Page 137 of Strictly the Worst

Tessa’s eyes meet mine. She looks amused.

“I was at least going to take you out to dinner first,” I tell Zoe.

She grins back at me. “Didn’t you tell me not to let strange guys buy me dinner?”

“I’m not a strange guy,” I point out. “I’m your new daddy.”

Zoe makes a gagging noise. “Don’t ever say it like that again.”

“Daddy Linc?” I suggest.

She rolls her eyes at me.

“Just Linc. And that room is going to be mine, right?”

“We’re here to talk to you about us dating. Not moving in together,” Tessa says. “We’re not doing that yet.”

“I already knew you were dating.” Zoe sighs loudly. “Can’t I at least get something good out of this?” She’s smiling though, and I know she’s kidding. “I’ll tell you what, if you give me the biggest room I’ll call you Father Linc.”

“That makes me sound like a priest,” I laugh.

She shrugs. “If it fits, it fits.”

“We’re not moving in together,” Tessa tells her, exasperation in her voice. “You need some time to get used to this first.”

“No I don’t.” Zoe shrugs. “I need to move into a huge apartment with a huge TV.”

“Zoe!” Tessa shoots me a ‘help me’ look.

I shrug at her, because she knows I want us to live together.

“Can I ask for one more thing?” Zoe says, as I start up the engine, because all the cars in front of us have already pulled away. And to be honest, I need something to eat.

“What is it?” Tessa asks.

“When you two get married, can I wear a tux instead of a pink dress? And if you have a kid, can I name it?”

“We’re not getting married either,” Tessa says uneasily.

“Yet,” I add, because yeah, we are. Sooner rather than later.

Tessa’s eyes meet mine. She looks genuinely surprised.

“I’m an old fashioned guy,” I remind her. Tessa bites down a smile.

“He hasn’t even asked me,” Tessa tells her. “Calm down. We just wanted to tell you we’re seeing each other, if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s fine.” Zoe shakes her head, looking down at the comic book. “Stop making a big deal out of it.”

I start to laugh, pulling out into the traffic. We already decided where we were going to eat. A little Italian restaurant I love called Il Piccolo. It’s been run by the same family for years. First the grandpa, then his son. Now the granddaughter runs it.

It was the place Mom used to take us when Brooks and I were kids. Dad was all about fancy restaurants, Mom was all about great food.

I’m excited to take Zoe and Tessa there.

“Can you put some music on?” Zoe asks. “The Linebackers if you could.”

Tessa’s still smiling. And so am I. Because this kid is completely unpredictable but she’s a blast.

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