Page 90 of My Mistake To Make

‘Love you, Daddy,’ she says before bringing her mom’s phone to her pouty little mouth to give me a kiss, and I laugh at the loud, exaggeratedmmmmwahhhhhsound she makes.

‘Goodnight, Bowie.’

She passes the phone to Jessie, and her face unexpectedly fills the screen. She usually cuts the call as soon as I say goodnight.

‘I’m taking her out of town this weekend,’ she says without so much as a hello.

‘Where?’ The hackles on the back of my neck rise up as she glares at me like I don’t have a right to ask.

‘Myrtle Beach, to my friend’s place.’

I’m surprised she didn’t try to start a fight over me asking her where.

‘You’re staying with her, right?’ Last time she took her to a friend’s place out of town, Bowie came home to me in tears because her mom had dropped her off with a woman she didn’t know and disappeared for twenty-four hours.

‘Yes, I’m staying with her, Doug. Jesus. She was safe with Carrie-Ann, and you know she was.’

I bite my tongue. I’m not getting into it. Play the game, Doug.

‘I’m not fighting with you, Jess. As long as she’s safe and happy, I’m good. You know that.’

She presses her lips together, then offers me a small nod before cutting the call. And just like that, we’re done talking about it.

I make my way downstairs to find Mama and Merv cleaning up the kitchen, singing along to the music as they laugh and dance together while they work. I can’t help my smile. I love that my mom managed to find love again after Dad died.

‘Hey, you two crazy kids. I’m heading out. Don’t stay up too late, and stay out of my liquor cabinet.’ I joke as Merv spins mymom around, making her squeal, and I suspect the door on that cabinet may have already been opened.

‘You got it, Papa,’ Merv says with a wink.

‘You have fun, baby,’ Mama practically sings, and I laugh, shaking my head as I leave and head toward the only place I want to be.

‘You’re here.’

Cara’s wide smile lights up the night as she opens the door in paint-covered denim dungarees with a black tank underneath. Her hair is pulled up into a messy and sexy-as-hell bun at the back of her head, and she is covered in specks of dark green paint. Her music is loud, and I can’t help but laugh.

‘What the…Did you get any on the walls?’ I joke as I step inside and lean in to kiss her. How does it feel so normal with her? So casual, after practically no time?

‘Ha, Ha,’ she exaggerates. ‘I am a messy painter. I am well aware. I have also, maybe,possiblyhad a couple of glasses of wine.’Oh, I see it now, the pink cheeks and slightly glassy eyes. My girl is tipsy.

‘Let me see what mess you made.’ I hold out my hand and let her lead me up the stairs into the guest bedroom that she’s turning into a library.

‘Oh,’ I’m surprised to see she got the whole room painted, and she has not done a bad job, despite her inebriation. ‘This looks good.’ I love the rich green color she chose for the walls.

‘Really, you like it?’

She holds her hands together behind her back and gazes up at me expectantly, and fuck me, she’s sexy and cute rolled into one. Not to mention, I love the way her stance pushes her tits up and out.

‘Yes, Cara. It looks really good. It’s going to be amazing to see it all come together.’ She gifts me a beaming proud smile, and she might as well have punched me in the gut. ‘Did you eat?’

She shakes her head, no. ‘Not yet. I got busy with this and just forgot.’

‘Okay, as much as it pains me to tell you to do this alone. You go shower, and I will get a head start on some dinner. Sound good?’

‘You showering with me sounds better.’ She’s getting ballsy. I love that, and I have to fight with everything I have to ignore that look in her eyes.

I step closer, reaching up to pull the hair band out of her hair so it tumbles down her back. Gathering it up in my hand, I pull, tipping her head back enough that her mouth is just beneath mine.

‘I told you. I’m going to give you everything you need.’ Her eyes flare, and I see the bob of her exposed throat as she swallows hard. ‘First, that’s food.’ I wink as I release her hair and grab her shoulders to turn her around before giving her a gentle shove toward the door and smacking her ass as she heads into her bedroom. We’ll have to deal with all the painting equipment later. I have to figure out what I’m going to cook that’s quick so I can get this woman beneath, or better yet, on top of me.

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