Page 75 of What We Broke

“Leo,” Raine says, and I can hear the shake in her voice instantly.

I put the handful of cutlery on the table and stand to my full height, giving her all my attention. “What’s up, Rain-e girl?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“I asked Mom, but she said to ask you.” At the mention of Zara, my gaze shifts to the kitchen and I catch her knowing smile. “If you marry Dad, are you my dad too?” My breath catches in my throat, and I’m grateful she isn’t even waiting for me to answer before she continues talking. “Because you know Priscilla from school, her mom married a man and he’s her stepdad now, and she said she asked him if she could call him Dad, and Mom said the same thing, so I wanted to ask you.”

It was a lot of words for such a petite girl.

A lot of words that meant so many things.

Feeling a little lightheaded, I take a seat at the table. “You want to call me Dad?” I ask, just for clarification.

“Well, you’re kind of like my dad already,” she says matter-of-factly. “You do all the things both Mom and Dad do with me.”

“I do?”

She rolls her eyes. “You help me with my homework, take me to school, give me money if I need it. And we dance together And you—”

I cut her off. “Come here, Rain-e girl.”

She takes the few steps toward me, her expression apprehensive. I reach for her hands and hold them in mine. “It would be the greatest privilege of my life to be your dad.”

“I told you,” Zara shouts from the kitchen.

And Raine does nothing but smile at me. From ear to ear, her crooked smile on full display. She’s undoubtedly one of the best things to ever happen to me.

“But wait!” She jumps on the spot impatiently. “I can’t call you Dad because that’s for Dad.”

“Okay.”

I wait to see where her thoughts will take this conversation.

“So it needs to be different but the same.”

“Not a hard request at all,” I murmur through a smile. “Do you have any ideas?”

I don’t care if she continues to call me Leo for the rest of our lives, but because she wants to give me the title, I want it even more.

I give her hands a reassuring squeeze. “How does this sound? When I was younger, my grandfather was my favorite person. And the most important to me. He took care of me and loved me and made sure I always had food to eat and a warm bed to sleep in,” I share. “All the things that a dad does. And I called him Papa.”

“I can call you Papa.” The words rush out. “And Pa for short?”

“Absolutely.”

“I can’t wait to tell Dad,” she says excitedly. “How long till he gets here?”

I check my watch. “We have one hour.”

“Come on. Come on. Let’s finish setting everything up,” she exclaims.

She’s a ball of energy, but before she rushes off, I hold on to her hand, stopping her from moving. “I love you, Rain-e girl.”

“Love you too, Papa.”

* * *

---