Page 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

David

It took all my willpower to slip my arm out from under Kassandra's warm body for the second morning in a row. I didn't want to leave her. I know she left the decision up to me, but it felt right to slip out until we had the opportunity to talk to her boys about it. Especially Nate.

Brushing my lips across her cheek, I snuck out of the bed and tiptoed across the room. Grabbing shorts and a shirt on the way, I yanked them on before exiting, closing the door behind me with a soft click. I turned around to head down the hallway but froze.

Standing just outside his bedroom door was Nate. We were locked in a staredown for several moments before he spoke first.

"Just don't hurt her. She’s had enough of that from my father over the years."

Words got caught in my throat. Not that Nate gave me time to answer before he slipped inside his own bedroom and left me alone with a million thoughts racing through my head.

There went every best-laid plan we had to wait until Nate got over the first trauma before telling him.

Guilt ate at me because it wasn't just her kids we were keeping things from. Before I could think better of it, I yanked my phone out of my gym shorts pocket and placed a call.

"Middle-of-the-night phone calls are never good." Addison's sleepy voice hit me square in the chest.

I swore. "Sorry, I forgot about the time change."

"It's okay." Rustling on the other end of the line hinted to my daughter moving around until she found a more comfortable position. "You wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important. Everything good?"

"Would you be upset if I started dating someone?" I didn't know the first thing about this parenting gig. I was figuring it out as I went, with the help of my adult daughter, but talking to her about dating felt like the right thing to do.

"I'm assuming you're referring to Kassandra?"

"Who told you?"

I didn't tell anyone from the New Mexico office why I was returning to Boston except for Bree. As far as they knew, it was just another trip to check on the main headquarters.

"Do you really think Bree didn’t tell me what was going on?"

I laughed. "Of course she did. It would've been too much to hope she was too busy with Gage's situation to keep her mouth shut about my business."

"She's never too busy. I swear she's the only pregnant woman who has excess energy in their first trimester."

We both chuckled but I had to ask again. "You didn't answer my question. Would you be upset?"

Addison sighed. "No one should get a say in your dating life except you, but if you want the truth . . ." I waited on pins and needles as she paused. "I kinda wish it were someone else. Mom talked about Kassandra a lot. I know they were best friends. She mentioned more than once that she knew her friend was in love with you but never did anything about it. I think Mom always knew that, if given the chance, you would've chosen Kassandra over her."

"That's not true," I was quick to reassure my daughter. "In high school I was madly in love with your mother. She was the only woman I ever had eyes for. Kassandra was just my best friend. At one time I was enamored by Madalyn, but it was young love."

"And now?"

I sighed. "Now, I'm older and I can see why people say they fall in love with their best friend."

"I guess it's no better than me falling in love with your best friend."

I groaned and Addison chuckled. "Please don't remind me."

"Oh, I'm going to remind you every day for the rest of your life, Dad."

I loved when she called me that. It wasn't very often she used it, but it was a dopamine hit to my system every time.

"But on a serious note,” she continued, “if you're happy, then I'm happy. I don't want you to spend your life alone like Mom did. That's no way for a person to live."

"How did you get so smart?"

My daughter sighed. "Good genetics. Mom might have raised me, but you contributed a lot."

It sucked that I missed so much of her life. It would've been great to watch her grow up, but we were making the best of the time we had together.

"Is Liam taking good care of you?"

I didn't miss the grumble from my best friend on the other end of the line. I couldn't have picked a better person for my daughter.

"Of course he is."

I refused to think about the innuendo that statement came with. Addison was a troublemaker through and through. She kept Liam and the rest of my team on their toes. Paired with Bree, and the only reason I wasn't bailing them out of jail was because they lived in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm sorry I'm not there to spend time with you. I promised you would have my undivided attention and then I went back on my word."

"Dad," she sighed. "I'm not a little girl anymore. I love to spend time with you but I know what your job entails. I can't be okay with Liam leaving for assignments and then get mad at you for doing the same. That's not fair."

"No, but . . ."

"But you still feel guilty about not knowing of my existence until recently," she interrupted me.

"Exactly."

"You need to stop feeling guilty. It wasn't your fault. It was Mom’s. She had her reasons, even if they were terrible ones. We're moving forward. No more living in the past."

"You're right." I shook off the melancholy and got back to the reason for my call. "I'm sorry I woke you up early. I just wanted to make sure you would be okay with me dating."

"Did my opinion really matter?"

I wanted to say yes, but I wasn't so sure. Now that I had Kassandra back in my life, I wasn't sure if I could have given her up.

"I would've tried to respect your wishes."

Addison chuckled. "That's such a non-answer if I ever heard one, but I appreciate your honesty. Date, Dad. I want you to be happy. If Kassandra is the one who gives you that, then you have my support."

"Thanks, Addison."

"You're welcome. Love you, Dad."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I'll talk to you soon."

A huge weight had lifted off my chest by the time I hung up the phone. I contemplated making more phone calls, but now that the cat was out of the bag, the need to crawl back into bed with Kassandra was stronger.

I slipped back into the bedroom and repeated my process, but in reverse this time. I tried to avoid waking Kassandra up, but when I pulled her into my arms, she kissed my chest.

"Trying to sneak away?"

My chest rumbled with a soft laugh. "Tried but I was caught on my way out. I think it’s safe to say Nate knows and is okay with it."

She nuzzled in. "I knew he would be eventually. They just want to see me smile."

"And do I make you smile?"

"Mmmm," she hummed. "More than you know."

"Do I make you smile when I do this?"

I flipped her on her back.

Unlike last night, I wanted foreplay this morning, so I started by kissing my way down her soft belly. We would get to morning sex but right now I was hungry and only Kassandra’s taste could satisfy me.