“Are you sure you want both, Ava?” Levi asks, and she nods fiercely.
He ruffles her hair and then winks as he walks past me and into the coffee shop.
A moment later, he’s back with Ava’s request and a coffee.
“No cake for you?” I ask.
“I’ll finish her brownie in a bit. Her eyes are always bigger than her tummy,” he says.
“They’re not, Daddy. I just don’t mind sharing with you,” Ava says before she takes a large bite of her brownie.
I have to bite my lip to stop laughing at her smart reply. Levi looks at her adoringly, and my heart flies across the table to nestle against his.
Under the table, he stretches his legs so our ankles are touching. It’s like there’s a secret conversation going on between us that no one else can hear.
We’ve been spending as much time together as possible, which hasn’t been much because of his shifts at the bar. Whenever he has an evening off, he spends it with Ava, which is understandable.
The only day I’ve had him to myself was last Sunday when he came over to photograph my pieces for the website. As soon as he was done, we jumped each other, and after a bone-melting orgasm, we cuddled in bed and watched a movie on my laptop.
But that was almost a week ago, and I miss him so much I’m afraid to move in case my body takes over and I find myself sitting on his lap.
“Ava has been telling me all about her painting classes,” Levi says. “I can’t wait to see what she’s working on.”
Ava takes a long slurp of her milkshake. The way she’s swaying sideways makes me wonder if she’s swinging her little legs under the table, which makes her a thousand times more adorable.
“It’s a surprise!” She throws her hands in the air dramatically.
Levi says, “I’ve been forbidden to attend her classes until she’s finished. Apparently, her incredible art is my birthday present.”
“Yup,” Ava says, with a pop in the p. “You’re also getting chocolates.”
“I love chocolates, Jellybean. Can’t wait for my birthday.”
I lean on the table. “When’s your birthday?”
“May second,” Ava replies. “Daddybug’s going to betwenty-nine years old.”
I laugh. “Wow, that sounds like a big number.”
“Yeah. I’m seven, and I’m going to be eight in August. Aunt Liv said there’s a summer festival. I want to go to the summer festival for my birthday. Daddy, I’m finished. You can have the rest of my brownie now.”
Levi takes the remaining brownie and stuffs it all in his mouth while making monster sounds, which makes Ava giggle.
I know Julius’s’ brownies are super gooey, and I want to laugh so hard when Levi starts coughing. I glance at his mug, and he still has some coffee left, which is fortunate.
“That was probably a silly move,” he says, downing his coffee and then looking at my cup. I push it his way, and he drinks the rest. “Thanks.”
“Daddybug, are you and Arlo boyfriends?” Ava asks.
Levi starts coughing again, and I can’t stop my laughter.
“What’s so funny? Gigi said I couldn’t drink from his cup because we’re just friends. We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend.”
I cover my mouth with my hand and let Levi handle it.
“Jellybean…um…Arlo and I are really good friends. You know how you like to spend time with Gigi?” She nods. “I like to spend time with Arlo too. When I see Arlo, my heart gets really, really happy.”
“My heart gets really happy when I see you, Daddy. Are you my boyfriend?” she asks.
