"You do that." She patted his cheek and slipped into her car before he could come up with a retort. He grabbed the pizza boxes from where he'd left them on the roof of her car and watched her leave.
Hailey was ecstatic when he walked in the door. "Ooh, pizza! Thanks, Daddy!"
"Hi to you, too."
He bent to kiss her and tried not to wince at the sloppy kiss she laid on him.
"I set the table like Grandpa said to."
Devon dropped the boxes in between the plates Hailey had put out. "Good job."
"Did you ask Chloe when we can see her again?"
A grin covered his face as he served Hailey her dinner. "This Saturday."
"Woo hoo!"
When Don came into the kitchen, Devon was chuckling. "What are we woo-hooing about?"
"We get to see Chloe on Saturday," Hailey replied around a mouthful of food.
"Hailey."
She ducked her head at her father's tone and waited until she'd swallowed. "Sorry."
Don winked at Devon.
Lydia came in from the garage a few minutes after they sat down and set her purse on the counter. "Oh, thank God you're already here, Devon. I'm starving."
It was basically a typical night for them. Devon looked at his parents and daughter, rolling around the idea of finding his own place again. At the moment, it was convenient for him to live with his child care, but it was also very true that he needed to get his privacy back. He would call the realtor who sold his house for him and see what he needed to do. Thoughts of money and taxes swirled around in his head until Hailey finished eating.
"Ready to sit on the couch with your old man?" he asked her.
She scrunched her nose. "You're not an old man, Daddy."
"Thank you," he said wryly. "It's an expression. Are you ready?"
"Yep."
They watched a little TV before it was time for her bedtime routine. Devon supervised the singing and splashing that constituted Hailey's bath, and then his mind drifted off as she put on her pajamas. He realized how much he wanted Chloe with them for pizza dinners and bedtime routines. He could picture making a life with her, making her a permanent part of his and Hailey's lives. Was that what love should feel like? It wasn't the same as what he'd felt for Kathy, and that worried him.
"Daddy!"
Hailey's voice snapped him to the present. "What?"
"I said, can I have two bedtime stories?"
"Yes, bug, you can."
The next day was too much like the one before. His parents seemed determined to marry him off to Chloe before spring arrived, and the more they brought it up, the more he dug in his heels.
"Hailey says you're going to see Chloe on Saturday."
"We are," he answered Lydia. "She also sent me a text to say she'd try to stop by the shop this afternoon before work."
"That might be fun."
"Or it might be for a quick hello." He tried not to roll his eyes as he rinsed his coffee mug and set it in the sink.
