Standing in the lobby of my favorite restaurant, I nearly fell over when Thea and Charlie came through the door.
Thea was wearing a fitted black cocktail dress with cutouts around the collar showcasing her flawless skin. Her hair was pulled up in a twist accentuating the long line of her neck. Add to that her makeup, jewelry and hot-as-hell heels, I was glad I had on a jacket to help conceal the bulge behind my slacks.
She was always beautiful whether she was in the jeans and tank tops she wore to the bar or the ratty peach sweatshirt she’d been wearing this morning. Thea always made my heart beat faster. But I loved seeing her dressed up, wearing the finest. She deserved the best there was.
“Hi,” she breathed. “Sorry we’re late.”
“It’s fine. You look beautiful.”
I bent to kiss her blushing cheek, lingering for a moment to smell her perfume. Then I forced my eyes off of Thea to greet my daughter.
“Hi, peanut.” I crouched down. “You look beautiful tonight too.”
She glared at me and plucked at the skirt of her dress. Charlie was wearing a gray lace dress with half sleeves. Her toes wiggled in her ballet flats. And somehow Thea had tamed her hair into a sleek ponytail with waves of curls running down her back.
But it wasn’t the clothes that made her look so different tonight. It was her missing smile.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she muttered, studying the floor. Then she brought her hand up and yanked at the collar of her dress as hard as she could.
“Charlie, that’s enough,” Thea scolded, swatting her hand away from the fabric. “Knock it off. Right now.”
It was the first time I’d ever heard Thea address our daughter with a firm tone. Charlie was such a good kid, she didn’t need much reprimanding. Even when you were trying to corral her into the bathtub, she didn’t require stern warnings.
Charlie turned up her chin and scowled at Thea, another thing I didn’t like. What the fuck had happened today?
Before I could ask, the hostess called us over. “Mr. Kendrick? Your table is ready, sir.”
I stood and took Thea by the elbow, escorting her through the restaurant toward my table in the back corner. David’s Table only took reservations, and at times, they were booked three or four months in advance. But whenever I walked through the door, they found a way to clear a table.
I pulled out Thea’s chair, then did the same for Charlie. Once they were seated, I took the seat with my back to the wall.
When the hostess went to unfold napkins, I held up a hand to stop her. “Thank you.”
“Enjoy your meal, sir.” She gave me a slight bow, then backed away.
Thea searched the table. “Menus?”
“It’s chef’s choice, but I’ve never been disappointed.” I opened my mouth to ask what was going on with Charlie but our waiter appeared and launched into his greeting.
Had it always taken this long to hear the gauntlet of wine selections? I wanted him to disappear so I could talk to Thea, but he kept droning on and on. Finally, after he finished detailing the reds, I was able to order a bottle of wine.
“Charlie, what do you want to drink?” I asked.
She didn’t answer, so Thea ordered for her. “She’ll have a chocolate milk.”
The waiter looked at her like she’d just blurted a string of expletives. “We don’t have chocolate milk.”
“Then find some,” I snapped, shooting him a glare that meant he was dismissed.
Thea closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Charlie kicked the leg of the table.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
Thea shook her head. “It’s just been a long day and we’re hungry.”
There was more behind their attitudes, but I didn’t press. “I’m sorry I was running late and couldn’t meet you at home.”
I’d had a client meeting go long at the firm and then a junior associate stopped into my office for some advice on a contract he was drafting. By the time I’d shut everything down, I’d been forced to send a car to pick them up instead of doing it myself. Normally, the long hours didn’t bother me. It was a thrill to always be in demand and the go-to guy. But tonight, all I’d wanted to do was leave and have people figure shit out on their own.
“It’s fine.” Thea waved it off and took a drink of her sparkling water.
“Did you have fun shopping today?” My mother and sisters loved shopping about as much as they loved talking about what they’d bought. I figured it was a safe topic until I got a nasty look from my daughter and Thea rolled her eyes.
Shit. This was not how I’d envisioned dinner going. The waiter brought our wine and a glass of chocolate milk for Charlie, setting them down without a word. Silverware clinked on plates and voices murmured around us, but my corner of the restaurant was silent.
I was guessing that Charlie’s mood was because of the dress. She kept tugging at the collar.
Thea was clearly off because of Charlie’s attitude, but there was something more too. It wasn’t just an angry-mom mood. Her shoulders were hunched, and worry lines marred her forehead. She seemed sullen and withdrawn.
Was it because I’d slipped this morning? I love you had never come as naturally as when I’d blurted it to Thea. But when she’d flinched so hard the bed had rocked, I’d hastily added, “in my bed.” At first, I’d been pissed off by the rebuff.
