Firefly: I thought so too. But I feel bad that you didn’t get to walk away feeling as good as I did.
Fuck me. Apparently, Abigail was wrong, because my imagination was working just fine at the moment.
Me: Watching you fall apart, riding up against me all hot and needy ... I couldn’t walk away any happier, Firefly.
Firefly: Did you take care of business later?
Me: About a dozen times since it happened.
Firefly: It happened yesterday. That’s a lot of relief happening over there.
I finished off my beer and set the bottle on the coffee table. I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but I sure as hell didn’t want to stop.
Me: I guess you must do it for me then, huh?
Firefly: I thought you couldn’t stand me.
Me: It’s not like that, Violet.
Firefly: Tell me what it’s like.
Me: You challenge me. You’re strong and determined, and even if it frustrates me from a working standpoint, it doesn’t mean I don’t admire that about you. And clearly it doesn’t mean that I’m not attracted to you.
Firefly: So you’re attracted to me, huh?
Me: Not going to deny that. But it doesn’t mean acting on it is a good idea.
Firefly: Well, we finally agree on something.
Me: Good night, Firefly.
Chapter Eleven
Violet
“Violet makes the best eggs,” Harper said as I set down the plate in front of her. It had become our routine the last few weeks. “But now that you got her a new oven, she won’t come make me eggs.”
“I do know how to make eggs, Harps,” Charlie grumped, like I had caused his daughter to turn against him and his cooking.
The new oven had arrived yesterday, and Charlie was going to install it today.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. My eggs are clearly better than yours.” I smiled, and he rolled his eyes.
Harper was laughing, and what I’d quickly learned is that Harper Huxley was not the norm for a six-year-old. I didn’t typically like kids, but this little girl could be my Mini Me. She was the wittiest six-year-old I’d ever met. She gave me all the first-grade classroom gossip at the end of the day, because I cooked dinner over here most evenings. So I was spending a lot of time with these two, and I didn’t mind it at all, which was also weird. My biggest issue ... the fact that I was ridiculously attracted to the world’s most aggravating man. We texted all day, mostly about my house renovation, a lot of it unnecessary but a reason to talk, but occasionally it would turn flirty. We hadn’t crossed the line again, but that kiss was still haunting me.
“She’s six. She’s hardly a reliable critic.” He stood and reached for our plates.
“Daddy, your eggs aren’t bad, they just aren’t as good as Vi’s. But I still love you. And all your other food is my favorite.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, seeing as you’re kind of stuck with me, baby girl. Now go brush your teeth, and I’ll get you to school.”
“You know I love you more than all the stars in the sky, Daddy.” Harper moved to her feet.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love you more than all the fish in the sea, Harps. Get going,” he said.
These two. They were something else.
And seeing Charlie with his daughter did something to me.
