“Okay. Bye Grandpa.” She ran over and gave him a hug.
“Bye, darling. I’ll see you soon.”
“Where’s Celeste?” I asked as I walked over and poured us each a scotch.
“I dropped her off at home before bringing Lily back. She wasn’t feeling well today.”
“Is she sick?” I handed him his glass.
“I don’t think so. She had a migraine come on this morning. She pretty much slept all the way home.”
“How was Lily?”
“A perfect angel as always. She kept talking about Alex. Alex this, Alex that. She loves her.”
“Yeah. I know she does.”
“How do the two of you get along?”
“We get along great. Why?”
“Just wondering. I better head back. Thanks for the drink. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Bye, Dad. Thanks for taking Lily.”
“Anytime, son.”
“Hey, Dad? Can we make some popcorn?” Lily walked into the room.
“Did you eat dinner?”
“Yep. We had dinner on the way back.”
“Okay. Let’s go make some popcorn.” I smiled as I patted her head.
I pulled a bag out of the pantry, took it out of the plastic wrapping and stuck it in the microwave.
“I missed you, Dad.”
“I missed you too, baby girl.”
“What did you and Alex do while I was gone?”
Shit. Did she know? Could she tell? Why was she asking me that?
“I actually took her to the Santa Monica Pier. She had never been.”
“Did you take her to Pacific Park?” Her smile widened.
“I sure did. I even won her a Hello Kitty. Then we just had a bonfire over at Uncle Sam’s house.”
“Did you win me anything?” Her little eyes narrowed.
“I’m sorry, baby girl. I didn’t.”
“That’s okay. You can win me something when we go again. Alex can come, and we can ride the rides and play the games like real families do.”
I felt something in the pit of my stomach when she said that.
“You’re back!” Alex said as she walked into the kitchen with a couple of shopping bags.
“Alex!” Lily ran and gave her a hug.
“I bought you something. Let’s go try it on and see if it fits.” She took hold of her hand.
“Hey, what about your popcorn?” I shouted as they walked out of the kitchen.
“Save it. I’ll be right back,” Lily said.
A few moments later, Alex walked back into the kitchen.
“Where’s Lily?” I asked.
“She going to take a bath. I bought her a new nightgown and she can’t wait to wear it. She said to put the popcorn in a bowl, and she’ll eat it when she gets out.”
“How was shopping?”
“It was fun. I bought you something as well.” A smirk crossed her face.
“You did?”
“I did.” She walked over to where her bags sat.
“You didn’t,” I said as I watched her pull out a slice of cheesecake. “Is it—”
“The one and only key lime cheesecake.” She handed me the plastic container.
“This is my favorite. How did you know?”
“I had Julia text Sam. She wasn’t sure.”
“You are an amazing woman and you just scored ten points in my book.”
“Wow. I’m honored.” She grinned.
“You should be.” I reached over and kissed her lips. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. After everything you’ve done for me, I could at least buy you a slice of cheesecake.” A smirk crossed her lips.
“You are too kind.”
“Dad, how do I look?” Lily pranced into the kitchen in her new nightgown.
“Wow. Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?”
“Stop it, Dad.” She laughed.
“You look beautiful, baby girl. Alex picked out a beautiful nightgown for you.”
“I feel like a princess.”
“Feel?” I walked over and scooped her up. “You are a princess, your highness, and your feast of popcorn awaits you.” I spun her around and she laughed.
After she ate some popcorn, it was time for her to go to bed. Alex and I both tucked her in and then I shut the door.
“I was just going to sit down and watch The Tomorrow War with Chris Pratt. Have you seen it?” I asked.
“No. But I’ve heard good things about it.”
“Would you like to watch it with me? I have some amazing popcorn that little nine-year-old hands dug through.”
“I’d love too.” She laughed.
As we sat on the couch watching the movie, she softly laid her head on my shoulder. Once she realized it, she quickly lifted it.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t be. Put it back down.” The corners of my mouth curved upward.
Her lips gave way to a small smile as she laid her head back down on my shoulder. It felt right. Everything about her felt right. Even the way she was wrapped up in my arms last night after we’d had sex.
The movie ended and Alex lifted her head off my shoulder.
“That was so good.”
“Yeah. It was really good,” I said.
She let out a yawn.
“I’m going to head to bed. Thanks for the use of your shoulder.”
“You’re welcome,” I said as I took a few strands of her long hair between my fingers. “Good night, Alex.”
“Good night, Stefan.”
Chapter 24
Stefan
I walked into Sam’s office and handed him the design he drew up with a few minor changes.
“Thanks, brother,” he spoke.
“I can’t believe in two weeks you’re going to be a married man. And you know what else I can’t believe?”
“What?” He stared at me.
“That we’re having a joint bachelor/bachelorette party in Vegas. That’s fucked up.” I pointed at him.
“It’ll be fun.” A smirk crossed his face. “Alex is coming, right?”
“Yeah. It would only make sense since Mom and Curtis were already watching Lily for the weekend. Plus, Julia wants her to come. They’ve become close.”
“Yeah. I know. The question is do you want her there?” he asked.
“Sure. She’ll have a good time.”
“Talk to me, bro.” Sam leaned back in his chair.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. Something is bothering you.”
“It’s just something Lily said last night. She asked me if I won her a stuffed animal at Pacific Park when I took Alex there, and I told her no. She then proceeded to tell me that it was okay and that I could win her one when the three of us go like a family.”
“Why is that bothering you?”
“I would do anything to protect her, and you know it. She’s already calling us a family and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
My phone rang and one of my contractors was calling.
“I have to take this. I’ll talk to you later.”