She was staring at my hand, and I realised that I was still clutching my crappy flowers.
I cleared my throat, my ears heating. "Um…these are for you. A belated Valentine's gift."
Her mouth tightened, but she made no move to grab them. "Thanks."
My hand fell in defeat. "Um…also, they're apology flowers for last night. And, I guess, Saturday," I stammered. "I'm sorry I was out late and for ruining dinner."
She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug, her eyes still evasive. "It's fine."
It wasn't fine. And I had an awful feeling that things would never be fine between us again. Feeling desperate, I extended the flowers again, needing her to accept anything from me.
She slowly reached out and clutched the stems. Our fingers brushed, and my eyes bored into her face, needing to seewhether she felt the same electricity as I did whenever we touched.
But her expression remained impassive as she reluctantly accepted the nearly-dead flowers.
"Hey, how about I book us a dinner out again. Maybe this weekend?"
She shook her head. "Um… that's okay. Rachel's busy this weekend anyway, so we don't have a sitter. Unless you want to go out with the kids again?"
I winced at that reminder. "Uh…no. Maybe you can check with Rach when she'll be free?"
"You want me to book the restaurant, too?" She sharply retorted.
"What?"
She shook her head and turned her face, but not before I caught the beginning of an eye roll. "Nevermind. I gotta get ready to get the girls."
"I can get them."
She finally glanced at me then, suspicion rampant in her stare. She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I need the fresh air."
I stood there like a spare part as she carelessly placed the flowers on the kitchen bench and headed upstairs.
My breath expelled out of me, and I rubbed the thickness in my chest. Her conversation with her mum ran through my head like a nightmare.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Zara wasn't happy. She was miserable.
I had always thought that her dad was pretty useless, so to be compared to him…Fuck. This wasn't good.
I couldn't lose Zara. She was the very air I breathed. She was my rock and the very foundation of my soul.
What the hell was I going to do?
Chapter 7
James
"Daddy! You're picking me up again?"
I smiled and waved at Kehlani as she bounded out of her class with a bright grin on her face. She ran into my arms, and I clutched her tight when she crashed into me. Her little arms wrapped around my waist, and I closed my eyes at the feel of her small body cradled in my arms.
"Yeah. Surprise, kiddo." I ruffled her hair and placed a kiss on top of her head.
She glanced up and waved a piece of paper in my face. "Look, Daddy! I got a letter. We're going to the park next week for a picnic!"
"Oh, wow." I grabbed the flailing paper out of her hand and scanned the details. They were having a half-day at the park where they had planted flowers a month prior.
