AFTER NEARLY TWO hours have gone by, Tink finally comes strolling down the stairs wearing the world’s strongest poker face. I can’t read her expression at all. “Well?” I ask, when she brushes past me to sit on the sofa. “How’d it go?”
“Fine.” She crosses one leg over the other, looking down into her lap and fooling with her nails.
“That’s it?”
“I’m ready,” Vangie calls, descending the stairs before I can get anything else out of Gina. She’s in jeans and a dressy top, her hair in a bun, and ballet flats. And, she’s smiling. Thank the Lord.
“Ready?” I look from Evangeline to Gina, who is now up from the sofa and digging her keys out of her purse. “What are we ready for?”
“We’re,” Tink stresses, motioning from herself to Evangeline, “going to the store to pick up a few more things she’s going to need and…” She looks around the room before whispering, “Out for ice cream,” into my ear. “I’ll bring something back for you and little bit…I’d take her, but I kinda think this is a big deal for Evangeline and wanna make it all about her.”
“Of course,” I say, impressed by her thoughtfulness. Not that she isn’t thoughtful, just well, she doesn’t have kids, and that she has the foresight to realize having Willow around might bother Evangeline is endearing me to her even more. “All right, well, you two have fun,” I say, reaching into my back pocket for my wallet. I try handing Gina some money, but she shoves it away, looking insulted.
“I got it, Daddy big bucks.” Gina’s tongue pokes out, and she scrunches up her nose. “Let me do this for her.” Then our eyes lock in an intense stare, and she adds in a voice just above a whisper, “Let me do this for you.”
“Bye, Dad.” Evangeline rushes over, lifting up to her toes, and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for calling Gina.”
“No problem, sweet pea. I’m glad she was able to help.”
“We shouldn’t be more than an hour or three,” Tink calls back, as I watch my girls head for the door.
Evangeline walks out ahead of her and Gina pokes her head back in, blowing me a kiss.
On instinct my hand lifts to catch it, just like I would for Willow. But instead of putting it in my pocket, I rub it on my crotch, smirking at Tink.
“Tease.” She lurks in the doorway a moment longer, undressing me with her eyes. God, I want her so fucking bad.
I clear my throat to break the trance. “Willow and I will cook dinner while you’re out.”
“Oh, am I staying for dinner?”
“Yeah.” I nod, swallowing down a lump of emotion. “I think you are.”
Her hand flattens out, and she lifts it to her head giving me a military salute. “See you then.”
§
“Go count out four forks from the drawer and set one next to each plate,” I instruct my little helper, as I finish mixing the mashed potatoes.
“I’m so cited, Daddy! Is Gigi gonna sweep here?”
I wish. “No, baby. She just came to see about your sister. Gina has to work tomorrow morning.”
“Dey here!” Willow screams. The forks clang on the tile as she drops them and takes off running for the foyer.
The front door swings open and Evangeline and Gina burst through in a fit of giggles. I can’t even express what it does to my heart to see such a drastic transformation in my little girl from earlier today.
“What you dot me?” Willow asks, tugging on the bottom of Gina’s shirt.
“Well,” she says, pulling a bag from behind her back. “There might be something in this one for you.”
Willow snatches it right out of her hand. “Shokins!” she shouts, jumping up and down. “Tank you, Gigi!”
“You’re very welcome, princess. We brought you and Daddy back some ice cream too, but that’s going to go in the freezer ’til after dinner, okay?”
Willow nods, fighting to tear open the package of rubber grocery toys. I’ll never understand their appeal, but she loves the damn things. They’re the little girl version of Legos, only softer. You’ll find them in every nook and cranny of this house.
Every fiber of my being is dying to give Gina a proper welcome back—to take her in my arms and taste those full, pouty lips. But I can’t do that with the girls around. I want her to the point it’s becoming almost painful. So, I remain in the kitchen, a safe distance away. “Dinner’s ready!” I shout from the doorway, and like a herd of starving buffalo, they race for the kitchen.
Gina and I sit across from each other at our little four-seater table and I make a concerted effort not to sit here and stare at her while she eats. She lifts the first bite of steak into her mouth and moans her approval. My dick jumps to attention. It’s a sound he knows well.
Discreetly, I sneak my hand beneath the table, shifting my dick to a more comfortable position. When I look up, Gina winks, giving me a knowing smile.
“Did you girls find everything you needed?” I ask, trying to distract myself.
“Mmmhmm,” Evangeline answers, while chewing her food. “And Gina gave me her number in case I need to talk to her about any girl stuff.”
Tink’s face flushes, and she worries her lower lip between her teeth. “I hope that was okay…I guess I should have asked first.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I appreciate everything you’ve done for Vangie today, Gina. This is so far out of my element it isn’t even funny.”
“You know I adore your girls. It’s been my pleasure.”
§
By the time we’ve finished eating, it’s after bedtime. All the excitement of today put us behind schedule.
“Will you stay until after I’ve tucked them in?” I ask, desperate for a moment alone with my lady before she leaves.
Tink nods, plopping herself on the sofa with the remote and shoos me away. “I’ll be right here. But I can only stay a few minutes. I have a long drive back.”
The girls both kiss Gina goodnight without even being asked, and I’m forced to look away. I knew they’d bonded on the cruise, but seeing them together again and that their connection has only intensified…It has me wishing for things I know I can’t have. Conflicting emotions war in my head and in my heart. How can this feel so right and so fucking wrong all at once?
§
“That was quick,” Tink says, sitting up and stretching her arms above her head as she releases a big yawn.
“That was only round one,” I laugh, shaking my head. “Willow will be down at least three more times for water, kisses, and to pee, even though she just did all three.”
“Aren’t kids awesome?” Tink laughs, toeing her shoes back on. I hate that she has to leave. But I know I can’t ask her to stay.
I nod. “Somethin’ like that…” When she rises from the couch, I take her hand in mine, to halt her movement for the door. “Thank you for today, Tink. I know it was wrong of me to ask this of you. I had no right—”
“Hey? We’re friends, right?” she asks, squeezing my fingers in her tiny hand.
“Yeah.”
“Friends are there for each other, Jeff. It means a lot that you trusted me to be here for you.” She swallows audibly. “And even more that you trusted me enough to be here for her.”
My throat starts to swell. “Come sit with me on the porch for a minute, Tink?” I can’t bear to let her go already.
She nods, following me through the house to the screened-in porch out back where the two of us have spent many nights together just talking and fooling around.
We sit side by side on the white wicker swing. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and it feels like I can truly breathe for the first time today. “This is nice.”
Her head bobs against my chest, and she sniffs.
“You okay, Tink?”
“Mmhmm,” she says, wrapping her arms around my waist and holding me in a vice grip.
“You sure?” I ask, lifting her chin, effectively forcing her to look up so I can see her face. “Why are you crying, babe?”
“Gah.” She releases her arms, sitting up straight to swipe beneath her eyes. “Fucking horny tears,” she growls, and I let it go, because we’re friends, and this feels like dangerous territory. And because even if she’s falling for me, the way I think I’m probably already gone for her, I don’t want to acknowledge it. Ever. Because then I’ll have to end this, and I’m not ready to let go. I’m beginning to think I may never be.