Rejection wasn’t something I handled well, which was ironic considering I’d tried to propose to Emmeline twice. Yet neither of my failed attempts to marry her had ended our relationship. Really, they hadn’t done anything. We’d just carried on like nothing had changed because a deep-seated part of me had actually been relieved.
Thea’s reaction to an I love you had hurt.
But as I’d showered and taken a minute to step back, I’d realized it wasn’t because she didn’t have those same feelings.
She was scared.
To make this work—to say the I love yous—meant a lot of changes were coming.
Except whether she was ready or not, change was coming. She could try to avoid it for the rest of the week, but I wasn’t letting her go.
On Saturday, while we were at my parents’ estate, I was asking her to move. I was telling her how much I loved her and how much I wanted her and Charlie in my everyday life. Then I’d give her the ring I’d picked out this morning at Harry Winston.
We sat quietly until the waiter delivered our first course.
“What is this?” Thea asked him as he set down the plate in front of her first.
“Poached shrimp, melon and frisée salad.” He moved to set down Charlie’s, but Thea grabbed it first.
“What?” I asked.
“She’s allergic to shellfish.” She pushed the dish back at the waiter. “I’m sorry, she can’t eat that. Do you have french fries?”
The waiter’s eyes bulged, but before he said anything, he remembered his place and looked to me. “I’ll discuss it with the chef.”
He served my salad and rushed away from the table while I made a mental note to discuss Charlie’s diet. How did I not know my daughter was allergic to shellfish? It was another reminder of how much I still had to learn about my child and how much easier that would be if we lived in the same state.
“I’m hungry, Mommy.”
Thea gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know, honey. Here.” She picked up Charlie’s chocolate milk. “Drink more of your milk.”
“It tastes funny.”
“Let me see.” Thea took a small sip and frowned. “It’s just because they used real cocoa.” She forced a smile, trying to make it seem exciting. “It’s fancy. Try a little more. I bet you’ll like it.”
Charlie’s shoulders fell as she shook her head. “No, thanks.”
The silence resumed.
I looked across the table to Thea, who mouthed, Sorry.
It’s fine, I mouthed back.
It didn’t take the waiter long to come back to the table with a small plate of fries.
Charlie raised her chin, hopeful at first, but when she saw they were covered in garlic, parsley and parmesan, her eyes filled with tears.
“Just try one,” Thea urged. “Let’s all try one.”
Thea and I both took a fry off Charlie’s plate, eating them quickly. They were marginal at best; french fries weren’t the chef’s specialty.
“Okay.” Thea chased her bite down with a sip of wine. “Let’s just wait until the next course. I’m sure you’ll really like it.”
“You know what?” I whipped the napkin off my lap and set it on my salad. “Let’s just go.”
“No, Logan.” Thea held out her hand. “It will be fine.”
I stood and pulled back Charlie’s chair. “We can do better than eating here, can’t we?”
“Yeah,” she slid off the chair. “This place is yucky.”
At that exact moment, the waiter returned. His gasp echoed through the room.
Thea coughed, trying to cover up her laugh as she stood and set her napkin on the table. “She’s only six. Too young to appreciate gourmet.”
When the waiter’s shocked look turned sour, it was my turn to hold back a laugh.
“Please send my regards to David.” I took my wallet out of my jacket, dropping three hundred-dollar bills on the table. “The food and wine can go on my tab. That is for your trouble.” Then with Charlie’s hand in mine, I walked us out of the restaurant.
When we hit the sidewalk, Thea started laughing. It began as a small giggle but turned into a belly laugh. A smile spread across my face when Charlie joined in too, and after a moment, the three of us were howling.
“What are we doing for dinner?” I asked as my laughter died down. “Because I obviously can’t be trusted to choose.”
Thea looked up and down the street, searching for options. “Um . . . let’s see.”
“How about McDonald’s?” Charlie asked.
“I’ve never eaten at McDonald’s.”
“What?” Thea’s head whipped around to me. “You’ve never eaten at McDonald’s?”
I smiled. There’s my Thea. Repeating what she thought were ridiculous statements as loud questions.
“I’ve never been to McDonald’s.”
“Oh my god.” She looked to Charlie. “We’re definitely doing McDonald’s.”
“Yesssss,” Charlie hissed, doing a fist bump.
I chuckled and took out my phone, calling us a car. Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in front of a neon menu the size of New Jersey. “I have no idea what to get.”
“I’ll order for you.” She stepped up to the counter and ordered Charlie a Happy Meal—with the boy’s toy—herself two cheeseburgers with fries, and me a double-something-pounder-with-cheese.
I reached for my wallet, thinking I was going to need Yuri to step up our workout in the morning, but before I could get my credit card, Thea pulled some cash from her purse.
