He let my face go, and I turned to grab my purse off the couch. “Thank you… for today.”
He smiled. “Anytime you need to breathe,” he said. “I’m here.”
As I walked out, my heart was full and my mind was spinning. That shit felt too good not to do it again.
16
Kairo
I told myself I’d done the right thing. It was the thought that I’d clung to all day. I handled my meetings, finished my paperwork, and let Kemi take over the calls I didn’t have the patience for. I moved through the rest of the day on autopilot, telling myself that calm was better than conflict that would leave us both saying things we couldn’t take back.
By the time I pulled into the driveway that evening, I just wanted to love on my family and get a good night’s rest. Inside, the house smelled like dinner had been cooked but the kitchen was too clean. Khloe’s purse sat where she always dropped it, but her shoes weren’t kicked off nearby like usual. They were lined up neatly by the door.
I found her in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling on her phone. She looked up when I walked in and smiled.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey,” I replied, leaning against the door frame. I was waiting but she never mentioned what happened earlier that day. I sat beside her, close enough that our knees touched. When I reached for her hand, she laced her fingers through mine.
I lifted her fingers to my mouth and kissed them. “I’m sorry about earlier,” I said, turning to look at her. “If you want to talk about it, we can. And if not… that’s okay too.”
She stared down at our hands. “Thank you for apologizing,” she said. “But we don’t have to talk about it.”
The silence that followed felt awkward, and I hated it. I hated that I didn’t know how to move us out of it without saying the wrong thing.
“I walked in the house and it smelled good,” I said, choosing to change the subject.
She laughed lightly, shaking her head. “Yeah, I cooked pasta. I figured you were gonna come home and avoid me, so I just put your plate in the fridge.”
I was man enough to admit that she wasn’t wrong. When I didn’t want to argue, I stayed late at work or took my time finding things to do. I would let the house quiet down enough that she’d already be asleep by the time I crawled into bed.
I didn’t realize how obvious the pattern had become… until she said it out loud.
“Did you eat?” I asked.
“I ate a little while I was cooking,” she replied. “Didn’t really have much of an appetite.” Then she smiled. “Kennedi ate two bowls though. Hungry ass.”
That made me laugh, and it reminded me why I loved being home, even when it felt hard.
I brushed her hair back from her face, my thumb caressing her cheek, and for a second we just looked at each other.
“Come downstairs,” I said. “Eat with me… or just sit there and watch me eat.”
She smiled. “Let me change first. I’ll be down.”
I stood, kissed her forehead, and headed to the kitchen.
As soon as I pulled my plate from the fridge and slid it into the microwave, I heard footsteps running in.
“Daddyyyy!”
Kennedi came flying into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tighter than usual.
“I missed you,” she said. “You’re the best dad.”
I gave her that look because I wasn’t stupid. “Alright… what do you want?”
She laughed, pulling back just enough to look at me. “My friends are going to the movies tonight, and I really wanna go.”
