I coughed against an unexpected flutter in my stomach.
I heard concern in James’s voice as he asked, “Ryder, are you al?—”
“Don’t you dare turn around!” Hannah said.
I rolled my eyes—they were both ridiculous. “I’m fine!”
Something about hearing myself referred to as a dad still hit me in a way I couldn’t explain. It meant all the more to me because she’d started doing so naturally. I hadn’t pressured her into calling me that, especially while Erin was still chasing after me with those papers to surrender my parental rights.
I blamed my sudden blurry vision on my cough. But when my daughter appeared in front of me, her deep blue eyes were glossy as well.
“Don’t get sappy on me,” she whispered, straightening my bow tie.
With Hannah’s approval, we were sent back to our respective rooms to get changed. I overheard her speaking with the attendant about dates and deadlines as I changed.
I had to tell her. Now that I knew, each day that passed where I didn’t confess would only make things worse. She was nineteen, which gave her around two years to adjust to being a witch before her powers activated. Although, from my experience, I wasn’t convinced there waseverenough time to adjust to the paranormal. James and I had been together for over a year now, and I was still dealing with occasional panic attacks.
“Han, do you have anywhere to be?” I called through the curtain.
“Mm, nope. It’s my day off. I was going to spend it on the couch withBuffyafter this, but what did you have in mind?”
I slid the curtain aside, fully dressed. “You want to grab some dinner?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Hm?” I focused on the snap of my sleeve. It didn’t really need to be snapped at all, but it gave me something to do.
“The last time you looked like that you told me you were dating a vampire. Is this another ‘big news’ dinner?”
Damn, she was entirely too perceptive.
“Yeah,” I admitted with a sigh. “It is.”
Hannah didn’t bat an eye. “I’ll let Kian know.” She stepped aside to make her phone call.
James appeared next to me. “You want me to tag along?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You should get to the bar. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Good luck, then.” James gave me a kiss and said goodbye to Hannah before exiting the shop.
“Did he not want a ride?” she asked, standing by while I paid for the tuxes.
I stayed quiet until we stepped onto the sidewalk, not wanting anyone to overhear. “Superspeed. He doesn’t need to be driven anywhere.”
“That’s a real thing?”
“Mmhmm. Along with heightened senses and…somany other things.” I took a deep breath, attempting to stave off the inevitable. “Any idea what you want to eat?”
“Whatever will make you spit out this news quicker.”
We stopped at a crossing, and Hannah glanced at me. God, she was such an adult. I had to take a moment to remind myself that I wasn’t dealing with a child. Knowing that I’d missed out on so much time with her hit me like a freight train. She’d lived a whole life, and now I was about to shake things up all over again.
“Are you leaving?”
“What?” I screeched to a halt in the middle of the street, and Hannah had to tug my arm to keep me moving. “No, I’m not leaving. Why would you think that?”
She shrugged, gesturing to a Thai restaurant. I opened the door and let her in ahead of me.
