He dumped the ice cream in the sink, then grabbed a Heineken from the fridge and sucked back half of it in one go. Father of the year here. So much for making it a magical, fun weekend for his daughters. He put the movie on and turned the volume up, hoping to entice them. Plunking himself on the sofa, he muttered, “Fine. You don’t want to watch the movie? I’ll watch it myself. It’s a goddamn classic. Rick Moranis at his best.”
After a few minutes without the girls coming down, an idea struck him. He’d call Steven to see if he could come over tomorrow. He needed to get in some time with him anyway. The poor guy was still in shock about Claudia and Mike’s baby. For some reason it hit him a lot harder than he thought it would. Rusty too.
He paused the movie and dialed Steven’s number, hoping that by this time Saturday night, the house would be filled with giggles and happy chattering daughters.
Inviting Steven was a mistake. Ivy was happy about it in a way he’d never seen from her. She sat too close to him at the table while they played Monopoly and blinked her eyelashes too much. And when the hell did she stop calling him Uncle Steven, swapping it out for just Steve?
After Monopoly, Ivy yelled, “Hot tub time!”
Poppy clapped her hands at the idea, and the pair ran off to change into their swimsuits. Steven smiled at his friend. “They have alotof energy.”
“Yes, they do,” he answered, taking a pull on his beer.
“They’re good kids, all of them,” he said, stacking the money into one tall pile.
“No thanks to me,” Zane said. “Sienna did everything.”
Steven glanced at him. “Yeah, about Sienna… if you ever want to tell me what really happened, I’m happy to listen.”
“I already told you we just hit a rough patch. With Mike and all… Maybe it’s a midlife thing.” He kept his gaze on the Monopoly pieces he was putting away.
“All right, I don’t mean to pry.”
“Sure you do.”
Steven grinned at him. “What can I say? I’m a bit of nosy bastard.”
The girls returned, Poppy in aDora the Explorerswimsuit, and Ivy in a bikini Zane had never seen before. The sight of it made him want to cover her up immediately. She smiled at them both. “Come on, you two. Get changed already!”
Poppy hopped up and down on the spot. “Yeah, come on, you two! Hot tub time!”
Steven looked at Zane. “Got an extra set of trunks?”
After twenty minutes, Zane could see Poppy was overheating. She was also ready for bed based on the number of yawns escaping her mouth. He felt weird about leaving Ivy with Steven in the hot tub but then brushed that thought aside. He was like an uncle to her. And she’d always be his little niece.
It took him half an hour to get Poppy tucked into bed, and by the time he returned to the kitchen, he could see Ivy and Steven through the kitchen window, sitting on the ledge with their feet dangling in the now-still water. The window was open, and without the motor running, he could hear them talking. He heard Steven say, “Aww, don’t worry about that. Boys your age are stupid and they get intimidated by smart girls. When you grow up and start spending time around actual men, you’ll be flooded with offers.”
The thought of Ivy around actual men caused Zane’s blood pressure to jump ten points. He gripped the counter with both hands, calling through the window, “Hey, Ivy, time for bed. It’s getting late, and you’ve got lots of studying to do tomorrow.”
Grabbing a towel off the kitchen table, he went outside. Ivy pulled a face at her dad, then gave Steven a careless grin. “I guess I better go. Mr. Spoil Sport has decided the party’s over.”
She stood and got out of the tub, moving smoothly, every bit her mother’s daughter. Zane quickly wrapped her up in the towel and said, “Good night. Love you.”
“Yup. Good night, fellas,” she called over her shoulder.
Zane gave Steven a death glare before realizing his friend hadn’t done anything wrong. Softening his expression, he said, “Fellas. I’m her dad for God’s sake. And now I’m just a fella?”
Steven chuckled. “Such a fun age, all the parents say so.”
“Yeah, she’s very much a child still,” Zane said in a warning tone.
“Sure is. She’s a sweet kid. Very innocent.”
“And she’s going to stay that way.”
“Are you seriously trying to warn me not to do something I would never in a thousand years do?”
Zane shook his head. “Pfft, no, of course not. I meant in general. I’m putting that out there into the universe for all the males of the world to hear. No one had ever better touch my child. Ever. Until she’s forty.”
