Page 89 of Waiting for Friday Night

He shook his head. “I’m not trying to spoil her, but...”

This time when she pulled back he let her pull away. “But what?”

“But I’m not going to let her struggle unnecessarily.”

Halle clutched the shoebox with both hands. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’ll help her pay for college, so she doesn’t have student loans. When she’s ready for prom, I’ll rent a limo for her and her friends. When she’s ready to buy a house, I’ll help with the down payment.”

Halle frowned, all things she wanted to do and had scrimped and saved to try to be able to do. “You can do all that?”

“I can. Is it a problem that I can do that?”

“I can’t do all that,” she blurted out. Quinton and his family could give Shania everything Halle had wanted to give her. But they could do it easily. Once again she felt control slipping.

“Do you think Shania will care about that? She loves and respects you, Halle. I don’t plan to rent out Disney World for a graduation party or buy her expensive gifts just because. I want her to be responsible and know how to take care of herself.”

“That’s what I want for her.”

“I know. I just want her to feel secure. Growing up, I was always worried about money. How the bills would get paid and what would my parents be able to afford. I took on a lot of responsibility to keep them safe. I don’t want her to worry about me.”

“After my parents died, I struggled,” Halle admitted. “They didn’t have a will. I had to figure everything out. I want her to feel secure.”

He reached for her, and she didn’t resist when he pulled her in close. “We want the same thing. I promise. No big gifts without talking to you.”

“What’s a big gift? Two hundred dollars isn’t big?”

“Again, I didn’t know about the shoes. What limit do you want to set?”

She sighed and thought about it. Did she really want to give Quinton and his parents trouble if they bought Shania a pair of shoes? What was a good limit to check in before spending? She’d never had to navigate co-parenting before. Now she was supposed to have an answer to a question she didn’t know she’d ever be asked.

“I don’t know, but I like that we want the same thing for Shania,” she said honestly.

He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. “You don’t have to know today. Right now, I’ll talk to my parents about the shoes. Okay?”

She wanted to kiss him again. To lean into him and finally accept that she had a partner in this. “I still feel...”

“Feel what?”

She searched for the right words. “Like I’m disrespecting your parents and hurting Shania.”

“I’ll talk to them. They’ll understand.”

She looked at the shoebox in her hands. “Maybe I should let her have the shoes.”

“Let me talk to them first. The shoes aren’t going anywhere. We can give them back to her.”

She met Quinton’s gaze. Saw the understanding and support reflected back. He’d respected her feelings but also made her understand his side. This was compromise, partnership, and she liked it. “Why are you so understanding with me?”

“Because I like you.”

Her heart flipped. So many emotions filled her. She’d never thought she would want to lean on anyone else, or that someone would be on her side in this the way Quinton was for such a simple reason. “That’s not the reason why.”

He leaned forward, his voice serious. “That is the reason. I like you, Halle. I like you a lot.”

Halle didn’t know how she’d gotten here. How her life had been turned on its head so quickly, but she wasn’t going to fight this anymore. “I like you, too.”

He smiled as if she’d given him a present. Quinton leaned in and kissed her quickly. “That’s enough for now. We’ll figure out how to make this work and become a family.”

---