Page 25 of Hearts of Wealth

“She’s really excited to be back,” he said.

“That’s good to hear,” I remarked, my voice filled with warmth. “She seems so happy.”

Timothy nodded in agreement, a fond smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I think she’s more excited to be back here with her friends.”

“Hey, if that’s what it takes to keep her happy, so be it,” I replied. “I’ll do a little snooping around town to learn more about her friends. They seem like a good group of kids.”

“I’d like that,” he said. “Maybe I can meet some of the parents.”

“Look at you being all parental,” I teased.

“Shit, I’m going to need a book to navigate the rest of this.”

“You’ll do fine,” I assured him.

“I was hoping we could start my dad training tonight,” he said.

“If you think I’m going to call you Daddy, you’ve got another think coming.”

He laughed and kissed me. “I like where your mind is going, but that is not what I was saying. I was going to ask if you could show me how to make one of those pizzas we bought.”

I looked at him with a combination of shock and amusement. I shouldn’t be that surprised. He was rich. Very rich. He didn’t have to cook for himself. He’d grown up wealthy.

“Yes.” I smiled. “Maybe we’ll have to have a cooking class or two.”

“Now that I could get behind.” He grinned. “You’ll wear an apron...and nothing else.”

“Very funny. What about your chef?”

“I’ll probably have him make some meals up and store them in the freezer, but I don’t want her to rely on a chef. I grew up like that, and look at how incapable I am.”

“You’re not incapable,” I said.

He gave me a dry look. “I can’t even make a frozen pizza.”

“Yes, you can,” I said. “All you have to do is read the directions.”

“It’s going to be a learning curve. I braced Paisley for it. But I want to be able to cook her a meal. I want her to feel that sense of normalcy that I never really had.”

“You mean like us regular folk,” I teased.

“Yes. Exactly that.”

“And what about your job?” I asked.

“I’m retiring.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“That’s the plan.” He shrugged. “I’ve already started the ball rolling. I’m going to be a full-time dad. That’s my goal.”

I was impressed. It made me happy to see him giving this his all. “All right, we’ll pop in a pizza,” I said. “Possibly two. It would be good to have a salad to go with it.”

He cringed. “She’s not going to want a salad.”

“You’re parenting a growing teenager. She needs a balanced diet. My dad used to insist on a fruit or vegetable with every meal. When I would go to my friends’ houses for dinners, their moms always served some kind of vegetable. It’s the thing to do.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Good. I can do that. A salad.”