Page 81

I looked up at him, trying to ignore the way my heart raced at his words. “I wouldn’t have missed it.”
“There she is,” he said, pointing at Corinne as she held hands with a little boy while chattering at her signature speed.
“And I’ll bet there’s Benny,” I quipped, nudging his shoulder with mine. He grunted in response.
The little boy, almost a foot shorter than her with a crop of wavy blonde hair, got on his tiptoes and kissed Corinne’s cheek. She blushed and ran toward us, her face flushed and beaming. “Daddy! Did you see me? I had my own solo!”
“I saw you, Rin-Rin,” he said, grinning as he bent down and hugged her tight. “You were amazing.”
She turned to me, her big brown eyes wide. “Did you see me, too?”
“I did,” I said warmly, smiling down at her. “You were so graceful. The best dancer on stage.”
Her cheeks turned pink as she beamed up at me. “Thanks, Delia.”
“Oh! Hey, I got something for you back in the car,” I said suddenly, remembering the bouquet of flowers I’d gotten her.
“A surprise?”
“Come on, let’s go get it!” I told her excitedly, and to my surprise, she reached out for my hand, and her little palm was sweaty against mine.
We walked out into the parking lot, crunching against gravel and trying to rein in Corinne as she excitedly skipped. “Corinne, cars!” Robert boomed out roughly, and she instantly stopped skipping, running back to our side.
Watching the two of them, Robert holding her so close, Corinne looking at him like he hung the moon, cracked something inside me. This was what family was supposed to feel like. Safe. Whole. Real.
I’d never felt like I belonged to anyone, but maybe this… this was where I was meant to be.
thirty-eight
Robert
“Okay, wait here!” Delia said, transferring Corinne’s hand to mine a few feet away from the car. She rustled around in the backseat for a minute, then emerged holding out a bouquet.
“Here you go.” Delia walked back to us and held out the flowers to Corinne. “These are for you. You were amazing up there.”
Corinne’s face lit up, her hands flying to her mouth as though Delia had handed her a treasure. “For me?” she squeaked.
Delia nodded, crouching down so they were eye level. “Of course. The best dancer deserves flowers.”
Corinne took the bouquet and said in her small voice, “Thank you, Delia.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” Delia replied gently, brushing a curl from Corinne’s face. She stood up and glanced at me, something soft in her expression that made me feel stripped bare. “She really was incredible.”
I managed a nod, but my throat felt tight. I looked down at Corinne, who was now cradling the flowers like they were the most precious things in the world. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to get my daughter flowers for her big night.
It hit me like a punch to the chest that Corinne needed someone like Delia. She needed a woman’s touch, someone with the instincts and warmth that I didn’t always have. I loved my daughter fiercely, but there were moments, like now, when I realized how much Ididn’t know. I couldn’t be everything she needed on my own.
“Let’s go grab some dinner, huh?” I said, forcing the roughness out of my voice as I ruffled Corinne’s hair. “We’re celebrating.”
Delia turned to go back to her car, but I stopped her and said, “Drive with us, come on. We can come back for your car.”
Delia smiled and looped her arm in mine, shivering against my body. Corinne skipped ahead, her arms wrapped around the bouquet like she thought someone might take it from her.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said quietly, glancing at Delia as we walked.
She shrugged, hands tucked into her coat pockets. “It felt right.”
I hesitated, looking at her profile in the dim glow of the parking lot lights. “You’re…good at this.”