I nodded as I took my first sip. Rosita cracked two eggs into the frying pan and began scrambling them up while I moved to the barstool across the island and took a seat. I was pretty much a zombie before my morning caffeine kicked in.
Halfway through my first cup, I was finally starting to feel somewhat normal when Liddy’s loud laughter cut through my sleep-addled brain. Six seconds later, Garrett came clomping into the kitchen with her on his shoulders.
“Mommy!” she shouted with glee. “Look how tall I am!”
“Wow, monkey.” I grinned sleepily. “You’re a giant.”
I turned my grin on Garrett and got nothing more than an innocuous chin lift in return. My heart squeezed uncomfortably in my chest. That hurt. I didn’t want it to, but it did. It was selfish and inconsiderate, but I wanted him to look at me the way he’d done that night before our kiss. I missed it. That look made me feel alive, wanted… special.
All of which made me an asshole since I was the one to pull away.
“Good morning,” I said softly.
I got another chin tilt in response. His arctic face melted slightly when he disregarded me and glanced in Rosita’s direction. “Smells fantastic in here, Rosy.” He lifted Liddy off his shoulders and set her on her feet before moving toward the stove. “I’m starving. Feed me, woman.”
Liddy climbed up on the stool next to mine and I leaned down to give her a kiss, watching from the corner of my eye as Rosita batted Garrett away with her spatula.
She finished up at the stove and set a plate on thecounter for each of us. Liddy’s nonstop chatter filled what would have been an awkward silence as I stuffed the last of my eggs into my mouth and sucked back the dregs of my coffee. Once I was finished I pushed off the stool and took our empty plates to the sink. I went to the coffeemaker for a refill and propped my hip on the counter, facing my daughter. “Time to brush your teeth, monkey.”
“I don’t wanna,” she pouted.
“Too bad. You brush your teeth and maybe we can go to the park today.”
That bribe seemed to cheer her up, and she asked, “Can Daddy come with us?”
I looked at Garrett even though he wouldn’t meet my eyes, waiting for a reaction from him. If Liddy wanted him to come, I wouldn’t say no. Besides, maybe that would give me a chance to apologize. “What do you say?” I asked when he didn’t respond. “Feel like heading to the park for a bit?”
He barely looked at me, choosing instead to look at Liddy. “Sorry, munchkin, but I got some work to do over at Uncle Mace’s.” That was another thing that set me off-kilter these past couple of weeks. While I remained a visitor in our new home, Liddy was finding her place with not only her father but the other members of Civil Corruption. Killian, Declan, and Mace were over all the time, working in the studio. Liddy had taken to calling all three of them “uncle,” and the guys seemed to love it. Even quiet, stoic Killian smiled when she referred to him as Uncle Kill.
Ignoring the way my belly plummeted, I mustered up a smile for my daughter, who seemed as disappointed with his response as I was. “That’s okay,” I offered brightly. “Maybe next time.”
“Yeah, sure,” Garrett deadpanned.
Pretending the lack of sincerity in his voice didn’t sting, Ilooked back at Liddy and repeated, “Teeth, then park, monkey. Chop chop.”
With a look of sadness on her face, she hopped off her stool and, with drooped shoulders, headed for the stairs. Rosita had disappeared somewhere, leaving Garrett and me alone in the kitchen. When he moved to leave, I reacted without giving it a single thought.
“Garrett,” I said, grabbing his forearm to stop his retreat. His jade eyes went to my hand before lifting to meet mine. I should have planned for this scenario, but I didn’t. I wasn’t good at winging it, but that seemed to be my only option so I went for it. “I…”have no fucking clue what I want to say.“Can….” Then I had a lightbulb moment. “I’m making dinner!” I announced with a little too much enthusiasm.
“What?”
“Dinner! I mean… what I’m saying is I’d like to make dinner tonight. For the three of us. That is, if you’re not busy.” I wrung my hands in front of me as nerves took over.
He studied me skeptically before finally shrugging. “Yeah. Sure. Dinner sounds good.”
“Great!” I smiled brightly. “Then I’ll see you tonight.”
Garrett nodded and left the kitchen, and I went in search of Rosita. My mom always said a home-cooked meal was the quickest way to a man’s heart. I wasn’t in the market for Garrett’s heart, but hopefully this dinner would at least help breech the gap. And in order to do that, I needed to know Garrett’s favorite meal.
After spendingthe better part of the morning at the park with Liddy, the two of us hit up the grocery store on the way home for everything I might need for a home-cooked, olivebranch–extending, family dinner. Rosita had been a godsend in offering up what Garrett liked or didn’t like, and I’d finally decided to go with a dish my mother used to make when I was growing up. She used to tell me there was nothing better for the soul than comfort food, so I picked the nicest, fattest sirloins I could find, spending a mint on the perfect cuts of meat.
I went old school: country fried sirloins with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and made-from-scratch cream gravy. Rosita informed me that Garrett had a serious sweet tooth, so I baked a Dutch apple pie for dessert. It was a delicious, stick-to-your-ribs meal, and I hoped it went over well in patching things up between the two of us.
Liddy spent an hour helping me in the kitchen before she got bored and started getting whiny. Sylvie, the housekeeper, saw how fast Liddy’s mood was turning and quickly shuttled my girl off to keep her occupied and entertained.
I put way more effort into making everything absolutely perfect than I normally would, even going so far as meticulously sprinkling the crumble on top of the pie so it was evenly layered. I was beaming with pride by the time everything was done and the gigantic table in the dining room was set. Everything smelled and looked amazing. I wassureGarrett would be impressed and this would be the first step in thawing his chilly demeanor.
Six o’clock rolled around and Garrett still hadn’t shown. I realized that I hadn’t given him the time for dinner, so I shot off a text letting him know it was ready. That pride I’d been feeling started to dwindle when another hour passed and my message went unanswered. By seven thirty, our stomachs were growling, and I had no choice but to feed my girl. I kept watching the clock on my phone, hoping he’d show as we ate, but he never did.
