Page 75 of Who's Your Daddy
As much as I want to hate this time with him, when we pull into the parking lot of the restaurant, I’m smiling.
“Illinois,” I shout, pointing at a car already in the lot. “That’s nineteen for me. I win.”
“You cheat,” he accuses with a mock glare. “Twice you put your hand in my lap to distract me.”
I lift a shoulder casually. “All is fair in love and war. And the license plate game.”
“Hmm.” With an arch of a brow, he unbuckles his seat belt. “I’ll remember that.” He slips out of the car and dashes to my door before I can climb out myself. “Since the restaurant doesn’t open until eleven thirty, I thought we could walk the Cliff Walk for a bit.”
With a nod, I turn in that direction. “Sure.”
“So you’ve been here before.” Cal falls into step beside me and laces his fingers with mine.
My feet falter, and for a moment I stare at our joined hands. His is so much bigger and tanner than mine. The warmth, the steady strength of his grip, is oddly settling.
If he wasn’t him, I think I could get used to the entire scenario.
“Until we get back to Jersey,” he reminds me. Though he’s giving me that cocky smirk, there’s a little uncertainty in those blue eyes ofhis. Like he assumes I’m upset that he’s holding my hand. In reality, I’m furious with myself for enjoying it.
“Right,” I mutter. “Anyway…” I steady my pace. “My parents loved to come here. Or anywhere. They love to travel. Always looking for an adventure.”
He nods. “I can see the fun in that. But sometimes a kid just needs security. Stability.”
I nod. “That was not their forte. They’re chaos with a hint of creative.”
He purses his lips, surveying the tree line ahead. “And yet you turned out so put-together and organized.”
I sigh, weighed down by the disappointment that talking about my parents always brings. “Someone had to be.”
“But it shouldn’t always have to be you. You should be given the opportunity to let loose too.” He squeezes my hand. “Don’t worry Lola, I’ll make sure you remember.”
I let out a sardonic laugh. “Is that what today is?”
He pulls me to a stop. “No, today is about us being an us.”
“Before we go home.”
Though his lips tug down at the corners, he dips his chin in what I take as agreement.
After the Cliff Walk, lunch at the cutest restaurant in Newport, a tour of the Breakers, and an early dinner in Mystic, Connecticut, I can’t help but think the day was more about stalling.
The strangest part of the entire experience? Somewhere along the way I stopped wanting to get home.
As we stand on the curb in front of my building, the sun just dipping behind the buildings, there’s an ache in my chest that almost feels like sadness.
“Want me to walk you up?” Cal asks after handing my suitcase off to Benjamine.
I take a step back, needing to put a little space between us. “No, you need to return the car and get to Murphy.”
He nods, hands in his pockets. “I told him I’d be home to tuck him in.”
“And now he gets to see that you’ll come back.”
“Always.” That single word is said with a fierceness this laid-back man doesn’t often show. Somehow, he’s closed the distance between us without my knowledge. Now, he leans in slowly. Before his lips can make contact with mine, I put a hand on his chest, stopping his movement. Smooth Cal recovers quickly with an easy smile. “Can I call you after I put Murphy to bed?”
I shake my head and glance at the door to my building, desperate to make a run for it. “No. No calling, no kissing. None of that relationship stuff.We’re back in Jersey now. The spell has officially been broken.”
He smirks like he knows I’m full of shit. “Whatever Lola wants.”
