Page 94 of Accidental Blind Date

I plant another kiss on him, and he pulls me into a hug. “This is perfect,” he says. “Everything is going to be perfect.”

As we hold each other in the middle of the bookstore, I believe him. How could things not be perfect right now?

Chapter 33

Dax

“Daddy!” Poppy comes running into the kitchen while I am making scrambled eggs and starts pulling on my slacks. “Daddy! Delilah said that Miss Libby can’t stay in my room, but I want her to stay in my room because she loved my room. More than Delilah’s!”

“Honey, I am trying to make breakfast,” I say, not intended for there to be any tone in my voice but knowing full well that it’s there. I am exhausted. Coming home has been a wild ride, from dealing with Jenna who made damn sure I felt guilty for being home a day late (thank you flight delays) and falling back into work (I have another Hemingway opening in Denver this week). Not only that but I decided to pop the question to Libby. Well, not THE question, obviously. But I did ask if she’d move in with us. It may have been crazy but here we are.

“I didn’t say Miss Libby would stay inmyroom,” Delilah says, joining us in the kitchen.

I pick up the skillet off the stove and hold it high. “Poppy, honey, I need you to move. Daddy is trying to make breakfast so we can get you to school on time.”

“We’re never on time,” Poppy says, crawling into a chair. Meanwhile I realize she is in a full fairy Halloween costume from two years ago.

“That’s not true,” I argue, divvying the eggs and bacon onto plates.

Meanwhile, Delilah is still on conversation number one. The conversation I’m still not sure how to deal with.

“Miss Libby is going to sleep in Daddy’s room because they’re dating,” she says matter of factly as we sit down to eat.

“She could also sleep in the book nook!” Poppy exclaims, her plastic crown nearly falling off her head, pointing out the fact that I still need to do her hair before we leave. I swear under my breath before inhaling deeply so I don’t completely lose my shit.

Both the girls are quiet for a moment as they eat their food, and I take the opportunity to address the elephant in the room.

“How do you girls feel about all of this?” I ask. “I know we talked about it, but I want to really talk about it.”

“About where Miss Libby is going to sleep when she lives here?” Poppy asks, wiggling as she chews. Poppy has always danced when she eats. She dances all the time. Doctors have told me it could be ADHD. But Tess used to dance about as well. As if everything in life, even the daily mundane, was a little bit exciting.

“About Miss Libby moving in with us,” I say and then I wait.

“I think it’s exciting,” Poppy says without a thought. Poppy also doesn’t remember Tess much.

“Delilah?” I ask looking at my daughter who is seven going on twelve.

“I think it will be kind of nice,” she says thoughtfully but there is some hesitancy there.

“Does that mean you’re going to get married?” Poppy asks.

“People don’t have to get married to live together,” Delilah tells her. But then she looks at me. “Are you though? Going to get married I mean?”

I set my fork down and reach for my coffee. This is a hefty conversation for seven in the morning. “I don’t know yet. But I do know that I like her a lot. And I know she likes both of you a lot too.”

“We love her,” Poppy says simply. Because when you’re five, it’s that easy. Thinking about Libby for a second I realize it might be that easy for me too. I glance at the clock. “We need to get going so you girls aren’t late. Poppy, go grab a hairbrush for me.”

Poppy shoves the last piece of bacon in her mouth and prances off, leaving me and Delilah alone. “So, you’re really okay with it?” I ask. “Because I would never make a decision like this without you.”

“Does she make you happy?” Delilah asks.

“She does. Very happy.”

She thinks about that. “She makes me happy too. It’s fun having her at our house…” Delilah trails off again, her eyes somewhere else. “I miss mom.”

The air lets out of my lungs like I’ve been shot in the chest. “I do too, honey,” I choke out. “Every single day.”

She nods slightly, pushing the eggs around on her plate. “Is it okay to love more than one person at a time? Like…more than one mommy or more than one wife?”