Page 120 of Choosing Forever
“I’d better leave, then.”
“You should,” I reply, immediately wishing he didn’t have to.
With Abbie distracted, Darren slides forward and places his hand atop mine, leaving it there while he kisses her forehead. I hold my breath as he squeezes my fingers and then slowly retreats, taking his touch with him.
My skin tingles with the lingering warmth from his hand as I stabilize my breathing and look up at him again, eyes growing lost in the certainty glimmering in his.
“I’ll see you later,” he promises both of us.
Abbie glances up for a quick moment. “Bye, Dad!”
I can’t speak louder than a whisper. “See you.”
He’s reluctant to leave; I can see it written in every clunky footstep he takes toward the door and the lines between his brows when he looks back at me over his shoulder. I offer him a smile that feels heavy in the moment as that stubborn string between us throws a hissy fit in my chest.
It’s not until he’s out of view and I watch as my phone lights up at the desk that I release some of the tension that’s grown in my limbs.
Darren: Well? What do you think? Will you please let me take you out tonight?
Darren: Please say yes. And don’t forget my bracelet.
I almost say no but can’t get myself to type anything other than a resounding yes.
38
DARREN
I should have pickedher up.
Shit, did I already mess this up? My one chance, and I ruined it already by not fighting her on her decision to meet me at my place instead of being picked up properly. It’s not like it would have taken that long. I could have been there and back before the grill got to cooking temperature.
Instead, I’m pacing in my kitchen while the chicken breasts and salad chill in the fridge beside the three bottles of white wine that I couldn’t choose between at the store earlier. I haven’t seen the house cleaner that it is right now, and that’s a bit more embarrassing than it should be.
I reach up to squeeze the brim of my hat, but my hand swipes hair instead. Fuck. My hat is still in my bedroom, abandoned. Both Poppy and Bryce threatened me with no babysitting for the next three years if I wore it tonight. Apparently, there’s a time and place for a baseball cap, and a first date with your high school sweetheart isn’t one of them.
Sliding open the patio door, I take a deep breath. There won’t be many more nights where I’m up to cooking on the deck with the snow approaching. I’m bitter about that, considering I’m a chef who sucks at everything that isn’t chucked on a hot grill. If Iget the chance to cook for Delaney again, I’ll have to try not to reveal my lack of skills in the kitchen.
I keep the door open but venture into the living room. The DVDs on the coffee table are old, with scratched disks and faded artwork, but for tonight, they’ll be perfect. Most of them are Delaney’s, anyway. After all these years, she needs the option to take them back.
The three knocks on the door are staggered awkwardly and light enough that I nearly don’t catch them. In a blink, I’m twisting the doorknob and staring at her through the fogged glass window.
Even the early look can’t prepare me for what I see when I open the door. My knees wobble as I tighten my hold on the door and let loose a whispered “fuck.”
With her platinum hair twisted and tied at her back, Delaney slowly lifts her eyes from my feet to my awed stare. The corners of her glossy pink lips curl slightly, giving a tease of a smile that only makes me want to try really fucking hard to see the real thing.
I break eye contact just long enough to do a sweep of her, top to bottom and back again. Expectations didn’t exist tonight, but even so, she managed to destroy any that I could have ever had. The black tights, burnt-orange dress with the sleeves flowing down to her wrists, and knee-high, heeled boots shouldn’t look this good on anyone. Yet, Delaney has a way of making everything she wears look custom-made. The boots make her legs look a million miles long, and the dress is loose yet still clings to the pinch of her waist and curves of her chest. It’s the perfect look for her, and fuck me, I’m so screwed tonight.
Swallowing the excess liquid in my mouth, I tighten my grip on the doorknob and find her eyes again, trying my best to make sure she can see just how blown away I am with her before I open my mouth to tell her.
“You look phenomenal. You’re gorgeous,” I rasp.
Her blush is pink enough to show beneath her makeup. “Ditto. You look very handsome. And you’re not wearing your hat.”
I run a hand over my hair. “Yeah, I figured I should prove to you that I haven’t balded in the last ten years.”
The jump of her brows is followed by a rough, coughed laugh. I join in, too far gone to be embarrassed.
“Thanks. I appreciate that,” she says between coughs.
