The After of Us (Judge Me Not #4)(22)

“Where’s Uncle Chase?” I ask Lily.

She points to around the side of the school. “He on his way. We coming to see why you take so long to come back.” Lily giggles, and then adds, “I run way ahead of Uncle Chase, though.”

Crouching down, I beckon her to come over to where Emma and I are standing. A respectable distance from one another, I might add. “Come on over, sweetheart. I want to introduce you to someone really nice.”

Tentatively, Lily approaches. She tucks her chin in as she walks and by the time she reaches me, her eyes are glued to the ground.

I introduce her to Emma, and she looks up curiously.

“Miss Metzger runs the daycare,” I say. “It’s this really fun place where kids can play with other children. And you know what?”

“What?”

“I was just talking with her, and I think I fixed it so you can hang out there a couple of mornings each week, while Daddy’s up in New York. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

Lily nods. “Uh-huh.” Glancing up at Emma, she adds, “You know my daddy?”

Emma smiles down at us both. “Yes, honey, I know your dad.”

She was about to know me better, till Lil interrupted.

My daughter’s curious gaze jumps from Emma to me, and then back to Emma. “My daddy likes you, doesn’t he?”

“Uh…”

Emma blushes, looking far too cute for words, and I suppress a chuckle.

Lily is not deterred. “Daddy was giving you a kiss, like he gives me. I saw him.”

“Uh, it’s not exactly like that,” Emma mumbles, her cheeks turning from pale pink to flaming red.

Not only is Emma cute, she’s f*cking hot. I probably shouldn’t have tried to kiss her back here behind the school, but it felt so damn right.

While Emma fumbles around nervously, shifting from one sneakered foot to the other, I save her from further embarrassment by answering Lily’s question. “Yes, Lily, Daddy likes Emma. But in a very different way than how Daddy cares for you.”

I leave it at that. After all, Lily is only five.

“Okay,” she mumbles, already losing interest in the subject.

“Hey.” I stand, hoisting my daughter up to my hip in the process. “What do you think is taking Uncle Chase so long to catch up?”

Just then my brother rounds the corner, looking completely exasperated. “Sorry,” he says. “I had to detour over to the minivan. Jack was starting to give Kay a hard time again. He’s more than a handful this morning.”

“No problem,” I tell him.

Chase nods a hello to Emma. “Hey.”

She gives him a little wave. “Hi, Chase.”

Jack was great on the way to church, but he grew restless during mass. The kid has a lot of energy, reminding me of how Chase and I were when we were kids.

With that thought in mind, I say, “Girls seem so much easier,” Giving Lily a squeeze, I add, “Isn’t that right, Lil?”

I receive no reply, as Lily has fallen asleep. Her arms are draped loosely around my neck, and her head rests on my shoulder, her thumb in her mouth.

God, she’s a doll.

Chase jerks his chin to Lily’s sleeping form and agrees. “Girls sure are much easier. Sarah’s out, too. Just like Lily.”

Emma makes a scoffing sound. “You two are just too funny. Wait till your girls are teenagers. I bet they both give you a run for your money. Oh, and would I love to be there when they bring home their first boyfriends.”

I clutch my daughter protectively. “Hey, there will be no boyfriends for Lily for a long, long time.”

“Sarah’s not dating till she’s thirty,” Chase chimes in nonchalantly, like this is just a given fact.

Emma laughs. “Ha, riiight. I’m sure your girls might have something to say about those silly rules.”

“Silly?” Chase scoffs. “I think not.”

“I’m with you, bro,” I’m quick to add.

My brother and I bump fists, and Emma rolls her eyes at our shenanigans. After a few additional parting words, Chase and I leave Emma to her gardening and head over to the minivan.

On the way, with Lily sleeping in my arms, I lean down and sniff her hair. The kid always smells so good to me.

Chase raises a brow and asks me, “You sure you want to leave tonight?”

I let out a groan. The truth is I don’t want to leave Lily, not really. My heart is telling me to stay, but my head makes me say to Chase, “I have to go, bro. I can’t blow this new position. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed about.”

Is it, though? I ask myself. My real dream has always been to strike out on my own, freelance my graphic skills, get that comic book published as a graphic novel.

Chase knows all this, and he knows me, so it’s no huge surprise when he says, “If the big city and the corporate fast track are what you really want, Will. Well, then I say go for it. But if you ever change your mind and decide to follow a different path, just know I’ll support you in any way I can.”

I look over at my brother. He’s thirty-one now, but you’d never know it. He looks pretty much the same as he did at twenty-five, except for a few small laugh lines around his eyes. But that’s okay. Those lines are a subtle reminder that Chase’s life is happy and exactly the way he wants it.