Chapter Twenty #2
Daisy blinked once at Jameson and mumbled, “Sure.” Then she kept walking toward the apartment in silence.
Amelia, however, couldn’t keep quiet. “So, from one to ten, how famous are you?”
Jameson hesitated. “Probably a five or six.”
Daisy scoffed under her breath. He was easily a nine, maybe even a ten.
She had avoided anything to do with him or the band for nearly a decade, and he still managed to slip through: his voice on the radio, his face on TV, his name in the glossy pages of her favorite magazines.
His modesty was humbling, but it was also completely wrong.
“That’s pretty cool. I’ve never met anyone famous before,” Amelia said, eyes shining.
“Yes,” Jameson admitted, “it can be cool but also overwhelming. Especially when people find out who you are and start following you.”
“Like the paparazzi?”
“Them, or just people who forget basic decency. They see the spotlight and forget that, apart from my voice, I’m just a normal person.”
There it was again. Normal.
Daisy lingered on the word. Why did he cling to it so tightly? Maybe because he craved it. A life where he could walk down the street without ducking under a cap, where he could sit in a park without drawing stares.
A shiver ran through her as they reached her complex. She opened the door to let Amelia dart inside. Jameson caught the door from her, waiting until she stepped through before following. With Amelia already out of sight, the two of them climbed the stairs in quiet parallel.
“If this isn’t okay,” Jameson said softly, “just say the word and I’ll go.”
“I don’t know if it is,” Daisy admitted. “But Amelia seems to like you, so I guess I’ll just have to deal.”
“This will be good, Daisy. I promise.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” she muttered under hers, low enough that he couldn’t hear.
Inside, Amelia wasted no time pulling ingredients from the cabinets and fridge, more excited than ever for her mother’s pancakes.
“You’re going to love these, Jameson,” she said with a grin. “They’re so good.”
Jameson dropped onto a stool at the kitchen island. “Are they anything like Dena’s?”
Daisy washed her hands and gave him a sidelong glance. “Identical. It’s her recipe.”
Amelia slid onto the stool beside him, chin propped on her hands, watching her mother work like it was magic.
“You know my Nani?”
Jameson gently gulped. “Uhh, I did. A long time ago. She was the best cook around.”
“She still is. What was your favorite?”
Jameson scratched his temple and pondered hard. “I’d have to say her butter chicken was my favorite, but her blueberry pancakes were a close second.”
Amelia beamed and astonishingly gaped at her mother. “Butter chicken is my favorite, too!”
Jameson lifted his brows curiously. Of course it was her favorite.
“Were you and my mom best friends then?”
Daisy began shaking her head, but Jameson quickly replied, “Yes.”
Daisy stopped pouring the pancake mix on the griddle and scoffed. He blatantly ignored her and continued. “I was best friends with your uncle Sean as well. We grew up together, and I actually started my band in your grandparents’ garage.”
“No way!”
“Yep, your mum came to a bunch of my shows. She was—”
Daisy interrupted. “Okay, enough of memory lane. Amelia, please grab some silverware and plates for the table.”
“But, Mom…”
“Amelia, now.”
Amelia grumbled but ultimately obeyed.
“Let me help you,” Jameson said, as he stood from the kitchen island.
He and Amelia set the table while Daisy finished off a batch of pancakes.
She loaded up a plate and the three of them dug into their breakfast. The first minute of eating was filled with happy moans and smacking mouths.
The pancakes were absolutely mouthwatering.
“This is amazing, Daisy.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled, with her mouth slightly full.
The pile of carbs was gone in a flash, mostly due to Jameson’s vast appetite.
He was like a vacuum, sucking in every piece as he maneuvered his plate.
When their bellies were full, Amelia lay back in her chair and said, “I think I’m gonna lie down for a little bit.
I need to give my belly a rest. Wanna watch a movie with me, Jameson?
” He simpered at her kindhearted spirit but didn’t want to overstay his welcome, especially on the first go-around.
“Thanks for the offer, kiddo, but I think I’m going to head out.”
Amelia pouted her lip a little and then stood from her seat and threw her arms around him. “Thanks for an awesome day.”
Jameson paused for a brief moment and uttered, “Anytime.”
Amelia pulled back from his embrace and wagged her finger in his face. “Don’t be a stranger now.”
He snorted at her drollery. “I most certainly will not be.”
She quickly hugged him again and then skipped off to her room.
Jameson watched as she rounded the corner and continued to smile even after she was out of sight.
Daisy’s insides fluttered with a feeling that she was not familiar with. If she had to describe it as anything, she’d say it was the closest thing to hope. The hope that Amelia would one day have a relationship with the man whom she thought was just one of her mother’s childhood friends.
“Let me help you with these,” Jameson offered as he cleared the table of plates.
“You don’t need to…”
“Just let me help, then I’ll get out of your hair.”
The pair cleaned the kitchen in silence until the very last dish was put away.
When her kitchen was back to normal, Jameson made his way to the front door and Daisy escorted him out.
He had taken one step out the front when he slightly pivoted and asked, “What does she think happened to her father?”
Daisy had expected this question from the first moment he had reentered their lives. She wasn’t shaken by the inquiry, so she answered it honestly. “I told her that her real dad was young and had a bright future ahead of him, so the thought of having a baby was really scary.”
She bit down on her lip and continued, “I told her that he loved her but… but that he was in no position to be a dad.”
“Does she still ask about me?”
Daisy shifted her eyes to the floor and with a guilt-ridden voice whispered, “All the time. She asks about you all the time. It’s not easy being a kid without a dad, especially in a society where it is still very much taboo to be a single mother.
And while Matt tries to step in, the fact remains that… ”
“… he’s not her father,” Jameson finished her sentence, then rocked his head back and forth. “I should’ve been here, Daisy. All this time…”
“I know.”
“You took that from me.”
A whoosh of self-reproach spread across her skin as she reiterated, “I know.”
He took another step out of her apartment, then lingered in the hallway. “Can I come by tomorrow?”
Daisy leaned into the doorframe and folded her arms. “Matt will be home tomorrow, and we were supposed to go to the aquarium.”
“Does he live here?”
“No, but when he’s in town, we try to soak up as much time together.”
Jameson subtly balked. “How about Tuesday?”
“She has school.”
“After?”
Daisy cautiously nodded. “Sure. After school.”
“Can I bring dinner or something?”
Daisy popped her lips and groused, “Mm-hmm.”
His voice dropped low, the old tenderness slipping through, “Sounds good. See you then, darlin’.”