“She takes after somebody, so it isn’t surprising,” my hater-ass grandpa threw in on a mumble, eyes back on the screen, and a smirk on his face.
I pulled the elastic out of my ponytail, not caring it was going to leave my hair a mess, and shot it at Grandpa. It hit him right on the chest. He had the nerve to throw his hand over the spot and shoot me a face that was way too dramatic for how much that only slightly stung.
A deep chuckle escaped the brown-haired man as he started to move one of those long, muscular legs that were taking up a ton of floor space. “Thank you for allowing me over,” Jonah said as he got to his knees and thrust a hand toward the man sitting on the couch.
Grandpa Gus’s nostrils flared for a moment before he took it, looking just as put out as I would have expected, but he gave it a shake anyway. He didn’t say anything in response though, and he did make a suspicious face.
With his hand back, Jonah paused and tipped his chin down. That same big hand moved toward the baby’s face, and one single finger—his index—touched a chubby Mo cheek before lightly giving the round little belly covered in a soft lilac onesie a tap. “Goodnight, Mo,” he said in that voice that was somehow laced with just enough kindness to sound sweet.
Mo waved her whole hand in the air, earning her another little tap of a finger against her tummy.
And in a way that I could have admired on any other person his size, Jonah got to his feet lightly and quietly, meeting my eyes as soon as he was up. “Thank you again, Lenny.”
It ate at my heart to say “You’re welcome” because I was an asshole.
His smile made me feel worse.
I almost sighed but got to my feet, scooping Mo up just as her dad made it to the hallway that would lead him to the front door. “Do you want me to give you a ride to your hotel?” I basically gritted out after him.
Over his shoulder, those intense honey-colored eyes lingered on my face. “It’s late. You should stay. Shouldn’t take too long for the driver to arrive if you don’t mind me sitting outside until they do.”
Was I being that much of a jerk that he thought I was going to pitch a fit over him waiting on the porch? He had fucked up, but he was here. I wasn’t that petty.
There were millions of people in the world who fucked up too and wouldn’t even think about facing their mistakes.
Like the woman who had showed up today.
That thought had just entered my head when my gaze landed on a brand-new book sitting on the coffee table. Where the Wild Things Are. Something nudged at my gut as I took in the cover and the fact this dickface had brought it for Mo.
He unlocked the door and opened it before I could get out. “We’ll wait with you.”
Grabbing Mo’s jacket, I slipped it on her as I watched him dip his head and step out, closing the door once she was ready. He settled on the top step, all the way over so he was inches away from whacking his elbow on one of the pillars straddling the stairs as his fingers moved across the screen of his cell phone. I sat down as far as I could on the same step to the left, balancing my girl on my thigh, with her back supported by my upper arm and chest. I tugged the hoodie part of her jacket over her ears just as she began grabbing at my sweater, trying to stick it in her mouth.
Down the street, I could hear kids playing even though the temperature had started dropping a little to bring a chill. Blended into those noises were car doors opening and closing. They were all familiar, comforting sounds of being surrounded with the mostly historic homes on our street.
I glanced at Jonah when he set his cell phone on his thigh and aimed his upper body toward us, an open expression on his broadly boned face. His gaze flicked down to Mo, and a small, but tender smile replaced it.
I only had to think about it for a moment, still relishing her weight and her smell, but knowing damn well I would have it after he left. “Do you want to hold her while your ride comes?”
He sucked in a nervous breath and reached over with those massive hands, meeting my eyes briefly with that smile on his face, before plucking her gently off my lap and settling her down on one muscular thigh. “So small,” he murmured as he held her, both sets of fingers stretched out wide in case Mo decided to go for a nosedive.
“She’s pretty big for her age,” I found myself telling him, as I thought about how he’d assumed I wouldn’t want him on the porch. I was all for being an asshole… but only when it was necessary.
“Is she?” Jonah asked, attention downward. He dipped his face close to hers, eyes going big. “She must get that from you.”
Mo answered with “Ba” like yup.
I peeked at his shoulders alone.
He flashed me a quick grin before focusing back down on his daughter. Our daughter. “I was a skinny kid until sixteen.”
I made a disbelieving face at him that got me another grin.
“I’m not joking. Even my own mum had given up on me growing. In one year, I grew… sixteen, seventeen centimeters. The next year I grew another eight. Bit of a crap two years. My knees hurt the whole time.”
Holy shit. What was that? A foot in two years?
He changed the conversation around back to me. “You’ve always been tall?”
I curled my hands over my shins as I watched his index finger brush the bottom of a tiny foot. “I’m not tall, but yeah, I—”I had to try, I reminded myself. I was going to have this man in my life for a long time, and he was being awfully fucking decent so far. So… I could be decent back. It was less work than flipping him off every chance I had. “I was taller than most of the boys and almost all the girls for a long time. Now, I just kind of wish I was shorter.”
“Why?”
“It’s hard to find pants that fit,” I told him honestly. I was an inch too tall. It was a curse.
His chuckle made the dimple closest to me pop. “Yeh, I know what that’s like. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass, isn’t it? I’ve got, maybe, five pants that fit me well.”
I snorted and only slightly regretted it when he shifted those honey-colored eyes at me, giving me a glimpse of both his dimples as he smiled sweetly.
“Would you like to talk about your grandmother?” he asked out of nowhere.
That caught me off-guard, but luckily there was only one answer to give, and I didn’t hesitate to share it. “No.” I didn’t want to waste any more time thinking about her and her mysterious reappearance, much less talking about her, especially with Jonah. There were a few too many holes there I wouldn’t be able to jump over if I tried explaining the situation.
He’d heard enough to have an idea of just how absentee she’d been. Which was 100 percent.
There was that and… I just didn’t want to talk about her.
He nodded in understanding and smiled some more, his teeth very white against his tan face, a gentle reminder to me of how he’d been in France. Of why I had liked him so much. Of why I had looked for him and waited for him and been so disappointed when he hadn’t come.
That familiar question floated around in my head, and even though I knew I had no business asking it, knew I wasn’t going to like his answer or still might not believe it, the fucking question was there. Wanting to be asked.
I glanced down at my hands still covering my shins. What did I have to lose? Nothing, that was what. I’d made a commitment to get along with him, and I was going to stick to it until he went total dickhead on me and earned me being a bitch back.