Page 68

Two years are long enough to wait.

The sick twist in my gut when I thought of this before doesn’t rear its head. It’s certainly time.

Not that I waited this long in hopes of her coming back.

Because of Sofia, Birdie seems to be okay with the loss of her mother, too. Or more okay than she was before. I don’t think she’ll ever get over that hurt fully.

But even if Bethany does come back, I don’t want her anymore. I don’t want her in my life any more than having her be a mother to Birdie. Our daughter certainly deserves to have a mother.

Maybe it can be Sofia instead.

She’s already doing such a good job with her already.

Fuck, I sound insane, even in my own head.

I slash my signature across the last page and stuff the papers into a manila envelope to drop at my lawyer’s office tomorrow morning.

Standing with a big stretch, I wipe a hand down my face. This is only one step of many. I should be focused more on how my friend is going to respond when he discovers I’ve been intimate with his daughter.

Just thinking about it makes shame weigh my shoulders down. It’s not enough to keep me from her, though.

Neither is the fact that she’s closer to my daughter’s age than mine. Sofia could be her older sister. My rational mind screams that she’s young enough to be my daughter. That this isn’t right. That I shouldn’t feel this way about someone her age.

All of the reasons I shouldn’t have her take a back seat to the turmoil burning me up whenever she’s out of my reach.

I lumber into the kitchen and finish cleaning and putting away the dishes from dinner.

The three of them are upstairs in Birdie’s room as she works on painting her biggest canvas yet. They’re recording it in parts to put together as a whole completed start to finish piece. It’s been a long process. Birdie has been working on it for a month, and she’s putting the finishing touches on it tonight.

Sofia has offered her the footage from her camera glasses, and they’ve set up with her big camera and tripod.

Part of me wants to go up and watch, but this seems to be something my daughter needs to do on her own. Or as close to it as Soph can offer her. A little mentoring and guidance without the parental influence.

By the time Sofia comes back downstairs, I’ve devolved into the cyclical thoughts of what it might mean to keep her here. And then into the ones of her naked beneath me.

My gaze shoots up to meet hers, and she stops halfway through the kitchen to me, eyes wide before a sultry smile fills out her features.

“Noah’s asleep, and Birdie’s getting there.”

I nod, vibrating in place as she takes slow steps toward me, like she thinks that the moment she’s within reach, I’ll snatch her up.

She’s not wrong.

“It’ll probably take one more editing session with her, but we’ve got a great idea for revealing it. We’ll do it in parts, paired with shorts, and then the full process with the end reveal. I think it’s going to be popular.”

“You’re the expert there. I’m too old for social media.”

Her laughter is sweet, and it only makes me crave her more.

“Have you seen how her other videos are doing? People love Birdie.”

“She’s told me a little in her excitement, but I haven’t been checking in daily.” Not like I had when she posted her first few. The comments were positive, and the few that weren’t were easily reported. Birdie didn’t seem affected by the stupid comments as much as she glowed under the attention and praise from other artists.

Sofia takes another step toward me. It’s almost a taunt with how restless I feel when I’m not touching her. “She’s gotten really good at editing them herself. Developed her own style. I’m really proud of her.”

I grin now. “Yeah. Me, too.”

It was hard for her to put herself out there since she’s had such a hard time making friends at school. She’s been getting more messages on her phone from people who saw her videos. Some of her classmates have even sent her texts, complimenting her talent.