“I’d make a flower quilt. Like Shona’s.” Adele’s voice trailed off into silence.
He tucked the blankets around her and sighed. His daughter was the most important person in his life. If he wanted to spend more time with Shona, how would that affect Adele? And what would Nate think?
Leaning forward, he kissed Adele’s cheek. “Goodnight, pumpkin,” he whispered. “Sweet dreams.”
On his way out of the room, he looked at the book on her bedside table. Adele had found a copy ofThe Princess Diariesat the Saturday market. She’d read it cover-to-cover at least a dozen times.
His daughter dreamed about kings and queens who lived happily ever after, and handsome princes who always rescued their beautiful princesses. But life seldom worked out that way. It took more than a pretty face and a vault full of gold to bring you lasting happiness.
He’d found that out the hard way and it wasn’t something he wanted to go through again.
Unless his princess liked kissing frogs.
* * *
While Joseph was puttingAdele to bed, Shona wandered into the next room to see what Nate was doing. “Are you winning?”
Nate kept his eyes fixed on the television. “It’s time trials, Mom. You only win against yourself.”
She glanced at the game he was playing. “Isn’t that one of theNeed for Speedracing games? You used to play it when you were little.”
Nate leaned closer to the screen. “It’s the Rivals edition.” With a defeated sigh, he threw himself against the back of the sofa. “I crashed and burned.”
Shona laughed. “At least you get another chance.”
“It won’t help. I’m a little rusty.”
“Aren’t we all,” Joseph said from the doorway.
Shona’s smile widened when she saw the rueful grin on his face. “It comes with old age.”
“I’ve onlyjustturned fifty. That’s still spring chicken territory.”
The teasing note in his voice made her heart pound. It was insanely unfair that Joseph was handsome, intelligent,andhad a good sense of humor.
“Besides,” he continued. “Need for Speed: Rivalsis great. You can have up to six racers tackling the same challenges at the same time. When it was launched, it was one of the best Xbox games on the market.”
Nate’s eyes widened. “You play?”
“Only when Adele isn’t home. She beats me every time.”
When Shona’s son held the second remote controller toward Joseph, he shook his head. “Last time I played, I was at the back of the starting grid.”
“Same here,” Nate said as he reset the game.
“It sounds like you’re a match made in heaven,” Shona told them.
Joseph laughed. “Or a disaster waiting to happen.”
Nate pushed the start button. “If you’re trying to psych me out, it won’t work. You have ten seconds to decide if you’re racing against me.”
Taking the controller, Joseph sat beside him. “Best of three. Whoever wins has to buy the other person a bag of fudge from Sweet Treats.”
Nate sat on the edge of his seat. “Deal. Are you ready?”
Joseph tightened his grip on the controller, and Shona smiled. If he were as competitive as she thought he was, the races would be interesting.
CHAPTER13
