Page 10 of Rising Star

“Daddy, we’re always nice,” she said, giggling when I tickled her belly after I stood back up and kicked the door shut.

“Stop worrying, Stevens,” Riley chimed in, handing me a mug of hot caffeine. “Hungry? We baked croissants.”

“No. Just had breakfast before coming over.” I entered the kitchen. “Hey sweet pea,” I said, nearing Mikaella and ruffling her hair.

“Daddy. I’m not ready to go. I wanna stay here with Devon. We have plans. Girl plans.”

I scratched my nape. “I understand, but I have a whole day planned for us too.”

“Is Maddie coming?”

“Nah. She’s gonna rest a little longer. But she’s already doing better.”

Mikaella pouted and pressed her fists to her hips. “I like it most when Maddie is there with us.”

Me too, Mika.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. The idea was to stay away from Madison for the entire day. “How do you feel about the children’s museum?”

Her eyes lit up. “For real?”

“Yes. But if you wanna go, you better finish your breakfast and get ready.”

Riley snickered beside me as she attacked her food. Devon joined us, and after kissing me on the cheek, she sat next to my daughter. My friend indicated to me to follow him and led the way to his home office.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were holding on. It’s been an intense couple of months, and I don’t want you to have a panic attack because you feel overwhelmed.”

“Everything’s great.”

He frowned and studied me, searching my face for an answer to a silent question. “How is it going with Madison? Do you think it’ll work out on the road for that long? I sensed some tension between the two of you the other day.”

The tension wasn’t between us. It was between my legs. All my egoistical dick’s fault.

I blew out my discomfort. “All good. No tension. The girls love her. She’s amazing with them, and I trust her, so that’s all I’m asking for.”

My friend clapped my shoulder and grinned. “Enjoy your free time then because your life is about to get a bit wild again.” His cheerfulness vanished. “Stevens, I’m glad we’re doing this together. I really am.”

“Yeah, me too. Thanks for getting me out of my sad existence. I owe you one.”

For the rest of the day, the girls and I visited the children’s museum. It was enough distraction to keep my thoughts in line for a few hours.

On our way back to our car, both their hands rested in mine while Mikaella kicked pebbles and dust on my right, and Justine sang a cartoon theme song on my left.

The late afternoon sun shone through the buildings, warming my face. Birds chirped on trees lined along the sidewalk. My daughters had lasting smiles on their faces.

Life was great. And about to get even better.

We spoke about everything and anything when Justine asked, “Do you think Maddie is missing us?”

My throat worked at the mention of my forbidden crush. My daughter stopped in her tracks, trying to catch my gaze, her eyes shining with expectation.

“Yeah, I’m sure she is.”

“Cool,” she said, resuming her walk. As if her question hadn’t just fucked with my mind and willpower to forget about her nanny for the time being. She continued, her happy demeanor never faltering. “Because I miss her too. I really don’t like it when Mama’s sick. It makes me sad.”