I wanted to be happy for Peyton. She’d had enough pain in her life. If she did decide to marry Trent and he made her happy then, I needed to find a way to be happy for her.
Since the night at the hospital, when I’d done pickup and drop-off, I’d kept my distance. I was scared that if I spoke to her before I’d been able to come to terms with the situation, I’d say something that I would regret. Like beg her to leave Trent and be with me. Tell her that I loved her and had always loved her and that we were meant to be together.
But if I did that and she didn’t feel the same way, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to recover from that.
Lina mentioned that she’d seen her a few times. She’d gone over to Nonna’s and had dinner. She’d also gone over to watchThe Bachelor. And the three generations of Russo women had gone on a few walks to get Nonna’s strength back up.
As happy as I was that Lina and Peyton and Nonna were getting to spend time together, I had to admit, I’d had FOMO whenever I heard about their visits. I wished that I could be there, too.
I did get to see Lina every day at work, but it wasn’t the same. We decided not to divulge that she was my daughter for a while. Actually,wedidn’t decide. Lina did. She didn’t want anyone to treat her differently. And as much as I wanted to shout from the rooftops that she was my daughter, I had to respect her decision.
She’d hung out with Hannah and I over the last weekend. We’d gone to Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, and ridden on a cable car. It was sort of fun doing touristy things with my girls.
Hannah was loving having a big sister. The two of them liked to gang up on me and make fun of me, if Lizzy was around, she was usually the ringleader. I loved seeing them all bond, even if it was at my expense.
All my adult life, I’d had no idea Lina existed, yet somehow having her in my life had filled a void I hadn’t known I’d had. For years I’d felt like there were missing pieces in the puzzle of my life. She was definitely a piece. Just like Hannah was.
And now the picture is damn near complete, I thought as Hannah grabbed my hand and we walked into the auditorium under a balloon arch.
I knew that in a few years, maybe even sooner, my little Peanut wasn’t going to be this excited about going to a dance with her dad. I was going to soak this time up like a sponge.
Before I saw Peyton, I heard her. Her laugh. It washed over me like a breeze on a hot day. Like the first sip of beer after twelve hours of manual labor. Like a shot of whiskey in a snowstorm. It soothed me. Warmed me from the inside out.
I glanced up and saw her standing behind a table with a large bowl of punch on it. Her hair was half up and half down, and she was wearing a red top and black slacks. The shirt was a button down that was loose but clung to her in all the right places. It revealed a tiny hint of cleavage. My lips tingled with desire to kiss her there. I wanted to slowly unbutton her shirt and…
“There he is! I was wondering when you were going to show up.” I turned and saw Nick holding a single red rose in his hand.
“Where’s Bella?”
He nodded toward the dance floor. “Out there.”
I glanced over and saw that Hannah had run out and joined Bella and Lexi on the dance floor. The girls were all giggling as they hopped around.
“Is Alex here?” I asked when I saw Lexi.
“No, he’s at home with Sadie and baby Tommy.”
After a scary start to the delivery, Sadie had given birth to a healthy baby boy. Thomas Alexander Vaughn—they named him after her father and Alex—came into this world screaming weighing in at six pounds and eight ounces. He would be two weeks old tomorrow.
“I brought Lexi,” Nick explained. “She’s going to sleepover to give Sadie and Alex a little breather. I can take Hannah Banana, too.”
“Sounds good.” I knew my daughter would not want to miss out on a sleepover with her besties. “Why do you have a rose?”
“It’s a Valentine’s Day dance.” He winked. “Ya gotta come prepared.”
“This isn’tThe Bachelor.”
“Maybe not for you.” Nick’s lips curled in a half-grin. “How are things with your baby mama?”
I didn’t need to ask which one. “Good.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t told her, have you?”
“Told her what?”
“That you’re in love with her. Still.”
“She’s engaged.”
