As soon as the kids saw him, Chloe and Carsyn rushed him.
“Grandpa!”
“My babies!” he exclaimed, scooping Chloe up, kissing her cheek, then bringing Carsyn in for a hug. He kissed the top of his head as Alicia slid out of the booth and went over to him. Carlee wasn’t paying anybody any mind as she sat on my lap, coloring one of the pictures the host had given them.
“Let’s say hi to your grandpa, baby girl,” I said to Carlee, standing and walking over to them. Her father looked at me after releasing Alicia.
I stuck my hand out for him to shake.
“Basil Cassidy.”
He reluctantly took my hand in a firm grip. “Noah Calvert. You must be this manny my daughter has been speaking about.”
“I am.”
“Mm. What are your intentions with my daughter?”
“Daddy, please, don’t. I already had to deal with your ex-wife embarrassing me. Please stall me out. Besides, Basil is engaged.”
“And your fiancée is okay with you taking care of another beautiful woman and her kids?”
I was humored, and I was sure it showed on my face. “It’s my job, sir.”
“Right. Lee-Lee, you don’t miss your grandpa?” he asked, reaching for her, but she turned away. “Wow, I see.”
“Let’s sit down so we can eat. We’re starving,” Alicia said, sliding back in the booth. Once we were all settled, Alicia smiled at her dad and took his hand. “How have you been, Daddy?”
“I’ve been good. The car wash/detailing shop has expanded to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. My health is pretty good, although I almost had a diabetes scare. And your grandmother is doing okay, even though she’s rocking my nerves with not taking her meds like she should. But other than that, everything is good.”
“What about Ms. Brandy?”
“No more Brandy.”
Alicia gasped. “Why? What happened?”
“Eh, I’m too old to be chasing behind a woman who doesn’t know what she wants. She wanted me to move to California with her, but my life is here. If we were married, I may have considered it, but she didn’t give me much hope to follow her.”
“Aww, I’m sorry, Daddy. I liked Ms. Brandy for you.”
“I liked Ms. Brandy too, Grandpa,” Chloe said.
“I know, cupcake, but Grandpa needs a break from finding grandmas for y’all.” Alicia and I laughed as his eyes came to me. “What’s your story, young man? Where’re you from, and what made you get into this business?”
I scratched my chin and looked him in the eyes. “I’m from Detroit’s westside. I grew up on Eight Mile and Haggerty. Pops owns a real estate company, and my moms was an accountant for Walmart, so I had a pretty good life. My moms used to have a couple of friends that were single moms, and I saw how they struggled with their children. Everything always looked good on the outside, but internally, I knew they were struggling.
“It also didn’t help that I was eavesdropping when they would be talking about hiring nannies because the load was too heavy.” I chuckled. “Upon my discovery of this, I realized that they just needed a helping hand. When I graduated college, I only graduated with a degree in business. Didn’t know what I really wanted to do with it, but I knew I wanted to do something. I worked at a daycare for four years, and from there, I knew what I wanted to do.
“Fast forward years later, I opened my company,Helping Hands Incorporated. Now, here I am, doing what I love.”
Mr. Noah nodded, looking over at his daughter, who was already staring at me. I wanted to kiss those beautiful ass lips—both of them. I knew the ones below had to be just as beautifulas the ones on her face. It was wild that I sat here in front of her kids and father, thinking about sucking the juices out of her pussy, but I couldn’t help it. My intrusive thoughts were taking over, and I knew I needed to get my shit together.
“Mm,” was his only response. “You like to fish?”
“Love to fish. Pops used to take me and my brother on the boat every weekend as young hoppers up until our teenage years.”
“I like that. Maybe we could go before y’all leave. It’s been a while since I went. My son hadn’t been to see me in over a year, so I haven’t had nobody to go with. Where is my son anyway? I thought you’d bring him.”
“Mommy said no. He’s been acting up in school, and he snuck a girl in the house.”
