Page 80 of Healing Fate

“Sorry sweet pea. Here comes Sapphire with our drinks and we’ll get your order in right away.”

I looked over the menu unsure of what would be good for her on a mostly empty stomach. When I’d gone to pick her up Vanessa had warned me that she hadn’t really eaten much for lunch. The fact that she seemed to be starving now was probably a good sign.

“What are you having?” I asked.

“Beef tips over mashed potatoes and some green beans.”

“I not yike green beans,” Vada said scrunching up her nose.

I sighed. “We’re still working on vegetables. She can be stubborn.”

“How about mashed potatoes?”

“I yike dem.”

Her little cherub face lit up in excitement.

“They have grilled chicken nuggets on the kid’s meal that probably wouldn’t be too hard on her stomach.”

“Okay,” I quickly agreed, finding myself relieved not to have to make that decision for once.

Sapphire set down our drinks and Micah immediately reached for Vada’s sippy cup to pour a bit of juice into it and then top the rest off with water.

“Oh,” I said catching Sapphire watching me watch him as she waited for my order. “She’ll have the kid’s grilled chicken nuggets and a side of mashed potatoes.”

“Gravy?”

“No,” Micah and I said at the same time.

I laughed. “And I’ll have the chicken pot pie special.”

“Great. Be right out shortly.”

She disappeared without any further growling incidents.

The food came and it was really good. Most importantly, Vada devoured hers, then somehow Micah convinced her to try a green bean. Much to my shock, she ate two of them off his plate.

“See, not so bad, huh?”

“It okay,” she conceded happily accepting another spoonful of his mashed potatoes in reward.

Feeling more relaxed than I should be and happier than I could ever remember, Micah paid the bill, snatched up Vada, and escorted me back to the car to drive us home.

“Are you okay if I swing by my place to grab a bag?”

“Of course,” I said.

I wasn’t sure why I was nervous about him sleeping over again. It’s not like he hadn’t already. Somehow this time felt different, though. This felt like the start of something more as we talked about truly blending our lives together.

Plus, there was that issue where we’d almost bonded but haven’t yet.

I yawned, feeling exhausted as the last few days crashed in on me.

“I’ll be quick.”

He leaned over and kissed me, making Vada giggle in the backseat.

“Was that funny?” I asked her when he was gone.