Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(67)

“See, that’s what I mean. I hate that. If Riley wants to wear a dress, she can wear a dress, but not to make her mom like her.”

“Should I have talked her into something else? I wanted to push back a little and tell her to wear what makes her feel good. But I wasn’t sure if I should.”

“It’s okay. It’s not about the dress. And that’s the thing, it’s something Riley is going to have to learn for herself eventually. She has to decide to be herself no matter what her mom says. Or doesn’t say.”

“I have to be honest, I had no idea parenting was so complicated. I should have. You’re raising a small human and they come out not knowing anything. But this must be a lot.”

“It is and it only gets more complicated as they get older.” He checked the time. “She’s going to be late. I just know it.”

Riley came down the stairs wearing the blue dress and sandals. She’d put on a little makeup, like I’d taught her, and her lips were shiny with gloss.

“Do I look okay?” she asked.

Dex didn’t miss a beat. “You look beautiful.”

Her smile lit up her whole face. “Thanks, Dad.”

She sat on the bottom stair and, resting her elbows on her knees, put her chin in her hands.

Minutes ticked by, painfully slow. Dex sipped his beer, the angry tension in his body increasing. Riley’s expression went from hopeful to worried.

She got up and went upstairs. Dex didn’t say anything. I waited on the couch next to him, trying not to watch the clock. Brooklyn was late.

Riley came back. Avoiding our eyes, she went into the kitchen. I didn’t know what she was doing, but I suspected she was trying to fill the time and distract herself while she waited for her mom.

“How late is she usually?” I whispered.

“Depends.” He cursed under his breath. “As long as she shows.”

By six-thirty there was no sign of her. Riley was still in the kitchen. Dex rose from the couch, put down his beer bottle, and took out his phone. I stayed where I was while he stepped aside, closer to the front door, and made a call.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice quiet. “Everything okay?”

He was silent for a long moment, listening.

“Then why did you call her?”

Riley appeared in the kitchen doorway. She wrung her hands together, watching her dad.

Dex braced himself with one hand on the front door, his back to his daughter. “You realize this isn’t okay, right? You do get that?” He was quiet again. “No, that’s bullshit. She’s all dressed up waiting for you.”

“Dad, it’s fine,” Riley whispered.

“No, you need to get your ass over here and take your daughter to dinner.” He stopped and blew out a breath. “Fine. I’ll tell her.”

He ended the call but didn’t turn around. Just lowered his phone and held himself against the door while he took slow breaths.

“She’s not coming,” Riley said.

“No.” He turned. “Baby, I’m sorry. Something came up.”

Surprisingly, Riley’s eyes didn’t fill with tears. Her features hardened and her jaw hitched.

She looked just like Dex when he was mad.

“That’s okay.” Her voice was oddly robotic. “I don’t care.”

I had a feeling she was on the verge of spinning around, running upstairs, and slamming her door. She was going to be hurt no matter what I did, or didn’t do, but maybe Dex and I could ease the sting.

“Let’s go out,” I said, my voice decisive as I stood. “The three of us. I know it’s not the same and it doesn’t make this okay. But look at you. We can’t waste this on a night in.”

Riley’s expression softened. “Should I wear this?”

I stepped closer and took her hands. “Honey, wear whatever you want. We’ll go to that place that serves mocktails in martini glasses. Only my drink will be a real martini.” I winked.

She smiled and my heart just about burst. “I’ll be right back.”

I let out a breath and turned to Dex. He gazed at me, a look of awe on his face.

“Thank you,” he said. “I would have totally screwed that up and she’d be upstairs crying right now.”

“Tears are probably inevitable, even with a strawberry lemonade mocktail. That kind of rejection isn’t easy to bear.”

“No, it’s not.” He came closer and drew me against him, wrapping his thick arms around me. “But this helps. You help.”

Now I was on the verge of tears. I swallowed them back and slid my arms around his waist.

Riley came bounding down the stairs in the purple shirt, jeans, and sandals. She’d added a necklace of white and lavender beads that was the perfect complement to the outfit—and it was all very Riley.

I was so proud of her.

“I’m ready,” she said.

I looked down at myself, realizing for the first time that I was still in my running clothes. “I should probably change. Give me ten minutes.”

“You can get ready in ten minutes?” Dex asked. He clearly didn’t believe me.

“Honey, I’m full of surprises.”

He grinned at me with a look that did awful things to my heart. I gave him a quick kiss before going next door, full of a shocking truth I couldn’t yet speak.