I look up to see her standing in the doorway with her Glo Worm under her arm. And just like every other time I look at her sweet, little face, my heart melts. She always calls for me. And I want her to always do that too.
“Still here,” I say before letting my head fall back to the mattress. I roll my head to face Jaxi. “We need to get a babysitter.”
She giggles. “Come here, Rosie.”
Rosie springs across the floor and launches herself onto the bed. I cover my groin until she’s settled next to me.
Jaxi curls up on my right. Rosie twists herself into a pretzel around my left arm.
This is not how I saw, or hoped, this night would end. But as I take in the feeling in my stomach and the way my heart feels full, I have to reconsider.
Maybe this is what I hoped for.
Maybe it’s just one better.
Eighteen
Boone
“I want one of those,” Rosie says, reaching for my menu.
I hand her a plastic-coated listing of dinner options from Hillary's House. She squirms in the booth, clutching the menu in her hands for dear life. She gets settled practically on top of Jaxi.
Wade and Oliver had me in the office longer than normal tonight. The Greyshell report came in. We sat around and strategized on the best way to secure the property. When I looked up, it was past six, so I had Jaxi and Rosie take Libby’s car and meet me for dinner.
“What did you two girls do today?” I ask from across the table.
Jaxi puts down her menu. Her eyes sparkle. “Do you want to know what I did today? Really?”
“I asked so …”
She fake glares at me. “I looked into taking some courses for property management. I think I can get a grant to go back to school if I want to.”
“Property management, huh?”
She nods, picking up the water glass the waitress dropped off a few minutes ago. “I’ve always loved houses and buildings and things like that. But I was scrubbing the bathroom floor after someone decided to color on it with a marker.”
Rosie smiles.
“And I realized that there are a lot of Chucks out there. People shouldn’t have to feel the way I did when I was living in Columbus. So, I thought that since I’m basically starting over, I might as well pick something that I could enjoy, and I think I’d enjoy that.”
“I think you’d be great at it.”
“Thanks,” she says, grinning.
“Can we go to the zoo?” Rosie asks out of nowhere.
I furrow my brow. “The zoo? That’s random.”
Jaxi sighs. “Rosie figured out how to watch YouTube on the kitchen television today. I didn’t know you could even do that. I walk in, and she’s watching some cartoon documentary kind of thing on zoos. We watched it six times. At least.”
I fold my hands on the table. “I thought you wanted a puppy?”
“I do,” Rosie says. “But I want to go to the zoo. There are so many animals at the zoo, Boone. You should see. Can we go?”
“We can go,” I say slowly. “But you have to be a big girl and start sleeping in your big girl bed all night long.”
Jaxi fires me a shit-eating grin.
Everywhere I turn, Rosie is there. I can’t get a second alone with Jaxi to save my damn life.
How do people find time to do anything remotely sexual with a toddler on the prowl? I tried to get up early this morning, and guess who else got up?
Rosie.
She’s the cutest little mood-killer ever.
“I don’t really like sleeping alone,” Rosie says, her eyes glued to her menu. She’s too fucking cute.
“Well, I really think you should try sleeping alone. Don’t you want to be a big girl?” I ask.
“Nope.”
Jaxi giggles. “What do you want to eat, Rosie?”
“Um …” Rosie slides her finger down the menu as if she’s weighing the entrée options that she can’t even read. “I’ll have that,” she says, flicking the plastic with the tip of her finger.
I pull the menu down. She’s pointing at prime rib.
“Chicken tenders?” I ask. “Excellent choice.”
“That’s what I want. And a Prite.”
“And a Sprite,” I note. “Feeling a little cute today, are we?”
As if on cue, our waitress comes to our table and collects our orders. She takes the menus back to the kitchen with her.
Jaxi helps Rosie open the coloring crayons that were given to her by the waitress. I stretch my legs out under the table. I’m just about to ask Jaxi if she’s heard from Libby when my phone buzzes next to me.
I don’t recognize the number.
I pick up the phone and read the text.
Danny: This is Danny Coutcher, a friend of Anjelica Grace. She told me that you were interested in the apartment complexes that I have available. When would be a good time to reach you?