Page 109 of The Flirt

She got down from my lap and climbed onto Scarlett's, who immediately put her arms around my girl.

I couldn't get enough of seeing them together. I never thought I’d meet someone like Scarlett. She listened patiently while Bella described every castle in detail, asking questions of her own every so often.

By the time we left two hours later, Bella still hadn't finished talking about the castles. Once we were in the car, though, she immediately fell asleep. She’d done that as a baby too. In fact, when she couldn’t sleep in the evening, I’d often take her for a night drive through the city. She always went out like a light.

"Are you okay?" I asked Scarlett, interlacing our fingers as I kept my left hand on the wheel.

"Yes. I have a bit of adrenaline. Being around your family is like drinking five espresso shots."

I laughed. "That's the most accurate description of the gang."

We arrived in front of her building far too quickly. Damn it, I wanted her to come with us, but I knew it wasn't possible. It was too much too soon for all three of us.

"No, you don't have to," she whispered as I opened my door.

I cocked a brow. "I won’t say goodbye like this, Scarlett."

"Oh, okay."

Even in the dark of evening, I could see her blush.

I closed the door without making any sound, and Scarlett did the same. Then I rounded the car and was about to lean in, but Scarlett placed a hand firmly on my chest.

"I invoke the no-kissing rule.”

"Why?"

She looked back at Bella.

"She's asleep," I said.

"What if she wakes up?"

"She won’t, trust me.”

"See, I don't trust you on that. What if the poor girl wakes up and sees us mauling each other? You do have a history of pinning me against whatever surface you can find."

"That’s true," I conceded. There was a real risk that things would spiral out of control. And my girl could see us. Fucking hell, how could I lose my head like this? "Tonight was incredible."

She smiled. "I loved it too. And honestly, I didn't want to interfere earlier, but I really don't mind if she comes in the mornings before school at the restaurant."

"Sugar, you work too much as it is. I have half a mind to hire another chef."

She gasped. "Why would you do that? It's my job."

"I want more time with you," I said.

"Absolutely not. This is the typical schedule of a chef."

I opened my mouth but then closed it again. Fuck, what was I doing? I couldn't ask for her to work less just because I wanted to be with her for more hours in the day. Yet all my instincts told me to do just that.

“You’re right. I take that back. I don’t know what got into me.” Swallowing hard, I added, “I’ll talk to Bella. We could do weekends as well."

"Won't Sarah mind?" she asked.

"No, she won't. Sarah isn't... Well, let's just say she didn't put up a fight when I insisted that I wanted custody of Bella and for her to live with me during the week. She actually fussed at the idea of having her daughter every weekend. Because she needs free time too."

I tried not to sound bitter, but I couldn’t hide how I felt about it.

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