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We were the last to leave, and while she buckled Lizzie into her car seat, I pulled her father aside.
“I just wanted to take a moment to reassure you, one more time, that I’ve got my eye on the ball, sir. They are safe with me, I swear it.”
“I have no doubts,” he said, easing the breath from my lungs. “Not anymore. I see how you look at my daughter.”
I didn’t know what to say and he didn’t seem to expect a response.
Olivia joined us and put her arm around her father to kiss his cheek. “Bye, Daddy.”
“Bye, sweetheart. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” She turned to me. “Ready?”
I nodded.
We said goodbye to her mother, then loaded up to head back to her place.
“That wasn’t too painful, was it?” she asked once we’d pulled out onto the main road away from her parents’.
I shot her a smile. “Other than your brother and cousins handing me my ass at football? Not at all.”
She laughed, her eyes sparkling like warm cider. “That just means they like you.”
“I’ll be sure to remind my bruised ribs of that tomorrow.”
She was smiling as she turned to rest her head back on the seat, content to let me drive as Elizabeth sang to herself in the back. The moment was not lost on me—the sweet simplicity. How perfectly domestic it was to be driving home after a long day with her family.
Home.
It should’ve scared me how easily the word had come to my mind. It wasn’t my home, not even close, but something about it was seeping into my bones unlike any other place I’d ever laid my head.
We got back and after a quick shower, I volunteered to keep an eye on Elizabeth so Olivia could clean up before dinner.
“You sure?”
“Of course I am. Me and the Juice Monster will be fine, now go.”
Her eyes flitted to Elizabeth on the living room floor, where she was occupied with some toys, then back up to me. “Okay, thanks. I’ll be quick.”
“Take your time.”
“What do you say?” I asked Elizabeth once Olivia was gone. “Wanna help me with dinner?”
Big hazel eyes lifted to mine. “Help you?”
I held out my hand. “Come on. Let’s see what we can do.”
She hopped up and instead of grabbing my hand, she leaped up like a little spider monkey, forcing me to carry her.
I was overcome by the scent of little girl—baby shampoo, sunshine, and sweetness—and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest. Unable to help myself, I pressed a kiss to her head and held her close for just a second. Just one. Then I took off at a gallop toward the kitchen, making her giggle and squeal.
I kept her in my arms as we perused the meal offerings, and we finally settled on spaghetti with a side of fruit snacks... a compromise.
The table was set with an assortment of fruit snacks, the meat sauce cooking and noodles boiling, when Olivia found me with Elizabeth on my hip, letting her stir the sauce.
“What’s going on in here?” she asked.
I turned, barely saving the spoon from making a saucy mess on the floor.