“Cheese. You just said this is too cheesy, but you like cheese pizza?”
“Duh.”
Right. Because I’m the illogical one in this conversation.
“Can toddlers even eat pizza?” I ask, more to myself.
“Hey!” Poppy pipes up. “I’m five. I’m a big kid.”
I throw my hands up in defense. “Sorry.”
She hops off the chair and heads into the living room. “Can I watch a movie until dinner gets here?”
“Sure.”
She pops into her room and comes out with Strawberry in tow before turning on a show. One where a little girl and boy are teaching Spanish. At least she’s watching something educational.
I wanted tonight to go well. What if me screwing up what she likes for dinner means she won’t like me? Fuck. I want to be her dad. To have a place in her life.
What if she disowns me before it even happens all because of the wrong brand of fucking mac and cheese?
Way to go, Kade.
I drop down on the couch next to her as we await dinner. Her eyes are focused on the TV, squeezing Strawberry to her.
“What—”
“Shh.” She shushes me. “I’m learning Spanish.”
Okay then.
Maybe by taking her riding after school tomorrow I can see if she still likes me. I have access to horses. I’m not above bribery to get her to like me.
By the time the pizza gets here, she’s at least talking to me again. And by the time we’re finishing her books and she’s crawling into bed, she’s telling me how excited she is to see Lollipop.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Poppy,” I tell her. “Sweet dreams.”
“Are you going to tell Strawberry good night?” She holds up her goose. “Mom always kisses her good night.”
Grabbing her gently—because I don’t want to get on her bad side—I drop a peck on her beak. “Night, Strawberry. Sweet dreams. What does Strawberry even dream about?”
“Playing with me.”
“Right.”
I tuck the two of them in, pulling her pink comforter up toher chin. Shutting off her light, I head out to the living room and crash on the couch.
Holy shit. I didn’t even do that much with her but I’m exhausted. Maybe it’s because I worked at the ranch all day, or the sheer fear of screwing shit up with Poppy, but my body sags in relief that I made it through the night.
I have no idea what time it is until the couch shifts next to me.
“Hey.”
Stirring awake, I find Presley sitting next to me. “Did I fall asleep?”
“Yeah.” She smiles, nodding at me. “How’d tonight go?”
“Eye-opening.”
