He parked and walked the girls inside. Lily gave him sad eyes, so he followed her into the kitchen while Daisy skipped to her room to put her “babies to bed.” Her babies, as far as Gage could tell, consisted of a once-pink bunny, a well-loved doll, and something that resembled an armadillo.
In Lily’s kitchen, he stood transfixed by the way she attacked her counters. Without glancing up, she said, “Will I see you tonight?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “Depends on you.”
She stopped buffing to face him, a little scowl forming on her face. “What does that mean?”
Daisy startled them when she bounced in. “Mr. Cage, wanna see my new books?”
He crossed the room, and leaned down to her. “Help me out here, kiddo. How do I get you to call me something besides Mr. Cage?”
“I don’t know,” she giggled. An idea seemed to flash, and she grabbed his hand with her tiny one. “What’s your middle name?”
He dropped into a one-kneed crouch so they were eye to eye. “Mitchell.”
Her body began rocking, and her eyes took a tour around the room. “I can call you Mitchell,” Daisy proclaimed.
“No, you really can’t. Not even my mom calls me Mitchell.” He squeezed her hand in his. “Besides, if you can say ‘Mitchell,’ you can say ‘Gage,’ princess.” He quirked an eyebrow at her and gave her shirt a tug.
Lily’s head snapped up from the counter, and she trained a strange look on him. Is it not okay to tell her to call me Gage?
“Gaaage,” Daisy finally said, drawing out the a. “Gage,” she added with a head bob, as if putting the final dot on an i.
He popped his eyes dramatically. “Wow! I like how you say it.” Cocked an ear. “Say it again?”
“Gage!”
“Nice!” He held up his palm. “Five up high.”
She smacked his hand hard.
He lowered his palm. “Five in the middle.” She obliged him with another smack and a giggle.
“Five down low.”
A final smack. “Too slow!” she cried triumphantly.
A laugh rolled through his chest. “That’s not how it works, princess.”
“You didn’t move your hand fast enough.”
Without warning, she launched herself at him, nearly knocking him off balance, and wrapped her skinny little arms around his neck. Stunned, he enveloped her and lifted his gaze to Lily, who stood frozen, her eyes wide like a proverbial deer caught in the headlights. Daisy burrowed her head into his chest, her tiny hand patting his back as she whispered, “I love you, Gage.”
Thunk! Shot straight through the heart. He recovered and did the first thing that occurred to him. He dropped a kiss on Daisy’s curls and whispered back, “I love you too, princess.”
The moment was broken the instant she wiggled out of his arms and scampered away. Gage rose to his feet. Lily’s eyes were still locked on him, her lower lip wobbling. She wiped moistness from her cheeks. Two strides and he was beside her.
“Hey. What’s all this?” His fingers brushed her tears. “I don’t know what’s going on here, and it’s scaring me. Let me in. Please.”
In his second surprise in that kitchen, Lily threw her arms around him and clung tightly. Helpless to figure out what the hell was happening, he held her close, stroking her back until she pulled away.
“Jack,” she rasped, then cleared her throat, “Jack used to call her his princess.”
Why did everything circle back to Jack? Gage pushed her curls away from her face and grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Should I not call her that? Tell me what to do here.”
Tears still rimming and spilling, she shoved at his shoulder playfully. “No, you big lug. I mean, yes. You can call her princess.”
Bewildered, he smiled tentatively. Big lug is good, I think.
With a shuddering sigh, she looked up at him. God, he wished he could read what was going through her head. Her eyes were like windows in a car that was speeding so fast the scenes flew by in a blur and you couldn’t pick out a damn thing. To say she was sending mixed signals was the understatement of the century. He grasped at the ones he most wanted to latch on to.
Resting his forehead against hers, he held her. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, or what I’ve done wrong, but there’s something I need to say.”
“Okay,” she sniffed.
Heart thudding in his chest, Grandma whispering that he should grab that next gear, he drew in a calming breath. “I love Daisy’s mama too.”
Lily stiffened. He’d blown it.
She wriggled away, putting a huge gap between them. Her lashes were clumped in tears, like star points surrounding her eyes. “You’re so good with her, and I just … I wish I could … I’m so mixed up.”
His heart physically hurt, as though someone had pounded nails into it. He told himself to give her space. But he wasn’t sure he could keep convincing himself it would change anything.
“Lily,” his voice broke, “you may as well put the ring back on your finger because you’re still wearing it. Will you ever let go?”
Tearful turned to angry. “That’s not fair.”
From the living room came a question as innocent as it was devastating. “Are you gonna marry my mom, Gage?”
Two sets of eyes were on him. Hopeful gray ones and frightened blue ones. He drummed his fingers against his heart, searching for an answer. If the daughter falls for you, she’ll bring the mom along.
“I’d like to someday, princess.” He swung his gaze to Lily. “But only if your mom wants to.” There. He’d said it.
Daisy covered her mouth and giggled behind her hands. Then she hopped in place as though she were on a mini trampoline. “I’m gonna go tell my babies!” She ran through her father’s shrine toward her room.
When Gage looked back at
