Page 32 of Secret Love (The Single Dad Playbook #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

ONE WEDDING

TRU

As much as I love teaching, and I really, really do, summer vacation is my favorite thing in the world. I love the liberty of knowing that I have the whole summer to do whatever I want. In the past, I’ve always had other jobs during this time. I've waitressed, I’ve worked retail, but this summer I’ve decided I'm going to at least enjoy a few weeks with nothing. Maybe I'll get a job, but my house payment is reasonable. I'm getting paid enough to cover that and not work beyond the dance studio during the summer, and I really like spending the days with Earl or Henley…when he's not at practices. He’s actually at practice most days now and exhausted if he stays up too late, so the occasional day off that I have with him is precious time.

I’m continuing to tutor Cassidy throughout the summer. I want her to feel confident when she goes back to school in the fall. She’s improved so much and works hard to implement the strategies I’ve shown her to try when she struggles.

The next Saturday when Henley’s dropped off the girls after dance, he talks me into going to Starlight Cafe. I’m hesitant because we still haven't told the girls, but he insists there’s no harm in eating together.

“The girls had lunch plans with Bree and Alex today. They’re busy. And you’ve gotta eat, my sweet…tiny dancer.”

He turns those big brown eyes on me, and combined with that hopeful smile of his, I just can’t resist.

We sit at a corner booth in the back, scrunched together in the center and closer than we should be, but again…I can’t seem to resist anymore. A pile of food is spread out in front of us. We’re sharing pancakes, a Greek omelet, and a fruit platter, and enjoying every bite, when he freezes.

“Okay, don't panic,” he says, “but Bree and Alex and the girls just walked in.”

“Are you kidding me? The one time I decide to go out with you in public and this happens?” I laugh incredulously, but I feel like crying.

“It'll be okay. Don't worry,” he says.

He reaches out to squeeze my knee and then waves at them. They come over, hugging him and looking at me. Curious but friendly gazes. I can work with that.

“Hi, Miss Seymour,” Gracie says first, and Cassidy and Audrey say hello as well. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Just getting a late lunch…or is this an early dinner?” Henley says.

“I didn't know you come here after dance,” Gracie says to me.

“I don't usually, but I decided to today.” I smile at her. “I love their pancakes any time of day.”

“Me too ,” Audrey says.

Cassidy grins. “Same.”

Okay, so far so good.

I've met Alex before, occasionally he picks up the girls from dance with Bree. He’s a nice guy.

“Congratulations. I heard about the engagement,” I say to him and Bree.

“Thank you.” Bree smiles and holds up her ring finger, waving it. “It's official,” she sings.

“I’m really happy for you guys,” I tell her.

“I appreciate that,” she says, and she looks pointedly at Henley. “ We’re happy to see you guys here together too. Aren't we, girls?”

She bumps Cassidy's arm and Cassidy startles and then rolls her eyes at her mom, but she’s smiling.

“Yeah…yes.” Cassidy looks at me and then her dad. “Yes, I am happy to see you guys here together.”

“Really.” Henley looks too pleased for words. “I’m glad to hear that. I didn't want to steal any of the engagement thunder the other night, but I was hoping to talk to you all about it then, the fact that I’d like to see Miss Seymour a whole lot more.”

Cassidy snorts. “Do you really call her Miss Seymour?”

“No, never. Well, I did, uh, in the beginning,” he stutters. “But not now. No.” He runs his hand down his scruff and takes a deep breath, putting his arm around my shoulder. “But I do like Tru a lot and it’s important to me to be upfront about that. She's not your teacher anymore, but she still wants to make sure you're okay with all of it, and so do I, but I assured her you would be.” He looks at them and they seem to slowly jar out of the realization that their dad has his arm around me. One by one, they come over to hug me.

It's the sweetest thing and I get a lump in my throat.

“Thank you. This means a lot to me,” I say when Cassidy hugs me last. “I hated upsetting you before, and…I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way.”

“I’m sorry,” Cassidy says. “I shouldn't have ever made an issue about it. You've been great to me, and I just didn't want anything to change that.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I understand the conflicting feelings. But nothing will change how I treat you,” I assure her.

“I believe that now,” she says.

Now I get teary, but I start to laugh. She smiles while I dab my face.

“Sorry. I'm emotional and just really relieved,” I tell her.

“So, are you guys gonna get married too?” Gracie asks.

Audrey elbows her. “Gracie!”

