Page 38 of The Heartbreaker

“A house you insisted on buying for us because you wanted your daughter to have the best in both homes. I would have beenperfectly happy in the two-bedroom condo I’d bought before we got together.”

“My daughter andyou,” I said. “Jana, you’re the mother of my baby. I want the both of you to have the best. That’s nonnegotiable. And I’m not saying the condo wasn’t nice—it was—but it’s not like the house you two live in.”

“You’re such a good guy, Ridge.” As she inhaled, she briefly closed her eyes. “But you’re going to be the reason our daughter gets everything with the snap of pink-painted fingers. Let’s not have her turn out to be that kind of woman, okay? As soon as our munchkin is old enough to legally work—which is somewhere between twelve and fourteen years old, I think—she’s going to be employed at your office. And when she’s out of school for the summer, she can come on the road and assist me.”

“I was twelve when I started working for my dad, so I’m not against that plan.”

“Good.”

“But let’s get through this year before we start considering her teenage years. I want to enjoy every second of this stage while we’re in it.” I turned at the light. “When she’s twelve or thirteen, she’s probably going to hate us.” I looked at Daisy through my rearview mirror. Her arms were in the air, her ponytail bopping, her pink nails flashing in the sunlight. “And the thought of that makes me one pissed-off dad.”

“Ugh. No kidding. There won’t be enough wine in this world to get me through that phase or her high school years. The thought alone makes me fucking shiver.”

“A-fucking-men.”

She turned down the music and looked over her shoulder as I began to slow toward the entrance of the school.

“Mommy, I was listening to Taylor!”

“We’re almost there, so I want to talk to you for a second.”

“Okaaay.”

“Are you ready for today?” Jana asked her.

“Yep! I love Miss Lark! She has the prettiest curly hair I’ve ever seen in my whole life, Mommy. I can’t wait to see her again today. She’s going to be the best teacher ever.”

“I heard the meet-the-teacher night went quite well,” I said to Jana.

Jana had had a booking last night that tied her up for several hours—something I’d known about—so I planned on taking Daisy to the school so she could meet her teacher and get comfortable in the classroom. But a last-minute meeting with the Westons popped up that I couldn’t miss, so my mom took Daisy instead.

Jana had been disappointed that at least one of us couldn’t be present for Daisy, but according to my mom, there had been many grandparents at the event, so we weren’t the only parents who couldn’t be there.

Jana shook her head and then pointed at my chest and then her own. “Parent of the Year awards—that’s what we’re winning, by the way.”

“It all worked out.” I laughed. “But, yes, I agree. We’ve been recipients before, and I’m sure we will be again.”

Jana turned toward Daisy. “You know, first grade is a huge deal. It’s not like kindergarten. You’re a very big girl now, and big girls have to listen to their teachers, so whatever Miss Lark says, you must do.”

“With no talking back,” I added.

“And you have to pay attention and you can’t speak out of turn,” Jana continued. “If Miss Lark wants you to raise your hand to talk, that’s what you have to do. Got it?”

“Yep!”

“Daddy and I are going to walk you in, and then I’ll be back this afternoon to pick you up.”

I pulled into a parking spot and shut the engine off.

Jana and I had discussed escorting Daisy into school versus dropping her off from the car line. For her first day, that felt like the right move. I wanted to scope out the situation and make sure she got in safely, my heart needing to watch her walk toward her classroom—and I was sure Jana’s did too. After today, the car line would be more than appropriate.

“Are you ready for this?” Jana asked me as I unhooked my seat belt.

“Fuck no.”

“Daddy! You can’t say that word! You owe me money!”

I smiled at her from the rearview mirror. “I can’t believe we have a first grader.”