Page 69 of Sew Matcha in Love
I turned toward the back of the house and picked up my pace.
Zaki’s boots crunched the gravel behind me. “You have to go inside. They have to see we’re both okay. Then you can disappear if you need to. I’ll give you space, I promise. Just tell them you’re okay first.”
My feet halted. He was right.
He pulled me to him for a quick but firm hug, then with his arm at my back, guided me to the front door and pushed it open.
“Daddy! Wynnie!”
Zaki bent to hug the girls, and they climbed onto him. As he stood up, they reached over to hug me.
“Are you okay? Is the snake gone?” Isla asked.
“He’s gone,” Zaki confirmed. “And he can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“Daddy!” Amelie gasped. “Did you unalive the snake?”
“Sadly, yes.” His face sombered. “It was a threat to my girls. Andno onethreatens my girls.”
“But Daddy,” Isla squirmed. “Snakes are God’s creatures.”
“And God gave mankind the authority over them.” Zaki pressed his forehead to each of theirs.
“Well.” Isla leaned back in his arms and tapped her chin. “I think I will need to practice running faster. I don’t want to hurt snakes. At least not until I’m a big girl.”
Zaki laughed. “How about you just yell for me next time?”
“Why, Daddy?” Amelie asked. “Wynnie was handling it. She takes good care of us, you know.”
“I know.” He turned to me. Three pairs of pale blue eyes were upon me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“I could never let you get hurt.” I sniffed.
“Hey, girls, how about a ballet lesson in the studio? I’ve been practicing my glissades, but I don’t think they’re any good. I feel like a sideways frog.”
Amelie giggled and patted her dad on his shoulder. “That’s okay, Daddy. We can help!”
“Great! I’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes.” They ran off, and he turned to me. “Take as long as you need. Call me if you want my support. I’m sorry, Wynna-bun. It’s been quite an afternoon.”
I nodded and turned to the stairs to go up to my room. I had a lot to think about.
I pushed the snake and my grief for Dad to the back of my mind. It was times like this I wished my mom was around. I knew she missed him, too. But she was an expert at compartmentalizing, and I’d never seen her fall apart emotionally.
The social media … Yes, I could think about that.
When you stacked it next to Zaki or one of his girls or dogsdying… It couldn’t even be a thing, could it? It bothered me, yes, but it was me who decided how it made me feel.
Over the last two years, I’d watched Penny go from unknown small-town harpist to Wag to world-renowned musician, thanks to Xavier’s job and familial connections. I wasn’t looking to advance my career or become famous.
I was looking for love.
Well, that wasn’t true. I hadn’t looked. But it had found me.
Zaki and I had attended the gala as friends and left as more.
And now, I had to decide what thatmorewas.
This sweet, kind, burly, hockey-playing mountain man at heart loved his family fiercely, and his generous heart was everything I didn’t know I needed.
