Page 23 of Forfeits

I stared at him. He stared at me.

“Not from spiders,” I said.

He grinned wider. “Huh.”

I blushed and poured myself more wine.

Aiden fondled the stem of his wine glass and licked his lips. “Did you always want kids?”

Okay. We were diving right into this.

I swallowed. “It was Daniel who really wanted them. But as soon as he placed Lucy in my arms, it was a done deal. Emotionally, I mean.”

Aiden nodded, his expression midway between sadness and understanding.

“She’s pretty amazing,” he said.

“Yeah. She’s…she’s Daniel’s biological daughter.”

“Is she? That’s wonderful.”

It was wonderful. I thought that every single day, even when it made me cry.

“Yeah.”

Daniel was gone. I’d come to accept that very real fact. But part of him was still here, and that was in Lucy. I saw him in her all the time, and it was a goddamn miracle and a blessing.

“You’re a good dad, Fletcher,” Aiden said, with so much confidence in his assertion I huffed a laugh.

“How do you know?”

Aiden held my gaze. “Because of how Lucy is—how she thinks, how she talks, how she talks about you.”

“She talks about me?”

“Yes. A lot. The fact that she talks about you at all shows me you’re an important presence in her life. A lot of these kids…You know, they come from families that have split up for reasons other than someone having passed away. And it’s hard being a single parent and staying engaged in their lives.”

“So, what does she say about me?”

Aiden laughed. “She says you spoil the dogs.”

“What? I spoil the dogs? Lucy’s the one that’s always giving them treats!”

“Oh, I’ve hit a nerve,” Aiden murmured.

And the way he said it made it sound like he wanted to have his way with all my nerves.

I frowned. “Lucy spoils the dogs. But I let her because I’m just happy to see her functioning again. There was a dark, dark time, after Daniel died, where…” I swallowed. “… neither of us knew if we were going to be okay.”

“Oh, Fletcher. I’m so sorry.”

I gave him a shaky smile, trying not to remember how bereft those times had been.

“Yeah. We’ve come a long way…her more than me. I can’t imagine what it’s like as a child to lose a parent.”

“I’m sure you had as much, or more, of a loss, Fletcher.”

“Well. We’re both much better now.”

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