on inspections, so we can’t get the finals signed off until the end of next week. "
Six months ago, that would've ruined my whole afternoon, but I had different priorities now. “Fine. Just…get it done.”
He walked me through the punch list, and I approved the last few finish items he'd been waiting on. Once I was alone, I walked through the empty rooms and imagined what it would be like to have Kylie there with me. Not just for date nights but every night.
That was where my mind was after just a few days. Nothing made sense, but she did. Everything about her felt like it was the perfect addition to what I’d been missing.
And even though it was unexpected, I felt oddly reassured after speaking with Carter. Knowing Kylie had such a supportive and protective friend group made me feel better. And knowing we’d actually met at Primal gave me a boost of confidence that I was finally with my people.
It was sweet that he did the whole ‘hurt-her-and-die’ speech, but there was no heat behind his words. He seemed to understand that sometimes love grabbed us when we least expected it and never let go. He had been there himself and was happy that Kylie was so happy with me.
I promised that my intentions were true and that I would never hurt his friend. And I meant that. I hoped to have every day of my life to keep proving to her that I just wanted to take care of her and keep her smiling.
It was a quick conversation, and at the end, he clapped me on the shoulder and went back inside.
That was enough for him, and I was grateful to get the seal of approval from at least one of her friends.
Now I just had to charm the rest of her crew because I intended to be by her side for all their future playdates.
At least the ones that allowed Daddies to join in.
According to Carter, sometimes the girls had no-Daddy dates so they could gossip about us.
That made me smile, and I was glad Kylie could now participate in those conversations too.
And as I walked through my newly renovated home, I realized that I wanted to share it with Kylie. The woman I was definitely in love with. I wasn’t sure when I would tell her that. She might need more time, but I felt it, and it was on the tip of my tongue when the moment felt right.
The day got away from me, so I didn’t get to see her at the kitchen, but I texted that I’d pick up dinner and head over to her place.
I also had to tell her everything about myself.
I didn’t want her to learn from someone else that I owned the Starred Skillet.
That might make her think I was keeping it from her on purpose.
Maybe that was true at first, but not anymore.
I didn’t want to keep any secrets from her.
When I was finally able to get away from my desk, I picked up dinner and headed to her place with my stomach in a knot because of everything we needed to discuss…and everything that could upset her.
The second she saw me, Kylie pulled me in for a kiss. It was full of all the feelings I shared at having been away from her for the entire day. “Hi, Daddy!” She reached for the food and began to unpack it. “How was your day?”
“Good. I missed you.” She looked at me with a warm smile, but that quickly faded. "You okay? It looks like you’re upset about something?"
"I’m fine, but I need to talk to you about something." Of course, that made her worried, but she sat down at the table and I kneeled beside her. "It's nothing bad. I just didn’t mention something that I probably should've told you sooner."
She swallowed hard and braced herself for bad news. "Okay."
"I’m sorry for not being more forthcoming with you, but…
I own The Starred Skillet." I reached for her hand and held it.
"I bought the building a few years ago when I was working in Manhattan and needed somewhere quiet to test recipes when I was in town.
Magda runs the day-to-day operations, so I'm basically a tenant like everybody else. But I don’t want secrets between us, so I wanted to make sure you know that. "
She narrowed her eyes like she was still confused. "You own the kitchen. The whole place?"
"Yes." I squeezed her hand, hoping this wasn’t a deal breaker for her.
"Did you know who I was when I booked the station? Was this some kind of setup?"
"No, of course not!" That hadn’t really crossed my mind, but it made sense for hers to go there. "I didn’t know you were a baker and was as surprised as you were when we ran into each other there."
"Are there any other things I should know?"
"Not really." I grinned and tried to pull off humble. "I mean, if you google me, you’ll find articles and stuff."
“Stuff?” She spoke quietly like she was afraid to ask me to elaborate.
"Nothing bad." I wanted her to know all of me, and my fame was a part of that. “But I’m kind of a big deal.” I smirked and then winked to let her know I was teasing.
She looked down at our joined hands for a moment and then back up at me. "Like…famous?"
"Kinda." I leaned closer to her so I could kiss her mouth. "People in the culinary world know me, but they don’t matter. You’re the only person who matters, and I just want you to know me as Daddy."
She inhaled slowly and then blew it out. "Okay, Daddy. Thank you for telling me."