Holy shit. Zach felt like the sky was falling.
But Tessa just gritted her teeth and smiled as she stood from the table and told Sophia, “Let’s go.”
“Mommy…” she whined.
“The longer you fuss, the longer this will take.”
“What are you doing?” Zach asked, wondering if he should go with them. “Do you want to leave?”
“Oh no,” she said, this time with knowing determination. “Her tantrums don’t dictate what we do or don’t do. Right, Sophia?”
Sophia slipped from her chair with a muttered “I no do tantums.”
“Oh yes, you do, precious.” Tessa stroked her hand over Sophia’s head as the girl started to cry again and took her hand. “You do them very well.” To Zach, she said, “Go ahead and eat. No telling how long this will take.”
What the hell? “Should I come? I can get the food to go.”
“No, no. This is just the lesson of the hour. Relax.”
She walked through the restaurant with Sophia, exiting through the front door, and Zach stared blankly at the stuffed animal abandoned at the table. He had no idea what to do. He didn’t even know what the hell was going on. He sure as heck couldn’t eat.
“Your family is beautiful.” The voice drew Zach’s attention to an older couple in the next booth. They had to be in their seventies, and both wore quiet, knowing smiles. “Your wife handled that so well.” The older woman glanced at her husband. “Didn’t she, Dick?”
The man nodded. “Nipped it in the bud. Don’t see many parents doing that nowadays. They let their kids act like mongrels in public.”
“But she was so nurturing,” the woman said, her gaze moving between Dick and Zach as if conferring. “Respectful.”
“You respect them,” Dick said, “they’ll respect you.”
“I, uh…” Zach said, “I’m not very good at this.”
“You will be,” Dick said. “Comes with experience. In the meantime, your wife is a wonderful example to follow.”
Wife. Family. Holy crap.
“That didn’t take long,” the woman said, her gaze angled toward the front door. “I bet she’s a different toddler from the one that walked out.”
When Zach refocused that direction, he could see Sophia wasn’t crying or fussing, but she still didn’t look happy.
“Oh, dear,” the older woman said with a little chuckle. “Someone’s tired.”
“Dead on her feet is more like it,” Dick commented with good nature. “Remember what Tommy was like when he got tired, Helen?”
The older woman laughed deeply, and by now, Tessa and Sophia approached the table. “Oh, please, don’t remind me. It’s a wonder he survived past the age of four.”
When Tessa reached the table, she smiled at the older couple.
“We were just telling your husband,” Helen told Tessa, “that you have a beautiful family. And you handled that like a pro.”
Tessa laughed softly. “Thank you. She’s strong-willed. I’ve had lots of practice.” When Sophia turned toward her chair, Tessa held her back. “I think you’re forgetting something.”
Sophia’s gaze lifted to Zach’s. She dropped Tessa’s hand, stepped toward him, and laid her hand on his thigh. The thumb of her other hand moved toward her mouth, but she just played with her bottom lip. “I sorry, Daddy.”
Shock gripped Zach’s heart. His throat thickened, and his chest ached. While the older couple awwed over Sophia’s sweetness, Zach lifted his gaze to Tessa, and she met it with an apologetic one of her own.
He tentatively slid his hand over Sophia’s hair. “Thank you, baby.”
She sidled closer. “Can I sit with you?”