Irie cheerily babbled some words in response. Lance couldn't make out a single word, but it stillfeltlike she was saying, “yes! That book would be great, Daddy!”
He took the book in one arm, the kid in the other, and sat on the living room love seat. Irie snuggled closer to him and for the first time, rested her head on his chest with a sleepy sigh.
Aw, God,Lance thought with a sorrowful happiness. The small weight of her head resting on his muscular chest made his insides melt into warm goo. She was so sweet and innocent and she alreadytrustedhim.
It was moments like those that made a man start to feel like a real father.
He gently kissed his daughter on the head, opened the book, and started reading.
“There once was a fluffy, hungry dog …”
Chapter 19
Paige
With dinner cooking on the stove-top, Paige giddily stole a break every few minutes to sneak a peek into the living room, where father and daughter were bonding at long last.
The scene in there tugged at her heart-strings. Irie was sprawled out on her Daddy's chest as he read to her. With one hand, she petted the doggies in her book. With the other hand, she blindly reached up and petted her Daddy's blond stubble.
Paige also heard when Lance took a break from reading to ask Irie a question. “Do you know who I am? Can you say Da-da?”
But Irie was still a shy speaker, and she wouldn't even try.
Nevertheless, they'd forged an instant bond, and Paige needed only to look at Irie to know that the little one was completely attached to her father already. And how could she not be? Everything about him was a totally different experience than being with Mommy. His body was so big and strong and warm, his solid arms so comforting and secure, his voice so deep and smooth, the strange stubble on his face so gritty and coarse.
In that moment, Paige could finally appreciate whatherMom had been telling her all along: that Irie needed a father. Of course, she'd known it all along, but to actuallyseeit in action was completely different. Now, she understood it in her heart.
But there was a reason that Paige had kept Irie away from the men that she briefly tried to date. None of those men—boys,really—had even come close to proving themselves worthy. But even if one had, Paige didn't want Irie to get attached to a man that might not stick around in their lives.
She hoped that she wasn't exposing Irie to that danger at this very moment. It remained to be seen if Lance wanted to stick around and be in Irie's life. What if he was only in the honeymoon phase of being a new father? What if, once the novelty wore off, Lance began to distance himself?
He wasn't just some regular guy, some Joe Schmo who worked a cubicle job and would happily split weekends with her. He was an athlete, afamousathlete, who was accustomed to living the life of a rich bachelor. He probably couldn't split weekends, ever. Was it realistic to expect him to leave behind a pampered life for, well, dirty pampers? Did she really expect him to become the world's greatest Dad in the course of a single day?
She knew the two of them had some very serious things to talk about … and they had to talk about themsoon.
***
“It's ready!” Paige happily called while plating the dinner for three: breaded and pan-fried Chicken Milanese, Irie's favorite macaroni and cheese, and steamed broccoli with olive oil and a touch of garlic.
“That smellsgreat,” Lance said as he rose from the love seat. He carried Irie with him.
“Don't get too excited,” Paige said. “I had to learn to cut down on seasoning basically everything I cooked, or Irie won't eat it. All my cooking is pretty bland now.”
Lance lowered Irie into her high chair—or tried to, anyway. Once Irie realized she was being set down in her chair, she screamed and kicked her legs, refusing to be put down. Paige had seen this behavior before, of course. Some days, Irie was feeling too clingy for her chair and demanded to sit in Mommy's lap instead.
So Paige did what came naturally; she took Irie from Lance's arms and put the child in her lap. But to Paige's surprise, Irie's lamentations only grew louder. She bawled, her arms outstretched for Lance.
“Wow,” Paige muttered. “I think she wants to sit in your lap while she eats. Do you mind?”
“Not at all,” Lance said, wide-eyed with honor.
Paige couldn't blame Lance—but for Mommy, Irie's preference came like a small punch to the gut. She feltstupidfor feeling the sting of rejection, but she couldn't help it. She'd never seen her daughter choose someone over Mommy.
Sure enough, Irie calmed the instant she was in Lance's arms again. Between bites of his own, the hockey player delivered airplane forkfuls of food to Irie's mouth. Irie chewed and swallowed her bite, then laughed up a storm as the next forkfuls came crash-landing to her mouth. Irie didn't give Lance anyof the dinner time fits she sometimes gave her Mommy. Right now, Lance was probably thinking that this whole parenting thing was a breeze.
God, am I getting jealous of my own daughter?Paige wondered shamefully.
“She really likes you,” Paige said quietly. “She's getting attached to you, Lance.”
