Page 125 of Someone You Deserve

“But if you two kiss in front of me, I will leave the room.”

Astrid laughs. “We’ll try to keep the kissing to a minimum.”

“I don’t agree to that,” I say. “I’ve waited a long time to kiss you.”

“Kissing is gross,” Lilly says, lifting her head from my shoulder.

“But Anna and Kristoff do it,” I argue.

“Yeah, but…” Lilly contemplates her reply, but Bentley cuts her off before she can speak, his voice low.

“I miss my dad. I always will. But I’m glad that we have you, Uncle Penn.” The emotion in his voice almost makes me break, but I manage to hold it together.

With Lilly still wrapped around me, I stand and pull him into my chest. “I miss him too. But I think he’d be happy knowing that we’re all together.”

Bentley nods his head against my stomach. “Yeah,I think so too.”

***

“Woo! Go Lilly!” Bentley shouts beside me and Astrid, cheering for his sister as she takes her final bow after her dance recital. Grady and Melissa are in the row beside us. We’ve been watching young girls twirl around in tutus for almost two hours, so my cheers are mostly for the fact that this event is finally over—although of course I reveled in watching my Lilly Bear dance around.

Fuck, I love that little girl.

As the crowd disperses, Astrid heads behind the stage to collect Lilly and her things, so Bentley, Grady, Melissa, and I make our way through the auditorium to meet them outside.

When Lilly sees me, she runs up to me just like any other time and I pull her into my arms enthusiastically. “You did such a good job, Lilly Bear.”

“Thank you. I tried really hard.”

I lean back and stare into her dark green eyes, the same ones her mother has. One day, she’s going to break so many hearts, and I can’t wait to be the one to chase off any boys who don’t understand how a woman like her is supposed to be treated. “I could tell. You were amazing.”

Bentley comes up to us and hands her the bouquet of flowers we purchased before the show. “You rocked it, Lilly.”

“Thanks, B.” She hugs him now as Astrid snaps pictures of them, and then she asks an innocent bystander to take a picture of all six of us.

It’s moments like these that will still take some time getting used to—not because I don’t have pictures with the three of them already—but now these pictures have a new meaning.

They’re pictures of the four of us as a family, Astrid and I as a team, two people who love each other and are creating a life together.

I’m moving into her house this week before Christmas. I would have done it sooner, but as of yesterday I’m no longer an employee of Catch & Release or Carrington Cove Hardware Store, so now I finally have the time to do it.

As soon as I’m done with my rental house, my old house will be next. Astrid was right. There will be two homes to rent out next year, and if things work out well, I’ll be adding a third by the spring. Pam at Cove Reality has been keeping me in the loop of small places that would work well for tourists.

In the meantime, Sheppard Contracting Services is officially up and running. My business cards just came in the mail yesterday, and my licensing is complete. I’m purchasing a new truck with better equipment to aid me in jobs, and my phone has already been blowing up with people needing items taken care of before the holidays.

But today was not about work—for once in my life.

Today was about my family—showing up for the little girl who danced with as much heart as she possesses. And tonight, we’re going to celebrate her accomplishments as a family.

“Is it time for ice cream yet?” Lilly asks, staring up at me.

“Dinner first. Then ice cream,” Astrid answers.

“Do we have to eat dinner first?” she continues, ignoring her mother.

“You heard what your mom said, Lilly.” Being stern with this kid isn’t going to get any easier, but Astrid assured me that if I’m going to slip into the role of dad instead of fun uncle, I have to be rule enforcer sometimes.

It’s still a work in progress.

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