Page 42 of Your Last First Kiss

He pauses and looks at me over his shoulder. “Wash her mouth out with soap?”

“Yeah.” I stick my hands into the water and scrub.

“I haven’t had to, but I’m a single dad. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn’t end up with the vocabulary of a trucker or like…”

He doesn’t finish that sentence, but I’d bet money it ends inlike Eddy.

* * *

I’m sittingon Miller’s sofa that will double as my bed for at least tonight when he comes out of Izzy’s room, looking a little haggard.

I heard him sing at least five songs before her incessant questions finally faded to silence. He walks straight to the fridge and removes two more beers. He hands one to me and plops down heavily into the recliner across from me.

I hold it in my hands, but looking at it makes bile rise high in my throat. I didn’t tell him that I dumped the first one he gave me.

“Where’s her mom?” I ask as a distraction.

He pops the top of his can and raises his eyebrows at me simultaneously. “Cutting right to the tough stuff, huh?”

Now it’s my turn to shrug. “You kind of threw me into the deep end with those little girls. I figure it’ll make us even.”

Miller holds up his beer in silent cheers. “Fair enough. But I didn’t know it would be quite like that. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Eddy that bad. And for all her faults, Aster usually does a better job of at least meeting the girl’s needs.”

“Meeting a need is not the way to parent,” I growl.

He nods in agreement. “Bella is chasing her dreams. She was never going to stay in Chance Lake. Not for me, not for anyone. She loves Izzy in her own way, but we knew she’d never give up her dream, and the life of a traveling musician isn’t family-friendly. Do you have family?” Miller keeps his tone light, but he’s watching me closely.

“Not like you and Izzy.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means the Westbrooks include me so I’m not alone, but it’s not the same as having a family of your own.”

He takes a long pull of his beer. “Is that something you want? A family of your own?”

Is it?

I frown.

The heat that creeps up my neck fires warnings behind my eyelids. “It’s not something I’ve ever aspired to have. I didn’t have a great example for a father, so it’s not something I ever spent much energy on.”

“It sounds like there’s a but in there,” he says.

“I don’t think it’s a but. I just can’t stop thinking about Dahlia. I never wanted to be a father, but holding her and her sister today? I know if it happened, I wouldn’t repeat my father’s mistakes.”

Miller nods thoughtfully. “There are a lot of kids in Penny’s life.”

“Yup.” I rub my newly sweaty palm on my thighs and lean forward to set the beer down on the coffee table.

“Did you ever picture raising someone else’s kids?”

The question has me sitting up straighter. “I’ve never pictured kids, period. My own or anyone else’s.”

“Well, you’d better think long and hard about it before you go kissing Penny again because if you hurt her or those kids, they’ll never find your body. They’ve been through enough. Understood?”

I swallow hard past the sadness his statement stirs in my throat. “Yeah,” I finally manage.

He leans back in his chair and stares at the ceiling. “You know, Ashton and Nova offered to invest in the TAC.”