Nervously, she nods. “Okay.”
I didn’t plan this, and I wouldn’t have taken this step yet, but life is full of curveballs, and I’m about to catch one.
I take off toward the foyer to find Stevie on her knees, examining the stickers on the exterior of Astrid’s guitar case. Standing next to her is my brother.
“I’m sorry,” he mouths to me.
I shake that off with a smile and drop to one knee. “Hey, sweetheart. How are you?”
Stevie takes the cue and launches herself into my arms. “I missed you, Daddy. I wanted to see you.”
I can’t complain about that. “I missed you too.”
Her gaze darts to the guitar case. “Is that for me? Am I going to learn how to play the guitar? This one might be too big.”
I suck in a breath to try and find the words to explain what’s going on.
“That one is a little bit too big for you,” Astrid says from behind me. “I have one at home that I think is just the right size for you.”
Stevie looks in the direction of Astrid’s voice. “Are you her? Are you Astrid, the key finder?”
Soft laughter fills the air behind us. “That’s me. You must be Stevie.”
Stevie lets go of me to take off in Astrid’s direction.
I turn just in time to see Stevie stop short of where Astrid is standing. She extends her left hand. “I’m Stevie Morgan. It’s my pleasure to meet you.”
Astrid takes her hand. “I’m Astrid Rehn.”
“You are pretty,” Stevie gushes. “My dad said you were, but he didn’t say you were as pretty as a princess.”
Astrid catches my eye before her gaze lands back on my daughter’s face. “So are you.”
“Are you going to teach me how to play the guitar?” Stevie asks excitedly. “Are you here for my first lesson?”
Keats clears his throat, so I toss him a smile before I head over to Astrid and Stevie. “Astrid was visiting me, sweetheart.”
Stevie looks into my eyes. “That’s nice, but can I learn how to play the guitar? When Astrid visits you again, can she teach me something on the guitar?”
“I can do that,” Astrid says before I can respond. “My mom bought me my first guitar when I was ten. It’s at my apartment. I think it’s just the right size for you.”
“Can I borrow it?” Stevie bounces in place. “I promise with my whole heart that I will take extra good care of it.”
Astrid looks to me for confirmation that it’s all right.
It’s better than all right. This is fucking amazing.
I couldn’t have scripted their first meeting better than this, even though I hadn’t considered what it would look like because it feels like such a huge step for all three of us.
I nod.
Astrid grins. “You bet. I’ll bring it over the next time I visit, and we can go over some basic chords.”
Stevie turns to face me head-on. “Did you hear that, Daddy? I’m going to learn basic chords.”
I smooth a palm over the top of her head. “That’s amazing.”
Chapter Forty
Berk
I step out onto my stoop with Astrid’s guitar case in my hand and her by my side.
She glances at me. “Did I walk into the room too soon? I got nervous waiting in the kitchen, and I wasn’t sure if I should sneak out the window.”
I laugh. “You walked in at the perfect time.”
She stops as we near the steps that lead down to the sidewalk in front of my home. “Your daughter seems amazing, Berk.”
“She is.”
“Are you all right with me teaching her a few things on the guitar?” Her gaze drops to her guitar case.
I inch her chin back up with my fingertip, so our eyes meet. “That was an incredibly generous offer, Astrid.”
“But…” she draws the word out.
I search her face for a clue about how she’s feeling.
She must have been overwhelmed just now. I doubt like hell that she expected to come face-to-face with Stevie today.
“There isn’t a but,” I stress. “I want to know how you’re feeling about what just happened.”
The corners of her lips inch up toward a smile. “Relieved.”
“Relieved?” I perk a brow. “Why?”
“I’ve never met the daughter of a man I’m….” She laughs. “I’ve never been with a man who had a child, so I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure how Stevie would react to me.”
I take her hand and give it a slight squeeze. “Stevie welcomes the world with open arms.”
Even though it’s true, I had some concerns about how my daughter would take the news that I’m interested in someone.
I believe Stevie sensed that there’s something going on between Astrid and me, although maybe she was too preoccupied with her future guitar lessons to fully absorb what’s happening.
“I need to run to open my store.” Astrid reaches for her guitar case.
I hand it to her, catching sight of the time on my watch. “You’ve got fifteen minutes. Do you want me to call a car for you?”