Then she lifted her arms to him, and Zach melted.
“Of course.” He pulled her slight weight into his lap, and Sophia cuddled into his chest, making him ache even more.
She reached for her stuffed animal. “Pegsis.”
He handed it to her, and Sophia pulled it close.
“Is that sparagus?” she asked, looking at his plate.
“It is.” He glanced at Tessa and found her reseat
ed, her chin in her hand.
“Sophia likes sparagus,” she told him.
He smiled at the way she’d used Sophia’s word and asked his daughter, “Would you like some?”
“Yes, please.”
He picked up the spear of asparagus with his fingers, then shot a look at Tessa to see if that was okay. When she nodded, he offered it to Sophia, who took it and inhaled it.
The older couple laughed and returned to their own meal, while Zach continued to hand Sophia spear after spear until it was gone.
He looked at Tessa, who was picking at her own meal. “I can’t believe how much she can eat.”
Tessa chuckled and pointed her fork at Sophia. “I think she’s done.”
Zach looked down and found Sophia sound asleep, a half-eaten asparagus spear clutched in her fist. It had to be the cutest thing he’d ever seen, and he swore his heart broke open and leaked all over his insides. “Oh my God.” He ran a hand over her hair. “Poor thing.”
“Yeah,” Tessa said with a smirk while she collected rice on her fork. “Loved on all morning. Played with all afternoon. It’s tough being Sophia.”
Zach chuckled, carefully took the asparagus from Sophia’s hand, and wiped her fingers with a napkin. She didn’t so much as flicker her long eyelashes.
He heaved a sigh. “Disaster averted.”
“For the moment. Don’t worry, there will be another dozen potential disasters tomorrow.” She put down her fork and stood, offering her arms. “Here, I’ll take her so you can eat.”
He gathered Sophia close and gave Tessa a shoulder. “No way. This is the freaking highlight of my week.”
“Zach, I know you’re starving.”
“I’ll manage.” He lifted his chin toward her dinner. “Sit. Keep your grubby hands off this sleeping angel.”
“Sleeping being the key word placed before angel when speaking of Sophia Westerly.” She sighed and sat back down. “Suit yourself.”
She continued with her dinner while smirking at him as he struggled to balance Sophia and eat. In the end, Zach kept one arm wrapped around her small form while he cut everything with the side of his fork. Once, Tessa took pity on him and reached across the table to cut his food for him, making him feel two years old. But better that than letting go of Sophia.
When he was done, he leaned back against the chair and relaxed, twirling his finger around one feather-soft curl. “There’s something very Zen about having her asleep against me.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
In the silence between them, all the drama of the night and the deeper problems it exposed overtook his thoughts. He lifted his gaze to hers and asked the impossible question. “What are we going to do?”
She grew serious and shook her head. “I don’t know. You never answered me when I asked about visiting us so you could see Sophia’s life in DC.”
A slow smile drifted over his mouth. “I believe you distracted me with—”
“I wasn’t the one doing the distracting.”