Page 38

CHAPTER 38

ZANDER

I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing the second my little girl leaned her head on my chest and said, “Daadee,” in the sweetest voice known to man.

I think I’m about to fucking cry, and it’s taking everything in me to swallow this boulder in my throat.

Cupping the back of my daughter’s head, I give her a little kiss and murmur into her curls, “Love you, Zoey.”

I’m not sure she hears me, because she starts humming and resumes her pancake-poking routine, but I will eat Swiss cheese pancakes for the rest of my life if I get to hear her call me Daddy again.

Holy shit.

Sienna brushes her fingers across the back of my hand, her smile on full beam. When she goes to pull away, I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles.

She smiles and sucks in a shaky breath. “Hey, is there any chance we could stay here tonight?”

The second she asks the question, she blanches, cringing and looking down at the table .

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it like that. There’s no pressure. I just?—”

“Of course you can.” I stop her before she gets too worked up. “You can stay for as long as you want.”

Her eyebrows rise, and she looks around the kitchen. “You guys won’t mind?”

Grady shrugs. “Teah sleeps over all the time.”

“Teah doesn’t have a two-year-old.” Sienna cringes again, and I laugh and shake my head.

“Okay, so this will be the first time we’ve had a kid staying here, but…” I look down at my little girl. “You melt hearts, don’t you, sweetie?”

“Uh-huh.” She nods, obviously not knowing what I’m asking, and it makes Sienna laugh.

Zoey glances at her mom, sees her laughing, and quickly joins in, which in turn makes me and the guys start laughing too.

She really is the cutest kid.

Wily stands from his chair, towering over us as he carries his plate to the sink. “If you’re gonna stay, you’ll probably want to get some more stuff, right?”

Sienna slumps back in her seat, looking worried.

“I can go,” I offer.

“No way.” Her eyes bulge. “I don’t want you anywhere near that place. If he’s home, it’ll be a nightmare. I’ll just walk back and get some stuff.”

“Why didn’t you drive here?” I spear another mouthful of pancake with my fork.

“I couldn’t find my keys,” she murmurs. “I think they’re in Zoey’s other diaper bag along with my wallet and phone.” She covers her face with a groan. “I wasn’t thinking straight, and I didn’t want to start looking for it. Plus…” She makes a face. “It’s actually Russell’s car I’ve been using. I was supposed to get my parents’ when they left on their trip, but it was acting up, and in the end Russell told me I could just use his, and…” She shakes her head and finishes with a mumbled “You don’t need to know all of this.”

“I can drive you back there.” Wily smiles down at Sienna.

I spin in my seat, eyeing him up. “You’ll look after her?”

“Of course I will.” He shoots me an incredulous frown. “I’ll even take Tyrell. A little bulk flanking her might not be a bad idea.”

“He’s not going to hurt me,” Sienna assures us, but none of my teammates give a fuck. The guy is on our shit list now, and she’s not going back to that house without serious backup.

“He made you walk out in the cold in nothing but your pajamas.” Grady crosses his arms, making his defined biceps look even bigger and stronger. Good. I want her to see how safe she is here.

Sienna dips her eyes and softly murmurs, “I chose to walk out that way.”

“He must have done something to make you leave in such a hurry.” Wily flicks his hand in the air. “Plus, he made you cry. What a dou—” His eyes dart to Zoey, and he clears his throat. “What a dingleberry.”

Sienna lets out a weak laugh and rubs her arm, massaging her bicep for a second. A hot flash burns through me as I worry that Russell grabbed her, tried to intimidate her even more. I don’t want her going back there, but like fuck I’m gonna order her around the way he did this morning.

That shithead!

Resting my hand lightly over hers, I catch her eye and hide all my angst with a soft question. “What do you want to do, Sparks?”

She sucks in a shaky breath and lets it out slowly, bobbing her head and answering with a slight quaver that has me riled all over again. “I’ll go back and get some things. It’ll be okay. But…” She glances at Wily. “Are you sure you don’t mind coming with me?”

Wily wipes his hands on a dish towel, his smile growing big and confident. “It would be my pleasure. Let me go get Tyrell too.” His face lights with glee. “Ooo, this is gonna be fun!”

“I don’t want…” Sienna’s words trail off as Wily dashes out of the kitchen, and I give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t worry. They’ll be good.”

She lets out an edgy laugh, then asks, “Do you mind if I leave Zoey here?”

Oh shit, really? She wants me to watch Zoey… without her?

The thought makes me instantly nervous, but like hell I’m saying no. I’ve got to prove myself to this woman, and Zoey seems to like me. She called me Daadee, didn’t she? I can do this without any harm coming to her. Right?

“Yeah, of course.” I try to sound more confident than I feel, and this seems to ease Sienna’s worry.

“Thank you so much.”

Taking Zoey’s hand, she blows a raspberry into our daughter’s palm, making her giggle before telling her the plan.

“I have to go and get some clothes from Uncle Rusty’s place. And I’ll get some toys and your pack-n-play.” She leans forward, her eyes dancing playfully. “We’re gonna have a sleepover with Daddy. Does that sound like fun?”

It takes a moment for that to sink in, but then she starts to nod and point at me. “Pay Foobawl?”

“Yeah, he’ll play with you.” Sienna nods. “He’s going to watch you while I go get some of our things.”

Glancing up at me, Zoey studies my face before giving me a cheesy smile.

I smile right back, kissing the tip of her nose and making her giggle again.

Holding her hand up, she squeezes her fingers open and shut. “Bye-bye, Mommy.”

“Bye, my lil’ lovebug. I’ll be back soon.” Sienna kisses Zoey’s cheek, wiping sticky syrup off her lips before giving me a nervous smile.

“Do I get a kiss too?”

“Always.” She grins, brushing her lips against mine in a chaste kiss. Even that’s enough to keep me going until she gets back.

I watch her rise from her seat, tugging down my hoodie. I love the way it shrouds her. Her beautiful legs are still very much on display, but at least she’ll be a little warmer. I would offer her some pants, but I don’t think anything in this house will fit her slight frame.

Picking up Zoey, we walk Sienna to the door, and I watch her pile into Wily’s truck with Tyrell in the back seat. The guy has obviously just woken up, but I’m grateful that he’s going without question, ready to protect my woman.

Holding Zoey in my arms, we wave them off. Then I look down at the sticky-faced toddler and wonder what the heck I’m supposed to do with her until Mommy gets back.

She gives me a sweet, innocent smile, then lets one rip… and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t just a fart.

Sniffing the air, I grimace and put on a brave smile.

“Let’s hope there are some diapers in your stroller, huh?”

“Poos.” Zoey wrinkles her nose.

“Yep. Pretty sure that’s what I’m smelling.” Shaking my head, I walk down to the stroller, grabbing the diaper bag out of the bottom and muttering to myself.

Welcome to fatherhood, dude.