Page 94 of Her Billionaire Bargain (Kensington Square)

Berry swallowed audibly. “Do you cry?”

“I have before, yeah.”

“When?”

This kid wouldn’t let someone get away with anything.

I thought back. “I did when I first got Bob. He was in a lot of pain from a wound he got until Clint fixed him up. And he didn’t have a family. He’d been abandoned.”

“But now you’re his family.”

“Yeah.”

“I want us to be his family too.” She hopped off the swing and held out her hand to me. “Wanna go see the backyard here so you feel okay with Bob coming over here sometimes?”

I started to tell her the plan was for her and her mom to spend the night at my place, but hey, plans could change. Nothing wrong with that. And we would have other days.

Right now, I was Mr. All About the Future.

I took her hand and rose. “Sure. Let’s go check it out.”

TWENTY

A short while later,my parents faced me across the kitchen table. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah. I am. I’m doing fine. And Berry will be fine, as we figure out what works best for her now. Change isn’t always a bad thing.”

In my head, I was arguing with myself.

Yes, this is a bad thing. Of course it is. My little girl has issues that may not be able to be fixed with anything but meds. What did you do to help cause this?

But then I thought of Dex and how sweet and compassionate he was, and knowing him, there was no way I could see his diagnosis—and therefore Berry’s—as a crisis. Sure, it affected everyone differently, but being differently abled was actually a positive thing. He would help her, and I had a feeling she would help him too.

We would all help each other, day by day.

“I knew those nightmares were going to be a problem,” my father said in a low voice, reaching across the table to grip my hand. “Not your fault,” he added quickly. “We all know quite well whose fault it is.”

I squeezed his hand. “He’s irrelevant right now. He isn’t part of our life, and we are going to be just fine. I know we are.”

“And Dex?” My mom rose to put away the nonperishable groceries still on the counter. “How does he factor into this?”

I started to explain his diagnosis then realized that wasn’t for me to tell. It was up to him to decide who he felt comfortable sharing the information with, not me. “We’re seeing each other.” I stood to go to the refrigerator to get some filtered water. Suddenly, my throat was dust dry. “Taking it hour by hour.”

“Mmm-hmm. Is that why Berry wanted to know when you’re getting married?”

It took every fiber of my being not to sputter on my water as I took a long drink. “She likes him. I guess she likes the idea of having a family. I mean, her and I and the two of you are a family, of course. But most of her friends at school have a more typical family unit, and maybe that’s influencing her. I can’t really say.”

“Could be. Or she could be worried about you.” My mom grabbed a couple of Doritos then turned to face me. “You’ve been alone a long time.”

I started to argue. I was never alone, not really. I had my family and my friends and my colleagues, didn’t I?

But that wasn’t the same as a relationship.

“I have. And I was content with that. Or at least I thought I was. But maybe that’s not all that’s meant for me.”

At the war whoop in the backyard, I went to the window to see Dex pushing Berry on the swing my dad had just put up within the last week. She was swinging almost frightfully high, but her endless giggles were worth my moments of gut-squeezing nerves. And he was laughing with her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“He was meant to be a father.” I didn’t even realize I’d said it aloud until my mother loudly cleared her throat.

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