The Single Dad (The Dalton Brothers 3)

He put his laptop away and replied, “Do you think Sydney would like Utah?”

“Looove.” She picked up my orange crayon and began to play with it. “It’s so cool.”

“Then, maybe that’s where we’ll bring her.” He looked at me. “How does that sound?”

I couldn’t hold back my smile. “I was ready before you even asked.”

“Let’s go now!”

I held her hand within mine, her tiny fingers so warm and semi-sticky. “We can’t go now, silly. Your dad has to work, and we have a lot to get done at the house.”

“Maybe we can go in a few weeks,” he voiced. “Get in a couple trips before she starts school.”

“Yay!”

I wrapped my arms around her belly and pulled her toward my chest. “Is that a yay about starting school? Or a yay about Utah?”

“Utah!”

I chuckled. “I thought so.”

I glanced over at Ford, who was sitting across from us, and he mouthed, It’s time.

Time to tell Everly about us.

I sucked in a deep breath and held it in.

I had known this was coming. Ford and I had discussed that this was the right moment. I was just anxious about how she was going to react.

If she was going to resent me.

Or if this was going to make Everly and me closer.

Ford patted his lap. “Eve, can you come over here for a second? I want to tell you something.”

She climbed off me and moved across the space between our seats, maneuvering her petite body around the table of food, and she plopped down on Ford’s lap.

I tucked my legs underneath me, wrapping my arms around my stomach, watching him place her where he wanted her.

Once she was settled, he held out his hand, and Everly placed her fingers on top of his large palm.

“Do you know how Uncle D and Kendall love each other very much?”

“Yes.”

He folded his fingers over hers. “And you know how Uncle Jenner is engaged to Jo and she has that big diamond she wears on her finger and they’re going to get married?”

“I tried it on.” Her mouth formed an O. “Sooo pretty, Daddy.”

“Do you understand how your uncles are dating Kendall and Jo and how your daddy is single? Do you understand the difference?”

She shrugged.

“When I say to you that Uncle D and Kendall are boyfriend and girlfriend, do you know what that means?”

I appreciated his patience, how he was trying to break this down in the best possible way.

Everly responded by shrugging again. “Gonna kiss like Anna and Kristoff?”

Of course she would recite the characters from Frozen, her favorite movie.

That was an adorable comparison.

“Possibly,” he replied. “But it means that Uncle D cares about Kendall so much that he wants to be with her forever.” He kissed her forehead. “That he spends all his time with her. That they have sleepovers every night.”

She giggled. “Uncle D says I kick him when I sleep over.”

He squeezed her cheeks. “Because you’re a lion when you sleep.” His hand dropped from her face. “Since you were born, it’s always just been us, hasn’t it?”

She nodded.

“Your dad hasn’t had a Kendall or a Jo, has he?”

“You have me, Daddy.”

“I do.” He nuzzled into her neck. “But now, I have someone else who I want to spend time with as well. Someone who means a lot to me and someone who means a lot to you.”

“You do?”

“Yes, Everly, I do.”

“Who’s gonna sleep over?”

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “She might sleep over on occasion. Would you be all right with that?”

She said nothing.

I was sure she was trying to process what all this meant.

“Everly”—he turned her butt, so the two of them now faced me—“the woman I care about very much is Sydney.”

I didn’t know my role in this conversation, but I felt the need to say something.

For her to hear my side even if she had a difficult time understanding.

“And I care about your dad just as much, just like I care about you, Everly.”

“Syd’s my friend, Daddy.”