“Why not?” he whines. “I really want to stay with you, and I won’t see you this weekend because I’m hanging out with Nate and Mom.”
“Not tonight, okay? Maybe one day next week?”
“I don’t want to wait until then,” Reed huffs.
I sigh. If Lexie wasn’t here, there’s no question that I would go get him. Is it wrong of me to tell him no for that reason? Am I being a bad dad to him? Or is this a good time to show him that he’s not always going to get what he wants? But that’s nothing more than an excuse, isn’t it?
“Please, Dad,” he begs. Brooke’s voice can faintly be heard in the background, and I listen as Reed explains to her what he’s pleading me for. “I don’t want to have dinner with you and Nate. I want to go to Dad’s!”
“Reed,” I speak sternly, gaining his attention. “Don’t raise your voice. You can’t stay with me tonight. Go have fun with them, and I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“You promise?” His voice is full of disappointment, and I hate hearing it.
“I promise,” I repeat. “I’ll get you when I have the day off, and we’ll do anything you want all day long.”
“What if I want to–”
“Anything,” I interrupt.
“Okay.” Finally, he’s satisf
ied.
“All right, I got to go. I love you, little man.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
He hangs up just as I dim the lights. I hesitate before I go down the hallway, wondering if I did the right thing with Reed. I’ve never had him call me, wanting to come over when I’m with someone. He’ll be fine, I remind myself.
When I peek into the room, Lexie is placing her phone down on the nightstand. I stop short when I see her. She’s wearing a sleeveless little black dress that stops just below mid-thigh. Part of the back is simply a lace overlay, which doesn’t hide the bare skin underneath it. Lex turns around, smiling.
“I’m starting to be fearful of opening this door.”
“Why?” Her brows bunch together with confusion.
“Because, lately, every time I do, you stop my heart with what you’re wearing.”
Her smile widens. “I could say the same about you. I believe I’m ready if you are.”
I’m ready to take that dress off of her. She crosses the room to meet me, and I take her hand. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
She rolls her eyes before doing what I said. I grasp her hips and lead her to my kitchen. On the table in the corner is our food, a bottle of wine, and candles for lighting.
After pressing a kiss to her neck, I whisper, “Hope you don’t mind a small change in plans. Open your eyes.”
“Ashton…when did you do all this?”
I chuckle. “You were asleep for a long time, Lex.”
As I pull out her chair for her, she asks, “Is this from–”
“Your favorite Japanese restaurant? Yes, it is.”
She tries to hide a smile as she shakes her head. “You’re too much sometimes.”