Page 75 of Clean Sweep
My teeth ground together at the wordssmoking hot on any man.The sentiment wasn’t new. Celeste had never been shy about admiring boys before, but it still set my nerves on fire every time. One day, she wouldn’t be under my protection and she might say something like that and . . .
I forced that thought to slow.
“Plus,” I added, “Leslie is an amazing cook.”
“Yes.” She groaned. “I’m going to gain thirty pounds, but it was so worth it.”
I rolled my eyes. Not a chance. Celeste moved on—she’d never focused much on that kind of stuff anyway, thank heavens.
“Look, I’m just going to be straight.” She canted herself in the seat so she could look right at me. I met her gaze for a brief moment, then looked back to the road. Never had I felt the need to cower to my daughter, but if there was ever a time to be a little afraid of what she might say, this was it.
“Then be straight,” I said.
The road illuminated as my blinker flipped on to change lanes. I was very grateful I had driving as my focus.
“I think Leslie is interested.”
I coughed to hide my laughter.
“What?” she cried. “She was definitely trying not to stare at you all night, and she very subtly kept you mostly in her line of sight, unless it really couldn’t be avoided.” Her finger poked my shoulder. “So if you’re worried that she’ll say no to going on a date, tonight she erased any of that. The two of you would be great together.”
“I agree.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“We already went on a date. Well . . . sort of.” Rage clouded her pretty features. Before she could explode, I continued. “I helped her on Christmas Eve while you were with your Mom.”
“And?” she cried.
“And it was fun.”
“That’s all you’re going to tell me?” Her voice would have riddled me with holes if it had been any sharper. “In the last fifty-something hours I’ve been home, you couldn’t possibly think to mention it?”
I shrugged.
She growled.
“So?” she finally drawled, sweeping a hand in front of her. “Tell me how it was. Did you enjoy it? How many hours were you together? Did Leslie give you any signs?”
“Yes, pretty much all day, and what are signs?”
Celeste balled her hands into fists. “Dad, c’mon! Don’t be a neanderthal. Did she give any signs of liking you?”
“Celeste, I have no idea what signs you’re talking about.”
I intentionally kept my voice low and modulated. Not just to keep her fromreallylosing it, but to skirt around the fact that Leslie had definitelygiven me some signs of interest. Still, it wasn’t time to reveal that to Celeste. Thankfully, Leslie and I had been on the exact same page there.
“After spending that time with her on Christmas Eve, I think she’d go on a date with me,” I said, just to tilt the topic a bit. “Actually, I still think Christmas Eve should count.”
Celeste sliced a hand through the air. “No dice, Dad. Doesn’t count. You need to take her on a romantic date! You’re good at those.”
“I’m adequate.”
“Justaskalready!”
“I will.”
“When?”
