Page 148 of The Heartbreaker
I took a more subtle approach, settling on a jean skirt and a T-shirt that I’d knotted at my waist with1989printed in the middle and knee-high cowboy boots. I wore my hair down and curled and had glitter on my eyelids and my lips in a glossy pink.
As for Ridge, we couldn’t let him show up in the polo he’d paired with cargo shorts. He needed to not only act the part but look it too. So, right before we left the house, Daisy handed him our gift. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t blown the surprise, but she’d kept her lips sealed, and Ridge was shocked when he opened the box. We’d had the T-shirt made a few weeks prior—in pink, of course—with the wordsSwiftie by Choicein the center and(my daughter’s fault)beneath.
And because Ridge was such a good sport, he smiled as he put on the shirt and told Daisy it was the best gift she’d ever given him. I couldn’t stop laughing from his teasing glare as we made our way to the car, still giggling as we got out and walked toward the stadium.
As Daisy walked between us, holding my hand and Ridge’s, he said in a low voice, “Admittedly, I’ve never been so fucking happy to have a day arrive. I don’t think I’d have survived if I had to make another friendship bracelet.”
I pointed at his hand, a wrist that was adorned with a slew of beads and sayings, and I air-kissed him. “You’re truly the best dad ever.”
“I know.” He nodded toward Daisy. “Look at her.”
Even though I did, I didn’t need to. I could feel the energy through her fingers. There was nothing in this world that she wanted more, and Ridge was giving it to her.
But what Daisy didn’t realize as we walked into the arena—and I only did because Ridge had told me—was that the seats he had purchased were VIP, which meant we were standing directly in front of the stage. We weren’t rows back; we were hugging the long T that cut through the floor like a massive runway. There wasn’t a section in the entire stadium that could bring us closer to Taylor. If she walked by our area—and she would—we would be able to see every freckle, every one of her hairs that went fromstraight to curly throughout the night, every sequin that had been stitched into her outfits.
Since the stage was taller than Ridge, Daisy was forced to look up. But when she did, watching the clock on the giant screen in the back that gave a countdown of how much time was left until the show started, there were tears already filling her eyes. Her small pink-covered feet were hitting the ground every time she jumped. Her lips weren’t just pulled wide, but there was a look of awe in her expression, a level of elation that I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt.
“Daddy, there’s only a minute left! Taylor’s coming! Taylor iscoooming!”
The music that had been playing quietly in the background started to get louder. A hum was moving its way through the crowd. The anticipation was so thick that I wouldn’t be able to feel the sun even if it could penetrate through the roof of the stadium.
Ridge lifted Daisy into his arms and put her on his shoulders so she could see the stage better. Her eyes began to drip, her bracelets glowing from the lights as she held up her arms.
While I focused on Daisy, my feet couldn’t stop moving; the dancing had started even if the concert hadn’t.
I could just feel it.
And I wanted it—the music, the entertainment, the love that these two brought to my life.
Ten seconds.
“Look!” Daisy screamed. “It’s almost time!”
I waited until there was movement in my peripheral vision before I stole a peek, and Taylor’s dancers were now on the stage with large feathers in their hands, like the tails of a peacock. Ridge was feeling the beat, too, swinging Daisy back and forth, the movement only adding to her elation.
And it was the heaviest I’d ever seen it—on her cheeks, in her smile, in her wiggling body.
She didn’t shift her eyes from the stage.
She didn’t lower her arms.
Nothing, not even a storm, could get her to look away.
“Daisy, is this everything you wanted and more?” I asked.
She didn’t even give me a glance when she nodded.
That was the moment when I realized what tonight was really about. This had nothing to do with Taylor or music or the energy I felt inside the stadium. Sure, all of those things were present, and I couldn’t wait to sing and dance and feel the vibrance of every era that Taylor brought us through. But the real meaning of tonight was the love of a little girl and what it was like to watch this through her eyes. Ridge’s attempt to make her pay off the cost of the tickets by doing chores around the house was insignificant. He was teaching her life lessons and values that would carry on long past this concert. What really mattered was that he was giving her this moment.
A moment neither of them would ever forget.
And I was lucky enough to get to witness it.
I heard Taylor singing, but my stare wasn’t on the stage.
It was on Daisy.
And when she reached the first chorus—a routine I’d seen many times online and that was good enough for me—I couldn’t drag my gaze away from our little girl. Despite the tears that were streaming their fastest, there was no sadness in those beautiful eyes that looked so much like her father’s; there was no wavering as she held her hands in a heart.
