“Ohhhh, I don’t know if I’m the best. I don’t think I’m at your level.” I ran a hand down her soft, silky hair.
Bridget let go of me to grab the tablet and plopped on the sofa. “Come sit down. Can you show Papa? He’s not that good.”
Leonardo’s eyebrows lifted in the middle in a pained expression as he watched me ease next to his daughter.
He chuckled lightly. “I guess Kate will have to show us if she’s better than me.”
I gave him a sly smile. “Challenge accepted. We shall see.”
Leonardo stood behind us, watching. My pulse thumped a few times from the attention, but I eased into the game.
“Wow, you’re good,” Bridget said.
“Back up a little, Unicorn. Kate can’t see the board if you put your face in front of it.” Leonardo guided Bridget with his hand on her shoulder.
“She’s almost past level ten.” Bridget squealed with her fingers curled to her chest.
I bit my bottom lip when Leonardo came around and sat on the coffee table directly in front of me. Watching me play was not the problem. His eyes were not on the screen, but on me. Heat fused through my veins and my concentration faltered. My heart hammered when his knee brushed up against mine.
I tried to ignore the way he shook his leg and cracked his knuckles.
“One more row.” Bridget’s high-pitched, excited voice brought me back.
I had played level ten so many times that I could do it with my eyes closed, but they didn’t need to know that. I wanted to look cool.
“The trick of the game is not to panic and to concentrate only on the flowers that are in front of the unicorn,” I repeated what I had to Tyler.
“That’s exactly what I told Bridget.” Leonardo tapped his daughter’s nose to get her attention, but her eyes were glued on the screen.
“Kate’s on level eleven now. Ohhhhh.” Bridget squealed.
Level eleven might show the limit of my skills in this game. The skeletons were closing in when the sound of wind chimes came from my phone. A familiar invisible hand caressed down my back and I shuddered a breath. I stilled, my heart thumping.
“Papa, that’s Mama. When the wind chimes, an angel is near. It’s her.” Bridget jumped into Leonardo’s arms.
My heart went out to both of them. The pain must still be so raw because Leonardo never talked about her. And that poor little girl, growing up without her mother. I couldn’t even imagine. Like Tyler growing up without his father.
I bit the inside of my lip as my heart flipped. It was such a sweet gesture about the wind chimes, but one day she’d know it wasn’t true and then what?
Leonardo stiffened. “Yes, she is.” He caressed Bridget’s back and kissed her forehead.
Leonardo and I locked eyes for a heartbeat again. I saw grief and sadness in them. Bridget jumped out of his arms and returned next to me.
“Oh, well.” I threw up my hands when I lost the game.
Bridget’s lips fell downward into a pout. “We almost finished level eleven. Can we try it again?”
“Maybe after dinner?” I met Leonardo’s gaze to confirm, but we were interrupted by the doorbell.
He rose and straightened his shirt. “That’s for me.”
Bridget trotted behind him, and I followed. I stopped short when he opened the door to a tall, lovely woman. They exchanged hugs and he kissed her cheek.
My gaze lowered to the woman’s black, form-fitting dress with black heels that accentuated her long legs. A small purse was clutched between her chest and arm. Her makeup was a little bit heavy for my taste, but she was stunning.
He’d wanted me to come back so he could go on a date. He had every right. A single man had needs.
“Hello.” The pretty lady looked shocked when her eyes landed on me and Bridget.
Had she not known he had a daughter?
“Cassie. This is Kate, and you’ve already met Bridget.”
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
Holding my hand, Bridget backed away without a word toward the Christmas tree.
Cassie assessed me from head to toe and turned away. She didn’t seem impressed. “Well, shall we?”
“I’ll be back soon.” Leonardo kissed Bridget on the forehead and left.
As soon as the door closed, Bridget’s shoulders eased, but she held her frown. “I don’t like that lady.” Her grip on my hand tightened. “She’s not nice.”
I agreed with her though I didn’t know the woman.
“How many times have you seen her?” The nosy question left my mouth before my brain caught up.
She held up four fingers and then angled her lips to the side. “No.” She brought one finger down. “I think three.” She crinkled her nose. “I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. Some people seem mean, but they’re just shy.” I led her back to the family room to have dinner.
After dinner, Bridget washed up and I tucked her in bed.
“Which book would you like for me to read to you?” I sat up with pillows behind my back.
“This one.” She handed me a book from under her covers, stretched her arms to the ceiling, and yawned.
“Unicorn Goes to School. This should be fun.” I ran my hand down the colorful, glittery cover. The unicorn was dressed like a child with a backpack.
I opened the book to read. About half way through the story, Bridget’s eyes fluttered and then finally closed. I should go downstairs to my designated room, but I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to spend the night. Leonardo and I had forgotten to talk about that detail. I had to wait for him to come home either way, so I closed my eyes, intending to wait there until Leonardo came home.
I’ll go home when he gets here. But between Bridget’s soft breathing and the warm glow of lamplight next to me on the nightstand, I dozed off.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Leonardo must be home. I tried to pry open my reluctant eyes, but they were too heavy.
The door creaked and then more footsteps. When no other sounds came, I tried to talk, but exhaustion dragged me back toward sleep.
Something warm covered my body. I shifted slightly to see a blurry image of Leonardo, looking at me, or Bridget, or both.
I should get up. Go home or go to the spare room. Groggily, I pushed the cover. “I’ll be on my way,” I murmured.
He rested his hand on my shoulder and I sagged back into the pillow, unable to resist.
“No, stay,” he whispered. “I mean, it’s late. Spend the night.”
In my state of mind, his words sounded more intimate than they should. “Okay. Anything for you,” I mumbled breathlessly.
“Goodnight, Bridget. Goodnight, Kate,” he said.
The sincerity and the tenderness in his voice made me picture a husband coming home from a late night at the office and kissing his wife and daughter goodnight.
A girl could dream.
Some words tumbled out of me through the fog of sleep, and I had no idea what I’d said. A light chuckle filtered through my almost-dreaming state. I hoped I’d said goodnight back to him and didn’t ask about his date. I knew I should stop talking, so I surrendered to the night.
Chapter Twenty-Two — The Next Morning