Page 48 of Secret Love

Henley looks at her with concern. “Why are you saying that? I know for a fact that you like Alex very much. He’s a great guy.”

“He's okay, but he's not like you,” she says.

“Well, he's not trying to be like me. He's trying to be himself, and you shouldn’t compare him to me, peanut,” he tells her.

“You like him,” Audrey says to Gracie. “You just try to act like you don’t when you're around Dad.”

“I do not,” Gracie says, sticking out her lip. She reaches out and puts her hand on Henley's arm. “You're way better, Daddy.”

Henley frowns. “Gracie, I want you to like whoever your mom dates if he's a good guy and treats all of you well. Is therea reason you’re saying all of this? Anything I should know about Alex?” He looks around at all three girls.

Audrey and Cassidy shake their heads.

“We like him,” Cassidy says, shrugging.

“But don't you think you'll be with Mom again one day?” Gracie asks.

Henley lets out a long, rugged breath. “Okay. How about we talk about this later? I didn't know you were thinking this way.”

We’re all staring at him and he gives me an apologetic smile.

“This has been so good,” I say. “Thank you so much for dinner. I should probably be getting home.”

“Do you have to go so soon?” Henley asks.

“Yeah, I need to.” I can’t get out of here fast enough after that little conversation. “I’ll help clean up though.”

“That's not necessary. We're going to clean up and then I'll take the girls home,” Henley says.

I pick up my plate and take it to the sink and the girls follow. When they go back to take the rest of the things off the table, Henley leans in.

“Stick around and we can have a glass of wine after I get back from dropping off the girls?”

“I should really get going,” I tell him.

“I’m really sorry about that in there.” He nods toward the dining area, his voice low.

“Don’t be. It just lets me know there's more to all of this that I haven't even thought about. It’s a good reminder to pump the brakes,” I whisper.

He curses under his breath. “I didn't see that coming. I didn't know any of them were thinking that way. I don't think Cassidy and Audrey are, but maybe we need to talk about it.”

The girls walk back into the kitchen and we continue putting things away. I wash a few pans, even though Henley insiststhat I shouldn't worry about cleaning up, and the girls load the dishwasher.

“My mom taught me to have good manners when I go to someone's house, no matter what.” I grin at Audrey who’s standing closest, and she giggles.

“Sounds like my mom,” she says.

When we're done, I gather my things and thank them again, and I head home with Earl in tow. I missed a call from Mom when I was driving, so I call her back after I’ve gotten Earl settled. We’ve texted pretty much every day, but have been playing phone tag since Henley and I kissed.

“Hey,” she says when she answers. “How’s your week going?”

“It's going really well. How’s yours?”

“Boring, compared to yours.” She laughs. “How's it going with Henley Freaking Ward?”

“Well, a lot has happened since we talked…”

“So help me, if you’ve had sex with the man and didn’t let me know,” she says.

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