Page 141 of The Single Dads Club
A couple of minutes later, the front door opened and Alexa appeared wearing a gorgeous smile. I raised a brow in her direction. “ “Well? Can you stay?”
She moved toward me and I pulled her into a hug, immediately she nuzzled into my neck and inhaled. “Yeah, but I had to make a deal with my mother.”
I took the chance to kiss quickly before Lily reappeared then pulled back to look at her. “What kind of deal did you have to make?”
She nibbled her bottom lip, looking almost anxious to reveal the details of the deal she made. “I told her I was having dinner at my friend Cade’s house and she insisted that you join us for dinner. So, uh, are you free tomorrow?”
“Dinner? With your parents? Tomorrow?” I held her at arms’ length and looked her over. I half expected her to burst out laughing and say gotcha because there was no way she could be serious. I’d only just met her, and thought we were just having a little fun, but this? Meeting the parents was something entirely different., wasn’t it? Fuck. My chest suddenly felt a little tight.
Her bottom lip jutted out and her confidence disappeared. “Is that okay?”
I was finding it becoming increasingly difficult to say no to this woman.
“Ah, sure. I’ll call Sophia and see if she can stay with Lily.”
She nodded, her eyes narrowing briefly at the mention of Sophia. “Okay. It’s a plan then.”
“Can you go and grab Lily while I get dinner set out?” I asked.
She nodded, then rose on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek softly. “Thanks Cade.”
I watched her disappear into Lily’s bedroom before sucking in a deep breath. I shook off the unease that had crept into my head and while Alexa helped Lily wash her hands I set the table. I’d stopped at the neighborhood diner on the way home, and not knowing what Alexa would like, I’d picked up a burger and a grilled chicken salad for her, along with my usual double bacon cheeseburger and Lily’s grilled-cheese sandwich.
Once we were all seated around the table, Alexa chose the grilled chicken salad and Lily announced she wanted salad, too. Alexa graciously shared the salad, dividing it onto two plates while I stuffed the extra food in the fridge for dinner another night.
We made small talk while we ate. Alexa and Lily reminisced about their girls’ day and I listened as Lily excitedly told us she wanted to paint a castle next time they went to the ceramic place again. It was sweet the way Lily idolized Alexa, her face lighting up as they talked but it also made me nervous as fuck about how heartbroken Lily would be when Alexa was no longer in our lives. Because surely that day would come, right? We were just having a little temporary fun, and if there’s one thing my life had taught me, it was that all good things came to an end.
Once we finished with dinner, Alexa hopped up from her chair and dashed into the kitchen to retrieve the pink bakery box from the counter. “Oh, I almost forgot. I got dessert.” I shook my head slowly. “You spoil us. What’d you get?”
“Cupcakes, what else?” She grinned.
I chuckled and Lily clapped her hands, completely unaware of the nickname I’d given Alexa. She was sweet and sugary just like a cupcake—and she tasted just as good.
I leaned back, draping an arm across the back of Alexa’s chair and watched as she removed a pink-frosted cupcake from the box and placed it in front of Lily, peeling off the paper cup. Lily’s eyes went wideand she wasted no time biting into the enormous treat. By her enthusiasm, you’d think I never fed the poor kid. Alexa chuckled and wiped pink frosting from the tip of Lily’s nose.
“Is it good?” Alexa asked with a smile.
“It’s better than good,” Lily grinned, talking another monstrous bite.
“Slow down, kid. You’re going to give yourself a stomachache,” I added.
We watched Lily demolish her cupcake in relative silence. “You didn’t have to do all this you know.”
“I know I didn’t have to, Iwantedto,” she returned.
I knew there was no use in arguing with her, but something about it didn’t sit quite right with me. Was she here caring for Lily and hanging around me because she felt sorry for us? We were not a fucking charity case for her to take pity on.
Seeming to sense my mood, Alexa dipped her index finger into the frosting of a cupcake and brought it to my mouth, her eyes sparkling with challenge. I reached out and gripped her wrist, my eyes locked on hers as I swirled my tongue gently across the pad of her finger.
Alexa let out a ragged breath and her eyes heated with desire. Lily giggled at the sight of us, pulling our attention back to the fact that we had an audience.Whoops.
I cleared my throat, trying to regain some composure and stop the throbbing ache low in my balls. “Do you want to show Alexa where you keep the bubble bath while I clean up the kitchen?”
Lily hopped up and with one sticky hand holding onto her walker, she grabbed for Alexa’s hand with the other. “Come on, Lexa. I’ll show you where I keep my special bubbles.”
Watching the two of them together had me wondering if I’d done wrong by Lily by not having a stable female role model in her life. The thought was sobering and my insecurities about not providing Lily the life she deserved reared their ugly head.
Before I sunk deeper into my thoughts, I busied myself and cleaned up the kitchen to the backdrop of feminine laughter and splashing water coming from down the hall. Once I was done in the kitchen, I silently walked down the hall and peeked into the bathroom, finding Lily covered in bubbles, playing with her bath toys and Alexa kneeling over the side of the tub, wiggling that fine little ass at me. I took a moment to inspect her shapely backside, the way her jeans hugged her curves and the way her shirt had ridden up, exposing the curve of her lower back. She was sexy as hell and had nofucking clue of the effect she had on me. And seeing her nurturing side with Lily—hell, that just set off all kinds of alpha male in me. I wanted her.Badly.
