“I’ll walk actually.” The two men stood on the path for a moment in the glow of red and green neon. “Thanks, mate,” Ethan said. “Happy New Year.”
“Same to you. Have a good one. And if you need any help sorting out your conundrum,” Brian said, referring to what Ethan suspected was the ring, “give me a bell.”
“Will do.”
As Ethan turned to go, he felt something at the edge of his brain. It was that feeling again, but now it was highlighted by Brian’s comment about taking his time. Time was exactly what hedidn’thave. If he could just make a decision, some sort of decision, and act on it…
Yes, that was what he needed. And Daisy needed it too. Action.
Pulling on his gloves, Ethan noticed on his wrist the bracelet Vanessa had given him. He remembered the quote and mumbled it to himself. “She loved him with too clear a vision to fear his cloudiness.”
“Nothing to fear here,” he said, trudging toward home in the melting snow with a warm cushion of alcohol to buoy his determination. He was going to make a lovely dinner for his two girls. They would have a great evening, cozy up by the fireplace, and watch some TV. Vanessa would stay the night, and Ethan would make sure she knewexactlyhow he felt about her. Maybe he would even bring up the subject of the future. He still wanted the ring to be a surprise, but if they broached the subject as to where the relationship was headed, surely the tension that had existed between them since Christmas would soon dissipate?
A few minutes later, he arrived back at the town house and, opening the door, immediately smelled garlic. The place was strangely quiet considering that Daisy and Vanessa were both there. At least Ethan assumed they were, because Vanessa’s Volvo was parked outside. “Where are my lovely ladies?” he called out.
“Hi, Dad,” Daisy cried, coming straight from her room. She was still dressed in her leotard and pink tutu and looked adorable.
“Hi, buttercup. How was dance class?”
“It was fine. Vanessa was a little late to pick me up, so I just practiced for a few more minutes. Come on. She’s in the kitchen. We’ve been looking at my drawings—and yours too,” she continued chirpily, leading to where Vanessa sat on one of the three barstools in front of the small kitchen island.
“Hi, there,” he said, kissing her cheek. Then he noticed she was just finishing up some Milanese chicken. “Oh, you’ve already eaten?”
“Yes, we couldn’t wait. Dinner was ready for six, like we agreed.”
“Oh.” Instantly he felt wrong-footed.
“I called to check how much longer you’d be but there was no reply.”
Sure enough, there was a missed call notice on the screen of his phone. “I mustn’t have heard it vibrating. I just met Brian for a glass and a catch-up.”
“Aglass? Smells like quite a bit more to me,” she replied with a smile that he knew belied her annoyance.
“Sorry. I was sure we’d said seven.”
“It’s okay, Dad. We saved some for you.” But Ethan didn’t really hear her. Instead, he was surveying the pictures Daisy had drawn of the trip, which were sprawled across the island unit. Just as she’d said, the two had been looking through them. “I showed Vanessa where she is in this one,” his daughter continued.
“Yes, nice to see Iamin one.” Vanessa laughed but he could hear the edge in her tone. She rinsed her plate and put it in the dishwasher. “All your favorite memories of our trip. You should put those in a scrapbook, Daisy. Yours too, Ethan.” Her voice had enough sincerity in it to appease Daisy, but Ethan knew well that she was irritable. “That one of you and Daisy eating cookies is lovely,” she said, idly picking up the picture of their meeting with Rachel. “And this must be the agent you met?”
“Yes.” He nodded noncommittally.
“It really was the best trip ever, wasn’t it?” Daisy mused, smiling, and he grasped at the opportunity to change the subject.
“Definitely. Especially because it was your first real trip, honey. But there will be more. The three of us will take many more jaunts together,” he said pointedly. “Maybe next time, Vanessa can choose the destination.” He paused, waiting for her to agree.
“Maybe,” she finally replied. “Are you finished with this already, Daisy? You didn’t eat much.”
“No, I’ll have some more now. I just wanted to wait for Dad.”
Ethan helped her up on the stool and shrugged awkwardly at Vanessa. He grabbed the plate and put it in the microwave to warm it up. Then he warmed his own and took a seat while she kept moving about, cleaning the counter and adding more dishes to the washer.
“Leave those. I’ll get them later,” he told her. “Come sit with us.” He reached out and gently rubbed her arm. “There’s some chocolate ice cream in the freezer for all of us when we’re finished. I’m so sorry I was late.”
“No, you two carry on. I think I’m going to call it a night actually. I’ve got an early start tomorrow. Big meeting first thing.”
“Ah, please stay. I was really looking forward to us having a nice evening, just the three of us,” Ethan said, dropping his fork and taking both of her hands in his.
“Ethan…” Vanessa looked straight into his eyes, the barstool putting them at eye level. “Not this time. Sorry.” She pulled away and grabbed her purse off the countertop. “Good night, Daisy,” she said, rubbing the top of the little girl’s head and planting a kiss on her wavy locks.
