Lizzie looked down at her food then turned to Derek. “I’m sorry.”
He cut into his chicken and smiled. “Don’t be. I like it.”
“No, you don’t,” she said quickly. “You’re just saying that because you have the hots for my mom.”
A playful look came into his eyes. “Hey, don’t throw me under the bus.”
“Whoops.” She glanced at me.
I kept eating like I didn’t hear anything.
The front door opened, and my mom came inside. “Sweetheart, do you have any—” She shut her mouth when she saw the three of us having dinner together. Her eyes went to Derek and stayed there.
“What do you need, Mom?” I asked. “Help yourself to anything you need in the fridge.”
She continued to stare at Derek, surprised he was there, joining us for dinner like a member of our family. “Just need some eggs. Making something for your father.”
Derek wiped his mouth with a napkin then stood up to greet her. “Nice to see you again.” He extended his hand to shake hers.
She stilled before she took his hand. “I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
“There’s no interruption. Would you like to join us?” For someone who hated socializing, Derek was pretty damn good at it, at least when he tried. He obviously wanted my mother to like him, so he put aside his unease and did whatever was necessary to earn her favor.
“No, it’s okay,” she said quickly. “But while you’re here… I’m sorry about the way I spoke to you before. I was just being protective of Lizzie and kinda got carried away. But you’ve obviously been great with both Emerson and Lizzie, so…I was wrong.”
“Please don’t apologize,” he said. “You were being protective of your daughter, and I respect that. It’s water under the bridge.”
“Thank you.” She turned her eyes on me. “I’ll just get those eggs and go.” She moved to the fridge and got what she needed before she left.
Derek took a seat again and picked up his fork like nothing happened.
Lizzie pushed her food around like she couldn’t eat another bite because she didn’t like it. The downside to letting her eat our more often was she got used to all the salts and oils and didn’t want to eat anything I made at home.
The door opened again, and my dad walked in, twenty pounds lighter since his surgery because he went for a daily walk and actually moved all day.
Derek turned around at the sound of the door and stilled when he saw my father.
My father wore a smile and greeted Derek warmly. “I had to come over here and meet this man who has won over all three of my girls.”
Derek smiled before he set down his napkin and stood up. “Derek Hamilton, sir.” He took his hand and gave him a firm handshake. “I’m glad to see you’re up and about. Emerson has told me how well you’ve recovered.”
“Yes—because of you.” He pulled his hand away and patted him on the shoulder. “If you hadn’t given my girl that job, it never would have happened. So, thank you, Derek. And don’t call me sir. I watch way too much I Love Lucy and eat too many cookies to be called sir.”
Derek chuckled. “Alright.”
“Call me Ron.”
“You got it, Ron.”
Dad patted Derek on the back before he waved to us and headed out.
“Bye, Grandpa,” Lizzie said as he left.
Derek took a seat again. “Your dad seems nice.”
“Yeah, he’s a sweetheart,” I said.
“Now I know where you get it from.” Derek looked at me across the table before he continued to eat.
I loved having Derek around because it was nice to spend time with him on the weekend, but he was also a great influence on my daughter, watching her witness a highly successful man retain humility, treat my parents with respect, be good to me. He was a role model for what she should look for in a man someday, and he had no idea.I didn’t get to sit next to Derek on the couch because Lizzie took my spot.
I got stuck in the armchair.
We watched a movie together, but Lizzie talked the whole time, asking Derek questions.
I was happy the two of them got along so well, but I was also frustrated that my daughter was basically a cockblock. I wanted to snuggle with Derek on the couch, smell his cologne, do something we’d never done before. My eyes kept glancing to them, a little jealous that they were two peas in a pod.
“My phone has been doing this weird thing.” She held it out to him. “I tried restarting it and everything, and it doesn’t fix the problem. I even took it to the store, and they couldn’t fix it. But Mom says I can’t buy a new one.”
Derek took it from her and played around with it a bit before he figured it out. “You must have accidentally changed your settings. I altered it so you shouldn’t have that problem anymore.”