I blinked, glancing at Nova with my brows drawn. “Daddy Luna?”
Nova gave me a sheepish smile. “That’s what she calls Luna. Since Luna is basically?—”
“My other dad,” Scarlette cut in proudly, hands on her hips. “I have three of them now.”
I let out a laugh so loud I had to brace a hand on my stomach. I dropped to one knee to meet her eye level. Up close, it was dizzying. She had Austin’s eyes, his curls, his smirk as though someone hit copy and paste.
Nova watched me with a soft smile. “Like seeing someone familiar,” she said gently.
“I’m Dirks,” I said, holding out my hand.
The kid stared at me with total concentration, then wrinkled her nose. “Dicks is a weird name.”
Nova choked, one hand flying over her mouth. “No— Scarlette. His name isDirks,sweetie.Dirks.”
She squinted. “Still weird.”
I turned my head to the side, trying not to lose it again. “Yeah, well. Fair enough.” I gave her hair a little ruffle. “I can see Luna’s influence all over you.”
Scarlette narrowed her eyes. “Who are you, anyway? My mum’s already engaged to my other dad, Ollie. So you can’t love her.”
I swallowed another laugh, trying to keep a straight face. “Noted. I’m actually here to see Luna.”
She tilted her head, studying me. “Daddy Luna used to date my Uncle Will, but they broke up, that’s why we came to America. Are you going to break up with her, too?”
“I sure hope not, kiddo.”
“Okay,Dicks,” she said, still mangling my name. “I’m going to finish coloring now. Bye!”
With that, she twirled and skipped down the hall to color in her room.
Nova covered her face. “I am so sorry. She’s in a brutal-honesty phase.”
“Don’t be. It’s hilarious how much she reminds me of Luna... same blunt streak with zero filter.”
Nova’s shoulders relaxed as she laughed. “Yeah, that tracks. Come sit down before she comes back with more questions about your love life.”
I followed her through the open living space toward the back, where the kitchen sprawled out in warm, inviting tones, gleaming countertops, soft lighting, and a cutting board half covered in chopped vegetables.
“Sit,” she said, gesturing to one of the barstools at the island. “I’m gonna keep making us dinner, if you don’t mind. Want something to drink?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you.”
She nodded and turned back to the stove, the gentle clatter of pans filling the space. For a moment, all I could hear was the faint sizzle of whatever she was cooking and the hum of the heater kicking on.
I cleared my throat. “To be honest... I don’t even know why I came in here. I guess— I guess I just needed to see it. All of it. For what it really is.”
Nova didn’t say anything right away. She stood there, hands braced on the counter for a moment before she sighed.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I called him. Austin. He was still in rehab—he’d extended his stay.”
I stayed quiet, giving her space.
“I’d already seen what addiction could do to someone. I’d lived through the worst of it with him. I-I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk Scarlette growing up around that. Around the chaos, the lies, the highs and crashes. She deserved more than that.”
“So you kept it from him.”
“Yeah. I stayed in London. Kept it quiet. Raised her with Luna and Ollie. I didn’t know what else to do.”