“No, I’ll pay.”
“I’ve got it.” She ignored me and handed the cash to the clerk. “I didn’t protest when you gave me a temporary credit card for the dress shopping because designer gowns aren’t in my budget. But McDonald’s is something I can afford.”
It had actually surprised me when she’d taken my credit card so willingly. I’d braced for an argument that would rival some of the most intense purchase negotiations at the firm. But Thea had agreed immediately and tucked the card into her pocket with nothing other than a thank-you and a kiss.
“Besides,” she smiled at the clerk and took her receipt, “your platinum would probably break the credit card readers here.”
I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure everywhere takes my platinum.”
I didn’t correct her that it was actually our platinum. Nothing about the card in her purse was temporary since I’d had Sean add her name to my account.
“So how is it that you’ve never been to a McDonald’s?” she asked as we went to the fountain machine to fill our soda cups while Charlie trailed behind, drinking her real chocolate milk.
“I don’t know. I’ve always had a chef.”
“Even in college? You never wanted to try a Big Mac?”
I shrugged. “It’s not like I haven’t heard of McDonald’s before. I just never had the urge to eat here.” I patted my flat stomach. “And this doesn’t happen by eating fast food.”
“Well this,” she laughed, mimicking my gesture on her own incredible curves, “loves McDonald’s. I guess we’ll just have to think of a few things you can do to burn some extra calories tonight.”
“What are calories?” Charlie asked. Her smile was back, something I hadn’t seen enough of this week.
“Calories are yummy,” Thea answered with a laugh.
I smiled. Damn, I’d missed these two this week. Work had been brutal at the firm. Every night, I’d left a pile of papers on my desk so I could rush home before Charlie went to bed. What I really needed was a weekend spent in the office to catch up with both client demands and my overdue tasks at the foundation.
But it would all have to wait. I felt awful for not being able to spend more time with Thea and Charlie during their first week in New York. I just hoped that after a month of them living here, I’d be caught up at work and could dedicate the time to them that they deserved.
Having them waiting for me each night had forced me to come to a realization.
It was time to reprioritize.
A teenager called our number over the loudspeaker and I went up to get our food. When I set Charlie’s Happy Meal box in front of her, she tore into it, wasting no time before inhaling her food. Thea did the same and I followed suit.
“Well?” Thea asked before shoving three fries in her mouth.
“It’s good. Not as good as David’s Table, but the next time I want to take you there, we’ll just go the two of us.”
The smile on her face fell as she chewed.
All right. Forget that idea.
I’d taken many women to that restaurant over the years and each one had been thoroughly impressed by the food and atmosphere. But Thea wasn’t like any woman I’d ever met, and if she wanted fast food over gourmet, then we’d come here on our date nights.
Charlie belched and slapped a hand over her mouth, then giggled. “Excuse me.”
“Feeling better, peanut?”
She nodded. “My tummy was hungry.”
“Now that we’re back to normal,” Thea set down her burger and gave Charlie a stern look, “I think you need to apologize to your dad. You weren’t very nice when we were at his favorite restaurant.”
Charlie’s shoulders fell as she twirled a french fry in her ketchup. “Sorry, Daddy.”
“It’s o—” Wait, what? Did she just call me Daddy?
My eyes snapped to Thea, whose mouth was hanging open. Never had a word sounded so good. I’d always hoped that one day Charlie would want to call me Dad and she’d love me as much as I loved her. But I’d been prepared to wait years to get us to that place.
“I, um . . .” I paused to recover, then placed my hand on her knee. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I should have thought about it more before taking you there for dinner.”
She peeked up from underneath her lashes.
“I like it when you call me Daddy, but you don’t have to. Would you rather call me Logan?”
Say no, Charlie. Please, don’t take it back.
She shook her head. “I want to call you Daddy.”
Relief and pure happiness surged. I fought the urge to yank her out of that chair and crush her to my chest by eating another fry.
Oh, fuck it.
I flew out of my chair, sending it sliding backward a few feet. Then I scooped Charlie off her bench and hugged her close.
She didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around my neck.
Over her shoulder, Thea swiped her eyes dry.
“I love you, Charlie,” I said into her ear.
I’d known I loved her the moment she pulled me into her fort. Or maybe the first day I’d seen her beautiful brown eyes as she’d taken a frog from my hands. I could barely remember my life before Charlie, and it was just weeks ago.
“I love you too,” she whispered back.
I smiled. That was one of the Landry girls down, now I just had one to go.
“Are you all done eating?”
She nodded against my suit.
“Let’s get you home.”
Her legs around my waist cinched tight, so I wouldn’t put her down. “Okay, Daddy.”
