I chuckled. “I bet it is.”
He’d insisted on picking her up for her big night as if this was her first date. Kayden and I were going with him since families were invited to watch and several of the other moms had said they’d be attending.
Kaylee ran into the living room and stopped in front of Kayden. “How do I look, Daddy?”
I covered my mouth to hide my gasp at Kaylee’s first use of the word.
Kayden’s jaw dropped and he seemed frozen in shock as his eyes welled with tears. He finally choked out an answer, his voice thick with emotion. “You look like a princess, honey.”
She beamed at him and ran to the door while I swiped away the tears that had started to roll down my cheeks.
She pulled the front door open. “Jace! Youdidhave a pink tie.”
He chuckled as he stepped into the apartment, looking absolutely dashing in a dark gray suit with a bright pink tie that matched Kaylee’s dress perfectly. “I told you I’d get one, Peanut. I bought it just for you,” he said, holding it out in one hand for her to inspect. In his other hand he held a single rose.
“Is that for Mommy?” she asked, tilting her head at him.
“Nope, you’re my date tonight, Kaylee. The flower is for you.”
Jace held the flower out to her, and she grinned at me as she smelled it. “Mommy, look.”
Jace stood up and kissed me. “You look beautiful too, Liv,” he said. I hugged him quickly before he turned his attention back to his date for the evening. “Are you ready for your first dance, my little lady?”
She lifted her hands up for him to pick her up and he did. Kayden got up from the couch to follow us as we started to walk out the door. “Daddy said I look like a princess. Do you think I look like a princess, Jace?”
Jace stopped walking and turned to look at Kayden who still had tears in his eyes. The look that passed between them as Jace seemed to be silently telling Kayden how happy he was for him filled my heart again. Jace turned back to Kaylee. “Of course you look like a princess. Your dad is a smart guy.”
“You’re my dad,” she said, laughing as Jace tickled her side. “He’s my daddy.”
Jace hesitated for a second, looking overcome by emotion before finding his voice. “Okay, kid. Whatever you want to call me works for me.” Kayden put an arm around Jace, and in that moment I believed the amount of love in our family would be enough to drown out all the hate and adversity that may come our way.
Kayden and I satin the bleachers of the school gymnasium as Jace twirled Kaylee around for the third dance in a row. I’d kept my hand in his in the hopes that it would ease the ache he likely felt to not be out there dancing with his daughter.
“Hi, Olivia,” Gina, one of the other moms in Kaylee’s class, said as she sat down next to me.
“Hi, Gina, how are you?” I smiled politely.
“Good,” she smiled, looking Kayden up and down. “And who’s this?”
Oh dear, mom gossip is so not my jam.I’d avoided making friends with other moms for a reason. I knew most of them weren’t bad at all, but then there were the ones like Gina who I could see coming a mile away,always wanting details about the single mom’s love life.Stupid waste of my energy.
“This is my boyfriend, Kayden,” I said.
Gina held out a hand to Kayden and greeted him. “I’ve seen you picking up Kaylee from school before.”
Kayden smiled politely, clearly uninterested in engaging in conversation as he turned back to watch Jace and Kaylee.
Gina tipped her head to the side. “Kaylee has been telling her friends that her daddy picks her up every day.”
Kayden gave her a tight smile. “I do.”
Gina’s eyes moved to the dance floor. “If you’re her dad then who is she dancing with?”
I turned to face her, her gossip-hungry face so obvious. “That’s Jace, our partner and Kaylee’s other father.”
Gina’s eyes widened and it was clear whatever gossip she’d expected from me was not nearly as juicy as what she thought I just gave her. “Oh. Okay. Well, it’s good to see you, Olivia.”
She scurried off. “Great, now we’re going to be social pariahs,” I muttered. “This day has just been death by a thousand fucking cuts.”
