Page 24 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
Once we arrived, we made our way to where we were staying. I’d upgraded to a two-bedroom suite. This way, if I had plans in the evening, Winnie would stay with Melody, and she could put her to sleep in my room.
The level of stress that had been removed from my shoulders in just the first two weeks with this woman was surprising, to say the least.
She’d stepped up in more ways than I could have imagined. She picked Melody up from school, and she handled homework, cooking, laundry, and taking her to her activities. I hadn’t felt pulled in twenty different directions lately. When I was homefrom work, I was able to just spend time with my daughter. Everything around the house was taken care of.
Even more than I’d asked her to do, which surprised me.
And having her on this trip would be a game changer, because I could go out and have some adult time after I gave Melody her bath and got her ready for bed.
I struggled with giving up control, which had caught me off guard. I’d been doing this solo for such a long time that having someone consistently step up to the plate almost felt foreign to me.
Maybe I’d kept Mrs. Dowden on for so long because I’d been able to stay in control of everything.
Even though I desperately needed the help.
I’m sure there was some Freudian reasoning behind it.
But now that I had help, really good help, I realized how much I’d needed it.
I pushed the door open, and we stepped inside the room.
“Wow. I like this place, Daddy.” Melody hurried over to the window to see the view of Paris down below.
“This is gorgeous,” Winnie said as she glanced up at the crystal chandelier hanging over the living room area.
We were staying at the hotel where the ceremony was going to be held, which made it all very convenient.
We’d flown through the night, so we’d have the day to rest and recover before the rehearsal dinner this evening.
“How about I order some lunch while we unpack and we can get some food in our systems,” I said as I walked over to grab the room service menu.
“I’m hungry, Daddy,” Melody said, her voice sounding sleepy. She made her way over to the couch and curled up. Winnie grabbed the throw blanket and placed it over her.
“Rest your eyes, angel face.” I handed the menu to Winnie and asked what she wanted to eat, then quickly placed the call and ordered some food.
I dropped Winnie’s bag in her room, then took the luggage Melody and I had brought to our room to get us unpacked.
The food arrived shortly after, and the server placed the trays of food on the dining table.
“Should we wake her up?” Winnie asked.
“Let’s let her sleep for a bit longer. She’s got a long night ahead of her.”
“Listen, you can just text me, and I’ll take care of bath time and putting her to bed tonight,” she said as she picked up her burger and took a bite. “I’ll have my phone on me and will just wait here to hear from you, and I will come get her when you’re ready.”
I narrowed my gaze. “What? You’re coming with us to the rehearsal dinner.”
“Oh. I know you wanted me to attend the wedding, but I figured the rehearsal dinner was just family.” She shrugged.
“The wedding is basically just family, plus a few friends, and everyone is invited to both events. It’s like two weddings, which is very on par for Rafe and Lulu.” I laughed.
“Lulu showed me pictures of her dress, and it’s absolutely stunning. This is going to be a gorgeous wedding.”
“Yeah. This city has a special meaning to them, as they lived here for a while when they were first together. But I’ve been warned that her family is—a lot.”
She laughed. “She told me that, too.”
“So you said that you’re recently divorced,” I asked, because I was curious as hell about it. She was fairly young to be married, so I was guessing there was a story there. “Did you have a big wedding?”
