Page 110 of The Flirt

"Oh," Scarlett said. "That’s too bad. But it’s amazing that your entire family dotes on her. It’s lovely.”

I instinctively knew that she hadn't had all this as a kid. Was it crazy that I wanted to fulfill every single desire she had?

I walked closer to her, but then she jumped to one side.

"Nope."

"I was just coming closer," I pointed out.

"That ends up in a smoking-hot kiss most of the time, so it's better to have a foot between us. Actually, it's best that I go upstairs. Good night, Chad."

"Good night."

I watched her as she went inside her building. I wanted to walk her up and kiss her against that door, just as she’d said, but that wasn't possible tonight.

Things would change soon, though. I was going to make sure of that.

***

Bella slept during the whole drive. Once we were home, I carried her upstairs to her bedroom. The second I put her on the bed, though, she opened her eyes.

"Daddy, where’s Scarlett?"

"We dropped her off at home, remember? That's where we were heading first."

"Oh. I didn't get to say goodbye.” She pouted. “Dad, is Scarlett your girlfriend?"

Figures. My daughter definitely took after my grandmothers.

I'd intended to ease her into this, to explain things in a language she could understand, which made me realize... "You know what a girlfriend is?"

"Of course. The fourth graders at my school already have girlfriends. My best friend, Delaney, also has a boy who likes her, but she doesn't know if she's his girlfriend."

Not overreacting took a monstrous effort. In fact, I chose not to react at all.

"Would you like for Scarlett to be my girlfriend?" I asked.

I needed to divert my focus to something else besides the possibility of my daughter—

Nope, not even going to go there.

"Yes, Daddy. We can bake anytime then, right? If she's your girlfriend. Aaaaand we can watch a Harry Potter marathon."

That reminded me of something. "Actually, Scarlett has a surprise for you. Look at your drapes."

She turned to them with sleepy eyes and then sat up. "Hedwig!"

"That's right. The white owl."

She raised a brow. “You know who Hedwig is? Did you watch Harry Potter without me?”

“No, I didn’t. Scarlett explained some of the characters to me.”

She bounced up and down and then smiled at me with her little face all lit up. "I really love Scarlett."

So do I.

After my girl fell asleep, I went to my bedroom. My mind was on Scarlett. I took a shower, turning it as cold as I could handle it, but it still didn't take the edge off. Once I stepped out, I got in bed. Usually, I’d read a newspaper article or two before falling asleep, but right now, I wanted something different. Picking up my phone, I texted Scarlett.

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