Penny’s eyes narrow, darting between me and Lily. “Without me?”
“Um, yeah,” Lily says, shooting a panicked look at me over Penny’s head.
Josie appears in the doorway. Her gaze sweeps from Lily to me and back again, like she’s reading a juicy scene in a romance novel.
She crosses her arms, leaning against the doorframe with an air of supreme satisfaction. “Well, this is cozy.”
“Uh, hey,” Lily says with an edge of defensiveness.
“Hey, Josie.” I wave, flashing what I hope passes for an easy smile.
Josie’s grin widens into something almost feral. “Hiiii, Josh.”
Heck, Lily was right; they’re going to be total dicks about this.
Josie saunters over and gives her sister a hug, whispering, “I’m gonna go now, but I’m expecting a call tonight. I want all the deets on how this happened.”
She throws a foxy grin at me over her shoulder and surprises me by letting go of Lily and hugging me, too. Her voice falls below even a whisper, probably to make sure Penny doesn’t hear her. “Looking forward to seeing you at family dinners. Dorian was getting tired of his ass being the only one groped by inappropriate, elderly aunts.”
I cough, mildly alarmed. “Sure thing.”
She pats my shoulder encouragingly and after a quick hug to Penny, Josie leaves.
The second the door closes, Penny plants herself in front of us, hands on her hips in a pose so reminiscent of Lily my heart twists. “Are you guys dating?” she demands.
Lily and I exchange a look. So much for easing into it.
“Yes,” Lily says simply. “We are. Is that okay with you?”
Penny’s face scrunches up as she considers this. “Does this mean Josh is going to be around more?”
“Only if you’d like me to be,” I say cautiously.
A slow smile splits her cheeks. “Will you teach me to fix more stuff? And can we go swimming in the pool even when it’s not super hot? And will you come to my ballet recital?”
Relief floods through me. “Yes, yes, and yes.”
Penny turns to Lily. “Will you marry him?”
Lily makes a choking sound. “What? Penny, we just started dating!”
“So? Tiffany’s mom and dad only dated for two weeks before they got married.” Penny shrugs as if this is reasonable. “And Josh already fixes stuff and makes us dinner and plays with me.” She turns serious now and quiet as she looks at me. “Are you my stepdad now?”
I crouch down, wanting to be at eye level with her. “Would you want me to be?”
Before answering, Penny glances back at Lily, as if wondering if it’s okay to say yes.
I hold my breath, watching Lily’s face. This is the moment I’ve been worried about—the “replacing Daniel” conversation.
But Lily handles it beautifully. She kneels down at Penny’s level, too, taking her small hands in hers. “Sweetie, Josh and I care about each other very much. And yes, he’ll be around more. But no one will ever replace your daddy. He’ll always be your dad, and we’ll always love him and remember him.”
Penny nods solemnly. “I know that, Mom. But Daddy’s in heaven. And Josh is here. So can he be my stepdad?” She says it simply, with such childlike clarity, that I have to blink back sudden tears.
“Yes, honey,” Lily agrees, her own voice thick.
Penny considers me. She lets go of her mother’s hands and turns to me. “I like that you make my mom smile. She’s started smiling again since you moved here. And I’d love for you to be my stepdad.”
“Then you have me, kiddo.”