“One wedding at a time, how about that?” Henley says, laughing. “I’m just now getting her to Starlight Cafe with me.”

His eyes meet mine and only the two of us know all the places we’ve gone with each other in the confines of his house and mine.

I wouldn’t trade anything for the time we’ve had getting to know each other while we’ve stayed in our little bubble.

But to have the girls’ blessing and to be out and about with Henley…I’m ecstatic about it. Henley and I exchange a derpy grin with each other and Cassidy sighs.

“It’s still weird,” she says, making a face. “But a good weird.”

“How about we do something together the next time you’re at the house? A fishing day or swimming…or both,” Henley says.

“I’d like that,” Audrey says.

“Can we go fishing right now?” Gracie says, doing a little dance.

“How about Monday? You’re spending the day with me then already, right?” Henley says to the girls. “We might as well make a fun day of it.” He looks at me. “What do you say?”

“That works for me.” I nod and look back at the girls.

“Yay,” Gracie says.

“Well, this is fun,” Bree says. “We should go sit down before they get rid of our table. I’m happy for you guys.” She winks. The girls and Alex start walking to the table and she leans in. “It’s about time you ‘fessed up. You’ve been all lit up for months now,” she says to Henley. “Dead giveaway.”

Henley’s laugh is gruff and warms my insides.

“Go eat,” he grumbles.

Bree laughs and walks away.

Henley and I look at each other for a few long seconds, the smiles uncontained.

“Well, we did that,” he says.

“We sure did.”

“You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

“We’re official.”

I laugh and he does too, pulling me in closer, his head against mine.

Later that night, after we’ve worshipped each other’s bodies and have rummaged through the kitchen, we climb back into his bed. My contacts are out for the night, so I grab my glasses and pick up the romance novel I’m reading, while he writes in The Single Dad Playbook. I glance over, my heart thumping as I take in his profile. He’s so gorgeous and he’s mine.

“Whatcha writing about?” I ask.

“In a way, I’m writing about us and today.”

I’m so curious, but I know it’s something he only shares with the guys, so I’m thrilled when he says, “You want to hear what I wrote?”

“I’m dying to.”

He grins and starts reading.

There are these moments as a parent when you’ll know you’ve taught them well.

When you see them use their manners with strangers.

When they do a chore without being asked.

When they say they’re sorry for something they’ve done wrong.

When you let them know you’re dating someone and they accept it with grace,

despite it being a challenge.

Soak in those moments.

There will be plenty of times you feel like you’re blowing it as a dad,

but kids will surprise you.

They know how to take the high road better than anyone.

They’re resilient and smart and funny.

And when you show them that you respect them,

you’ll see that reflected back when they look at you.

I live for these moments.

~Henley

He’s surprised when he sees me wiping tears from my face.

“I’m so glad I know a man like you, a dad like you,” I tell him. “There are many things I love about you, but the way you love them is right up there at the top.”

He sets the book aside and I do the same with mine, and we collide, our bodies greedy as we consume one another.

The following Monday is gorgeous, as if the sky and weather and all wildlife conspired to get along and be as perfect as possible. We’re out on Henley’s dock. The girls and I are lined up in a row in our swimsuits, toes dipping in the water. Gracie carefully hands out our lures to match our swimsuits—no live bait because it makes her too upset to “murder a cricket” and the colorful lures are entertainment on their own. I’m given a bug-eyed red fish that has orange and red strings trailing after him and I hold it up to my red swimsuit.

I’m not wearing the sexy bikini I’ve worn here when it’s just Henley and me, but my tankini set is cute. Red on top with a black and white polka dot bottom.

“Nice match,” I tell Gracie.

She nods, pleased.

“I know we said no live bait…” Henley pulls out a container.

We all eye him suspiciously. He looks a little too excited and I don’t think it’s because we’re all together.

“But I heard these are the best to catch rainbow trout…” He opens the container and it’s filled with maggots. He jiggles it our way and we all scramble to our feet, screaming our heads off, me included.

He picks one up and touches my cheek with it and I scream louder, only to realize that oh, that felt very similar to rubber. He’s laughing his ass off and I swat his arm.

“That’s not real, is it?” I pant, my stomach in my throat.

“It’s not real,” he admits, still laughing so hard.

It’s a good thing he’s so damn cute.

Gracie and Audrey tentatively reach out to touch them and then pick them up when they’re certain they’re not real.

“That is so disgusting.” Cassidy shudders and then gags.

