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“What's worse? Me eating food that you thought somebody else already ate, or me staging this whole thing?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Now that you know my secret, can I warm up my food? I ordered it like two hours ago.” He stands and goes to the microwave.
I cover my mouth, trying to suppress a giggle.This moment issoTyler. He’s charming the heck out of me, and I’m falling for it, droppinghard.
“What did your family think when you got up from dinner and left?”
“They pretty much thought I was crazy.”
“Who was there? Your brother and his wife?”
“Yeah. Actually, you met Hillary.”
“I did?”
“She was the one who brought the food to me at the restaurant. I think she wanted to get a glimpse of you.”
“Of me? Why?”
Tyler retrieves his food from the microwave and returns to the chair across from me. “Probably because I talk about you a lot.”
Tylertalksabout me? Why does that knowledge make me want to scream into my pillow like a teenager?
“Anyway, sorry she was hinting about us being a couple. After I leave here, I’ve already decided I’m going to cut out her tongue.”
“She was hinting pretty hard, but cutting out her tongue seems a little harsh.”
“Probably. Especially since she’s babysitting Krew now. I feel kind of bad that I left him so suddenly.”
“Dads need breaks too.”
“When it comes to parenting, I don’t always get what I need, and if I do, I immediately feel guilty. Like I’m not doing enough.”
I lean back into the chair and consider him. If there was ever a dad that didn’t deserve to feel guilty about his parenting, it’s Tyler.
He pauses, his fork midair, obviously wondering why I’m looking at him. “What?”
“You're a good dad, Tyler.”
His brows rise in surprise. “You think I’m a good dad?”
“I’ve taught a lot of kids in the last four years, but none of them have talked about their dads the way Krew talks about you. I can tell you put the time into parenting, and he adores you for it.”
The smallest hint of emotion glosses over his eyes, and I’m stunned. In the three years I dated Zak, I never saw him cry, not even at my darkest moment when my mother died. But I tell Tyler Dixon that he’s a good dad, and I’ve touched the center of his heart.
“I don’t feel like a good dad. I’m constantly doing things wrong, giving in when I should hold my ground, holding my ground when I shouldn’t be too hard on him. I’m literally doing everything wrong.”
“Who says?”
A light laugh escapes him. “I don’t know. The dad inside my head.”
“I think the dad inside your head is being too hard onyou.”
“Maybe, but it’s been a rough eighteen months. I’ve messed up so many things. Most of the time we’re barely surviving. That’s not a great way for a kid to grow up.”
“Children are really forgiving. Krew will look back on this time and appreciate everything you sacrificed for him.”
