Proving Paul's Promise(51)

I get up and go to check on Friday and Hayley, but I stumble to a stop when I turn the corner into Hayley’s room. They’re both asleep on the bed on their stomachs with an open book in front of them. Friday has changed into her pajamas and it looks as though she was reading to Hayley when they both fell asleep. But what kills me is that their noses are turned toward one another, so close they’re sharing breaths, and my daughter’s hand is tucked into Friday’s.

I take a mental picture, because I never, ever want to forget what this feels like. Click! Click! Click! I cement it in my head, because my heart is so happy it’s ready to burst, and I don’t want to let this moment go.

I don’t wake them up. Instead, I pick up some of the toys Hayley has left lying around the room. I put her dolls on the top shelf, and her trucks and matchbox cars go in the bucket at the foot of her bed.

I laugh when I see they built a big house out of building blocks and they put one of her male actions figures in there with Barbie. I look closer. Are their faces pressed together? It looks almost like they’re kissing. Leave it to Friday…

Friday sat and played with my daughter for two hours, and then she read to her and she fell asleep on her bed. I want to see this every night for the rest of my life. I want to wake Friday up and take her to my bed, but there’s something I need to do first.

There’s a possibility she’ll hate me for it, but it needs to be done. I go into the living room, pull out my phone, and search the web. It’s a huge violation of Friday’s privacy, I know, but I can’t help it. She has a son out there, and she needs to know him. And he needs to know her just as much. It only takes two wrong numbers before I find her.

“Hi, is this Jill?” I ask.

“Yes,” the lady says.

“Do you have a son named Jacob?”

“Yes,” she replies, but this time, there’s a question in her tone. “Who is this?”

“My name is Paul Reed, and I’m a friend of Friday’s. Well, she’s my girlfriend. I’m going to marry her if I can ever get her to say yes.”

The line goes silent.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“I was hoping that maybe we could talk.”

“Yes, I think we should,” she replies, and my f*cking heart soars.

###

I hang up the phone and swipe a hand down my face. Either I just sealed my fate and made it so that Friday will never marry me, or I made her love me a little more. I won’t know which until tomorrow.

I go back to Hayley’s room and stare down at them for a little longer. They’ve rolled now so that they’re facing one another on their sides, and Hayley’s hand is still tucked in Friday’s. Click!

I bend over and run a hand down Friday’s hair. She stirs, her eyes opening slowly. She blinks up at me and smiles. “We fell asleep?” she whispers.

“Yeah.” I extricate Hayley from Friday’s grasp and slide my daughter under the covers. Hayley could sleep through a tornado as long as it’s still dark outside, and I don’t worry about waking her up at all. Friday leans over and presses her lips to Hayley’s cheek.

“I had fun with her tonight,” she whispers.

I jerk my thumb toward the big house they made. “I see you were busy.”

“We made a fortress for Barbie.”

That word makes me smile. “Did Barbie need a fortress?”

“All girls need a fortress. Barbie doesn’t have a dad, so she needed one more than most.” She shrugs. “Hayley and I discussed all this when she tried to convince me that girls with strong daddies don’t need big walls.” She lays a hand on my chest and looks up at me, blinking those green eyes. She’s so f*cking beautiful. “You’ll always protect her heart. And if anything ever happens to you, you have four brothers who will do the same. So Hayley won’t need a fortress.”

I get it. I so get it. “You guys went that deep?”

She nods. “We did. It’s a kick-ass fortress, don’t you think?”

I kiss her forehead. “Badass. Just like you.”

She leans her head on my chest, and I palm the back of her head. “I’m not, though, Paul. I’m afraid every single day. I just hide it well.”

“Do I scare you?”

“Sometimes.”

“How about now?” I ask.

“I’m not afraid right now.” Her voice is so soft I can barely hear it.

I scoop her up, and she wraps her skinny arms around my neck.

“How about now?”

“Nope.” She grins at me.

We walk toward the door. “Light,” I say.

She flips the light off, and I carry her into my room.

“How about now?” I ask.

“No,” she says quietly. I let her legs drop, and she slides slowly down my body. “I want what you want,” she whispers.

I freeze. I take her face in my hands, and she stares up at me, my palms bracketing her cheeks. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I kiss her. Kissing Friday isn’t like kissing any other woman in the world. She tastes like everything I’ve ever wanted, and I drink her in. She pushes back against me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she puts her tongue in my mouth and tangles it with mine.