Henley wipes tears from his eyes as he tries to stop laughing, but he's still far too pleased with himself.

“You'll pay for that,” I say, smirking.

“Oh, I will, huh?” He comes up behind me, his hands on my waist, and I shoot him a look.

He freezes.

“What?” he asks under his breath.

“Not in front of the girls,” I say, between clenched teeth.

I try my best to look like I’m smiling, but it’s hard to smile and clench teeth at the same time.

“What? Don't touch your waist?”

“Don't touch me at all,” I continue between gritted teeth.

He looks like he wants to laugh again, but he drops his hands and holds them up.

“Okay, whatever you say, but for the record, I think they would be okay with it,” he whispers, a little too loud for my liking.

I shoot him another look and sit back down where the girls have gotten back in place. He puts the lure on our hooks and hands us our fishing poles. Cassidy has hers already, but Audrey and I are waiting for Henley to do ours, and Gracie is still playing with the lures.

“You're making me nervous with all those fish hooks,” I tell her.

“Don’t worry. Daddy tells me to be so careful too,” she says.

“He's right about that, not about the maggots, but he's right about being careful.”

She giggles. “That was terrible.” She makes a face.

“It sure was.” I lean toward the girls and whisper, “We're going to have to figure out a way to get him back.”

“What do we do?” Cassidy asks, excitement in her eyes.

“I’m not sure yet, but I think it will come to us. Let's just watch for opportunities today,” I tell them, and they all nod excitedly.

“What's going on over here? What are you guys doing?” Henley asks.

“Nothing,” we all say.

It's his turn to look suspicious as he tries to figure out what we're up to. Later that night, I realize we’re going to have to make our opportunity because the day has been flawless from start to finish. We've caught enough fish to eat for supper. We've swam in the pool, eaten till our bellies are full, and laughed more than I have in a long time. It’s been the best day.

When Henley gets up to turn off the grill, I lean in and whisper, “Okay, here's what I'm thinking. When we go in for the night, we could stage jump scares around the house…” I look around and they nod in agreement. “Who wants to be behind the door in the kitchen?”

“I do,” Gracie says.

“I’ll hide in the closet by the stairs and jump out when he passes,” Audrey says.

We all giggle quietly.

“I’ll be in the bedroom,” Cassidy says.

“Oh, this is all good. Okay, I'll be in the bathroom. And remember, we have to be quiet.”

They agree, and I stick my hand out in the middle of the table and they pile their hands on top. In that moment, I get a wave of giddiness. Henley’s girls are accepting me. I love being around them and I think they love being around me too…even knowing I’m their dad’s girlfriend. I want to laugh and cry and jump in the air and dance and scream out the loudest woohoo!

But instead, I just smile at them conspiratorially. “All right, it's on.”

By the time he comes back to the table, we've got our game faces on. I look at Gracie and she stands up with her plate.

“I think I'll go inside now. The bugs are starting to bother me,” she says.

I’m impressed by how convincing she sounds.

“Is the citronella candle not working?” Henley asks.

“No, I think I got a bite,” she says, grinning at me.

He looks at me to see what's so funny and when I'm just smiling, he shakes his head.

“Okay, I guess we can take it in,” he says.

Audrey and Cassidy jump up faster than I’ve seen them move all day and they head inside.

“Wow, I guess they're all ready to go in.” He looks toward the house in surprise.

“I think I will too. I kind of need to check on something I left in there earlier,” I mumble.

I pick up as much as I can carry and hustle into the house. We each get in our places and when Henley walks in, I can hear one by one as they jump out and scare him, and he yells and cracks up each time. I'm trying so hard not to giggle in my place behind the bathroom door. I have to wait a while. I hear him calling me, but I don't answer. When I hear him startled by Cassidy, it takes everything in me not to giggle out loud.

“What is going on, you guys? Is this payback for the maggots or what?”

I cover my mouth and laugh. I almost miss it when the door starts opening, but just in the nick of time, I jump out and say, ha! He jumps so high and groans, laughing.

“It's like the first time should have been my clue, but you've all gotten me every time.” He leans against the back of the bathroom door, breathing hard and laughing.

“You're just too innocent, Mr. Football Player,” I tell him.

“Or are the four of you just up to no good? My kind of no good,” he adds, putting his hands on my waist.

“Ah, ah, ah,” I say.

“No little eyes are looking,” he says.

“Not until later,” I sing.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that,” he promises.

And he makes good on that promise after the girls go home.