“Wouldn’t you want someone to get sprinkles to me if Mom said no?”
A muscle in his jaw clicked at the mention of her mother. He tried not to show it. Damn, he tried so hard every time she mentioned her mother, but he never seemed able to control his reaction.
“I’d always want to make sure you had access to sprinkles, Princess.”
She beamed at him.
Eastern was just rounding a corner when a woman with her head down, eyes on her phone, ran straight into him. She gasped, grabbing onto his arm.
He gripped her waist to steady her. “Whoa, you okay there?”
Her eyes shot up—beautiful dark eyes, almost black. Right now, they looked sad, with a hint of tears and redness, as if she’d already cried a bunch of tears.
She opened her mouth, but before she could get a word out, a scream sounded behind him, then Avery threw her arms around the woman’s legs.
“Sadie, you’re here!”
Sadie? Her former nanny? Eastern had met her once or twice over the years, but she’d been younger then. The young lady he remembered lookednothinglike this woman.
Wait—why was she here? Shouldn’t she have just married that guy in Atlanta?
Sadie blinked a few times before visibly forcing a smile to her lips and lowering to her haunches. “Oh, Avery, sweetie, I’ve missed you so much, baby girl!” She pulled Avery into a hug, and the two just held each other for a long moment.
“I’ve missed you too,” Avery whispered.
There was so much emotion in their embrace…in the way both of them spoke. Eastern had known his daughter loved Sadie, given how much she spoke about her, but this really confirmed it.
When they parted, Sadie remained crouched, brushing some hair from Avery’s face. “How have you been?”
“Terrible! I’ve had no one to tell all my problems to, and there have beensomany.”
Sadie gave Avery a sweet smile as Eastern cleared his throat. His eight-going-on-sixteen-year-old rolled her eyes.
“I mean, I’ve had no girls to tell, Dad.”
Sadie tilted her head. “Well, I’m back now.”
She looked at Avery with such love and affection, Eastern suddenly regretted not getting to know her previously.
“For good?” Avery asked, hope in her voice.
“Yeah, sweetie, for good.”
Avery threw her arms around Sadie again.
If she was here to live, did that mean her husband was here too?
When Sadie rose, her dark eyes glistened with tears, but she blinked them back as she looked up at him. “It’s good to see you again, Eastern.”
He dipped his head. Sadie had worked for Avery’s mother, not him. He could probably count on one hand the number of times he’d met her, the first time being when she was only a teenager. “You too.” For some reason, he couldn’t stop staring at those big black eyes. There was so much sadness in them, but also, a bit of light. After seeing Avery?
“Are you working at Sugar and Spice?” Avery asked.
“I am. I’m helping my grandmother with the shop again, but if your dad ever needs someone to look after you, I’ll always make myself available.”
Avery gasped and spun, tugging at Eastern’s shirt. “Oh, please, Daddy? I love Sadie!”
Yeah, he knew that. His daughter had mentioned her almost every day since he’d returned from the Navy. “Avery and I would both love to have your help, on occasions when you’re free.”
