Hook Shot (Hoops #3)(78)

“Curl and stuff,” Simone answers grudgingly, like even this small interest in Lotus is being dragged from her.

“Well, it wouldn’t always.” Lotus laughs dryly. “When I first tried, it wouldn’t curl at all. It’s taken me a long time to figure out the products that work for me.”

Lotus eyes Simone’s hair, scraped back into a ponytail.

“I’d guess you’re a 3C, like me,” Lotus says.

“What’s a 3C?” Simone asks.

“It’s just a hair type. There’s a system to determine hair texture. It helps you figure out the best products.” Lotus hesitates, biting her lip before speaking. “I could help you if—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Bridget snaps from the kitchen. “Kenan, I wanted to talk about tomorrow if we can.”

“About what?” I ask with deliberate calm. I have no desire to speak privately with her. We’ll just fight, and I’d rather do that under Dr. Packer’s unbiased third-party watch.

Bridget slides a meaningful look to Lotus and then back to me. I want to tell her to leave my apartment and go ruin someone else’s Sunday, but Lotus clears her throat, drawing my attention. She shakes her head subtly.

“I need to get going. I’m catching an Uber,” she says, making her way to the door. She smiles at my daughter. “It was nice seeing you again, Simone.”

Simone pretends to be occupied with her phone and flicks a longsuffering look my way, like she’s wondering why she has to endure my new girlfriend.

“Let me at least walk you out,” I tell Lotus, my hand at her back.

“No, that’s okay,” she says quickly. “I’ll talk to you later.”

I follow her out into the hall and close the door behind me.

“Kenan, go back inside,” she whispers. “Your daughter needs you. I don’t think she’s taking this well.”

“No, but we’ll work on it tomorrow in our session, when she was supposed to find out about you. I know Bridget did this on purpose trying to catch me off guard.” I run a frustrated hand over my head. “This isn’t how I saw us spending our morning.”

“How’d you see it?” Lotus asks, walking backward to the elevator, her eyes never leaving mine.

I take a few steps in her direction, closer, so I won’t have to be loud.

“Like last night,” I say softly, and glance at the closed door. ”Spending time getting to know my new girlfriend.”

The elevator opens with a ding and she steps in, holding the door for a second and meeting my eyes, no humor in sight.

“I love the sound of that,” she says, letting the doors close.

I could ask if she likes the sound of me getting to know her better or the sound of me calling her my girlfriend. I think, I hope, it’s both.





*



“Tell us what you’re feeling, Simone.”

Dr. Packer’s calm tone doesn’t soothe the turbulence in my daughter’s eyes. It’s Monday, and Simone barely spoke to me yesterday when I returned from the elevator. She gave me the cold shoulder on the ride to Barclays, where Kenya’s team played. She was borderline rude when she met Jade, giving us all sullen silences and rolling eyes. If there’s such a thing as the terrible teens, we’re smack dab in the middle of it.

With her lips parted to speak, Simone flicks an uncertain look between Bridget and me, only to clamp her mouth into a stubborn line and trace the hole at the knee of her jeans with one slim finger.

“You can tell us, Simone,” Dr. Packer prods gently. “Your parents won’t get upset, and we need to all be honest if we want to make this work.”

“Daddy wasn’t honest,” she says, not looking at me.

“Simone, I didn’t mean for you to find out about Lotus that way,” I say. “But I didn’t lie to you.”

Accusation flares in the eyes Simone finally turns on me. “You said she was a friend when we saw her at the restaurant.”

“She was a friend then,” I return evenly. “We decided we . . . liked each other more not long after that. I planned to tell you about her in our session today.”

I hope the look I flash to Bridget, seated on the other side of Simone, isn’t as irritated as I feel.

“But when your mom brought you to the apartment yesterday,” I say, “it took me by surprise. I thought I’d have time to tell you. I promise I had every intention of discussing it.”

“It’s true, Simone,” Dr. Packer confirms. “It was on today’s agenda.”

“So you knew, Mommy?” Simone demands.

“Yes.” Bridget clears her throat. “I didn’t mention it because we were planning to tell you today.”

But you showing up unannounced ruined that plan, huh, Bridge?

God, I wish I could say it out loud, but I bite back the comment.

“With that said,” Dr. Packer says, “can you tell us how your father’s new relationship makes you feel?”

Simone swallows and rapidly blinks long lashes. “Sad.”

I open my mouth, ready to dive in, not even sure what I’ll say, but needing to make her feel better. Dr. Packer catches my eyes, offering a subtle shake of her head.