Page 66 of Bottles & Blades

“Good,” I say again, tilting my head toward the elevators again so we can go up to the floor where my office is.

By the time we make it there, Marie and Suzanne are waiting.

Unfortunately, that’s the only speedy part of the process.

Breaking everything down takes time. Too much fucking time.

I’m itching to get out of there by the time Samantha takes off, but the conversation isn’t over, and I have to go over every detail of our next steps with Marie and Suzanne before they too leave.

“Fucking finally,” I mutter, shoving my cell in my pocket, starting for the table where Tiff left her study stuff. I’m just scooping her notecards up when I hear my office door swing open.

“Whatever it is,” I tell the intruder without looking up, “it can hold until tomorrow.”

“No, it can’t.”

My gaze jerks to the door and I feel that pang in my chest as Chrissy, Rory (who’d spoken), and Tiff march in.

Well, Chrissy and Rory march.

Tiff hangs behind, still unsure.

“Come on, Dad,” Chrissy says, all but skipping across the room and looping her arm through mine. “We’re going to dinner.”

“Baby,” I begin.

“Hush.” She squeezes my arm. “I don’t want to hear any protests.”

“I—”

“You didn’t eat today,” she says. “And Rory and I have given her the full tour so we’re all hungry too.” Her voice lowers, her next words for my ears only. “And…she’s great, Dad.”

I still, glance down into my daughter’s eyes. They’re blue like mine, but bright with life and joy and love, instead of the surliness I carry around me like a mantle. “I was going to tell you.”

Her face gentles. “It sounds like you two have had a busy couple of days.”

“It’s early,” I say. “Only those couple of days.”

She shrugs. “Sometimes you just know.”

I know she knows that.

Because she’slivedit.

“She’s too young for me,” I still find myself saying.

“Seems like those eyes of hers have lived several lifetimes over.”

She’s not wrong.

“Sweetheart.” I touch her cheek. “I should back off.”

I say that, even as I know I’m not going to do that.

Something Chrissy clearly sees too because she just smiles and says, “You’ll expend a lot less energy if you just accept it.”

I sigh. “The dinner or Tiff?”

“Both.”

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