Page 109 of The Enemy Face Off

"I did, sweetie. You were awesome."

She practically jumps on top of me, wraps her arms around my shoulders, and says the four words I've been dying to hear her say all this time.

"I love you, Daddy."

My throat tightens with emotion. "I love you, too, Josie."

She gives me one final squeeze before returning to her friends.

I'm glad I'm wearing dark sunglasses to mask the tear that falls from my eye.

She finally said it.

It's taken a lot longer than I thought it would. So long I was beginning to doubt it would ever happen.

In addition to being cautious, she also takes her time to open up to people. Guess she gets that from me.

But now that she's said it, I know that she means it.

And there's no better feeling in the world than that.

I step into the bookstore and head toward the counter.

Once a week, I take Beth out on a lunch date. It's become a thing she lets me do—indulging her love of free food. That's what she likes to say, anyway, but I know she enjoys it as much as I do.

Hanging out at my house with the kids is great, but it's also nice to have a little alone time, too.

And we're going to have even more alone time this afternoon. I've cleared it with her boss, even though she probably doesn't remember what today is.

"Hey," she says, smiling warmly as I approach the counter.

"Hey, yourself."

She looks great. A fitted, burgundy blouse offsets her porcelain complexion beautifully, and a pair of high-waisted, dark wash jeans highlight her figure.

"I'll grab my purse and let Courtland know I'm going."

"Sure. No worries. You know where to find me."

She smiles knowingly as I make my way over to the thriller section. Despite retiring, I have absolutely zero time to read. But it's nice to see all the new releases I'm missing out on.

I really don't mind.

I'll take Josie telling me she loves me for the first time on the beach last week, or Jonah proudly trudging into my bedroom yesterday morning having dressed himself for the very first time, over the latest release from John Marrs, Harlan Coben, or Frieda McFadden.

Books aren't going anywhere. They'll still be there in twenty years when I may finally have some spare time.

But kids, they grow up way too fast, and I don't want to miss a thing. I want to be there for all of it.

"All right. You ready?" Beth asks when she reappears.

"Let's do it."

I take her hand in mine, but rather than turning right once we leave the store and head toward one of the nice restaurants by the marina, this time we turn left.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"You'll find out in less than a minute."

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