When You're Ready (Ready #1)(25)

No, scratch that. I knew she was being nosy because she was sitting on my bed with Maddie watching me get ready.

“Mommy’s going on a date. Do you know what that is?” she quizzed Maddie, absently playing with her hair. Maddie, who was seated on her lap was busy playing with her doll. She shook her head.

“Is it like a play date?” she asked Leah.

“Um, yes. But with kissing,” Leah explained. I turned around from my vanity to give her a glare. She looked at me like she couldn’t possibly understand what she did wrong. Leah’s filter has a lot of holes. After all this time, I actually was starting to believe she didn’t have one at all and just said whatever came to mind.

“Ewwww. That’s gross, Aunt Leah.”

“Hey, I’m not the one kissing anyone. Talk to your Mom.” I hadn’t talked to Maddie about this, and I had hoped to avoid it for at least another date or five.

“Who are you kissing, Mommy?” she inquired, suddenly getting very serious.

With my focus back on the mirror and the mascara I was trying to apply, I glanced at her quickly, and tried to brush off the question with a quick answer.

“Just you!” I insisted.

My exuberant response doesn’t work, and she pressed on for more answers.

“On your date, who are your kissing Mommy?” she asked again, still serious.

“I don’t know if I am going to kiss anyone, baby. I’m going on a date with Dr. Matthews. Are you okay with that?” I asked carefully.

“Oh. Yes!” she grinned brightly, going back to her doll play.

Leah looked at me in the mirror and we both shrugged.

Well, apparently that talk was done.

~Logan~

I pulled into Clare’s driveway just as I had a week earlier, but today I felt completely different. I was still nervous, but now it felt like a different nervous, more a feeling of anticipation. Last week I was unsure of the path I should take with Clare. I wanted her. I wanted her more than anything. But I didn’t know if I could trust myself. I still wasn’t completely confident. After last Saturday though, when I held her in my arms and kissed her for the first time, I knew one thing. I wasn’t going anywhere, and I planned on making sure she understood that today.

I took one last deep breath, got out of my car and headed for the door. As I rounded the corner of the driveway, I nearly ran headfirst into Maddie who was barreling toward me.

“Whoa there, princess. What are you doing out here?” Clare would not be pleased if she knew Maddie was out here without permission.

“It’s okay. Mommy and Aunt Leah saw you from the window and said I could come get you. They’ve been up there forever,” she huffed.

Apparently the female rituals of beauty hadn’t captured her attention yet. I looked up at the window I thought must be Clare’s bedroom, and saw Leah’s small frame smiling down at me. She gave a small wave before disappearing behind the curtain. I chuckled wondering how long they’d been up there. Obviously long enough to drive a small child nearly insane. Poor kid.

“Forever, huh? Does your Mommy look pretty?” I asked, picking her up en route to the front door. I couldn’t wait to see Clare. The week since our kiss had been long and difficult. We’d spent many hours on the phone, but I hadn’t had the chance to see her in person. With my crazy schedule, I had to work double time to swing another Saturday off.

“Yeah, she’s got a pretty dress on and she smells real good. Aunt Leah said Mommy should smell yummy on a date.”

I choked back a laugh.

She became silent for a moment before asking, “Are you going to kiss my Mommy?”

Completely unprepared for this, I came to an abrupt stop, standing there on the front step just before we entered the house. How do I answer this? Will she hate me if I say yes? I can’t lie. Not to Maddie. I looked at her for the first time, expecting a look of betrayal or hurt on her tiny face, but instead she was smiling. Amazing. It was the only word I had for this child.

“Cause it’s okay if you want to,” she added.

“Oh yeah?” I teased, tickling her between the ribs as we entered the house.

“Yes!” she squealed in between hysterical fits of laughter.

“Well thanks for the permission, princess.” I sat Maddie down in the middle of the living room, which was just to the left of the front door. She looked at me with her big bright grin and I attacked, chasing her throughout the living room.

“No problem!” she shrieked, when I finally caught her in my arms.

“So, should I just go back upstairs? ‘Cause I feel like I’m intruding.”

We had been making so much noise I hadn’t even heard her enter the room.

Turning, with Maddie slung over my shoulder, I saw Clare for the first time in a week, leaning against the doorframe of the living room. I suddenly felt my knees grow weak from the mere sight of her. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to seeing her without my heart rate doubling. I really hoped not.

When she asked where we were going, I simply told her to dress semi-casually, but that was all I told her. Everything else was a surprise. The dress Maddie had mentioned was simple but beautiful on her. The bright orange under an ivory lace overlay brought out the fiery tones in her hair and made her skin glow. The dress gathered at her slim waist with a belt, and it was short, giving me plenty of her long legs to stare at. She had a denim jacket tucked under her arm, and was wearing strappy sandals that wound around her ankle. She looked amazing, but I’d seen her covered in vomit and thought she’d been breathtaking. She was stunning no matter what she was wearing.