Page 107 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, peanut?” I looked at Charlie in the rearview mirror, smiling just like I did every time she called me Daddy.

“Are you going to come to my first day of school?”

“I, uh . . .”

My shoulders sagged. How the hell did I answer this question? I hoped she’d be going to school here, and in that case, I’d be taking her to school with Thea. I’d already had Sean make arrangements to get her enrolled at a small, private school a few blocks from the penthouse.

But with the way Thea had acted last night and this morning, I wasn’t as confident she’d say yes to my proposal as I had been a few days ago. Which meant there was a slim chance Charlie would have to start school in Lark Cove, then transfer once Thea and I worked everything out.

With school starting in two weeks, I couldn’t swing another trip to Lark Cove right now. One of my newest clients was restructuring their business over the next month and I had to be in town to participate in the discussions.

Would I be able to take Charlie to school? Only if Thea said yes to moving and marrying me.

“Are you?” Charlie asked again.

“Honey,” Thea turned in her seat, “we are going home on Monday. Remember? Logan has to stay here for work. But he’ll come and visit us as soon as he can. Mommy and Gran will take you to your first day of school, just like we did last year.”

“Oh.” Charlie’s disappointment darkened the car.

“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I’d be there if I could.”

Charlie nodded, then turned to look out her window.

I focused back on the road with a frown.

We were driving to my parents’ estate on Long Island. It had taken us an hour to get out of the city, but once we’d hit the Nassau County line, traffic had thinned. My white Land Rover, which spent most of its time in the garage at the penthouse, was free to zoom over the highway on our way to Oyster Bay.

I reached across the console, taking Thea’s hand in mine. She laced our fingers together but didn’t look over. Her sunglasses remained pointed out her own side window.

“Mommy, we didn’t get Uncle Jackson his meatballs.”

“It’s okay,” Thea said to the glass. “We’ve got those other presents we bought for him and Gran.”

“Meatballs?”

Thea sighed. “When we were kids, Jackson and I used to get these meatball sandwiches from a place in our neighborhood. I went to get some the other day but it didn’t work out.”

“Were they closed?”

Thea shook her head without further explanation.

“The lady was mean to Mommy.”

My hand tightened over Thea’s. “What lady?”

She shook her head. “Just someone I used to know. We used to be friends but had a falling out. I ran into her at Giovanni’s.”

Giovanni’s. I made a mental note to check it out next week.

“Can we stop for a sec?” Thea pointed to a gas station ahead. “I’d like a water and to use the restroom.”

“Sure.” I let go of her hand, slowing to pull into the parking lot.

Thea pulled up her purse from between her feet and dug through it for her wallet. Before she got it out, I had my money clip out and a hundred between my fingers. “Here.”

“Thanks.” She took the money, giving me a small smile. “Would you guys like anything?”