Page 16 of Lyrical

“I wasn’t sure,” Daniel said, “but you used to love buying special ornaments every year, and this one just reminded me of a—”

“Disco ball,” I said, laughing. When I twirled it around, that’s what it reminded me of too. “I love it. Thank you.” I set it down and gave Daniel a tight hug. When he was younger, we used to get silly and dance around the house to disco music.

“Lovely,” my mom said.

I pulled back, grasping his arms. “You shouldn’t have done all this. It had to be expensive.”

He shrugged. “Not too bad. I did some odd jobs here and there.”

“Now let the poor boy eat, Jillian,” Frank said.

“Ugh, yes. Sorry. Go.” I released his arms and he immediately swiped a wad of bread from the basket on the counter. Frank would usually give you an earful for that, but I was pretty sure he’d make an exception in this case.

My stomach grumbled as well. I couldn’t wait to dive into the lasagna. It took him hours to make it with the homemade noodles, and it tasted like it. Good thing he loved cooking for us or else I’d feel guilty about it.

“Disco, huh?”

Chase was grinning at me, and I bumped my hip against his. “I have moves you can only dream of, mister.”

He slid closer. “In that case, I can’t wait to go to sleep tonight.”

I felt a weird pang. More often than not Chase stayed over, even when we both had to be up early. I couldn’t have him spending the night if Daniel was there; that didn’t feel right to me yet. Even if we were all adults. And I wasn’t going to take off and stay somewhere else when he just arrived. So, it looked like the sleepovers were on hold for a while.

“I wish it were with me,” I whispered.

He squeezed my hand. “Me too, but I’m okay with it. It won’t be forever, and you deserve this time with Daniel right now.”

He was so understanding, and I was so greedy. I wanted it all. I wanted Daniel home, but I didn’t want to give up even an ounce of what Chase and I shared because of it.

“We should probably go sit at the table,” I said, “before Perry throws a knife at us.”

We sat at our usual spots with Daniel at the head of the table at my mother’s insistence, she and Frank fussing all over him. His plate was piled high, and I had no doubt he’d eat it all and go for seconds. Stephen motioned for me to pass the bread, and when I did, Perry started laughing her fool head off for reasons I didn’t even want to ask about.

Chase gave my thigh a quick brush under the table, and I smiled at him.This is how our weekly family meals will be from now on. The same, yet different.

Better.

“How’re you doing?” I asked Daniel. He looked like he was going down for the count.

He held back a yawn. “Tired. I probably won’t last too long with Dad tonight.”

“Just remind me to give you a key before you leave. Whenever you come home is fine. And don’t forget your suitcase is still in the trunk.”

He nodded, and that was pretty much the extent of our conversation during dinner. He finished most of his food, even after my mom shoveled on another heap, and he listened when she started reminiscing about the set of Power Ranger dishes he had to use every time he came over. I was sure she still had them and was about to break them out when the doorbell rang.

I checked the time; it was barely eight. Mike had told me nine at the earliest. And I told him to call first. “Could that be your dad already?”

“Probably. He said around eight.”

Nice. I headed for the door, telling Frank to stay seated so he could relax after that amazing, gut-busting meal we’d just had. I peeked through the top window. Yep.

I opened the door and he entered without being invited. It was fucking freezing out there, but still…. I didn’t care how many times he’d stepped over that threshold; it was common courtesy to wait to be fucking invited.

Settle, Jillian. I was suddenly tensed up again. “Hey, Jillian. Daniel ready?”

“No. We’re still finishing our meal. You’re an hour early, and I told you to call first.”

“Sorry. Don’t remember that.”

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