Page 129 of Fall For Me
I nod again. Jade jumps down from her chair and flings herself at me.
“Whoa, kiddo. You nearly knocked the crown off my head.”
I wrap my arms around her, squeezing her tight
“This makes me so happy,” she says into my neck. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
I don’t know what it is about seeing your child’s face light up like that, but it makes me want to give her the whole damn world. Someone knocks on the door, and Jade releases me so I can answer it. The door swings open, and my two friends stand in the doorway with their jaws on the floor.
I straighten the tiara on my head and laugh. “Before you say it, remember the things you do for your kids.”
“We came to kidnap you.” Cal chuckles, striding inside my suite with Carter behind him.
“Can’t. In case y’all forgot, I have responsibilities.”
“In caseyouforgot, tonight’s your best friends’ surprise engagement party,” Carter says, picking up the picture sitting on the table in front of a teacup. “This Jade’s mom?”
“Yep. My mommy’s an angel,” Jade says, beaming up at Carter.
My heart cracks a little bit more every time she says that.
Carter brings the picture closer to his face. “She looks so much like Hannah, it’s insane. I don’t even know if I want to dissect this.”
“Then don’t,” I say, snatching the picture from his hands, and setting it back on the table. “Like I said, I can’t leave my daughter.”
“Look, man, that parent guilt is real, but every parent needs a break. Alright? It’s one night,” Carter says.
“Kids need a break from their parents too. Just ask Tuck,” Cal agrees, picking Jade up, and bopping her on the nose with his finger. “Isn’t that right, munchkin? You need a break from your dad, don't you? And you know what?”
“What, Uncle Cal?” She asks.
“Mammaw, Marcy, and Laura have all the grandkids, and the only one they’re missing is you.”
“Please, Daddy. Can I go?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. Jesus Christ. I look back at my little girl, and those pleading brown eyes, with the same look her mother used to give me, sucker-punch me in the gut.
I huff a sigh. “Fine.”
“Yay,” Jade squeals, and climbs her way out of Cal’s arms.
“Thank God, now please hurry. As much as I’m not a fan of you being with my sister, I think that option is considerably better than the guy she’s talking to at the bar right now.”
I don’t know why, but my chest feels like it’s gonna split wide open at the thought of Cam talking to another man.
“What guy?” I ask Carter, already ripping the tiara off my head and the feathered boa from around my neck.
Carter hesitates, glancing at Cal before his eyes settle back on me.
“What. Guy. Carter?”
“Little Mac.”
“Oh, hell no . . .”
