Chapter 22: Promise Me Forever: Chapter 22

Even after returning to the office the following week, I couldn’t stop thinking about our outing. Being with Lexi out in the vineyard had been incredible. She was incredible. The way she seemed to embrace me, scars and all, was more than I expected. I was itching to do something for her, like lift the burden of her parents’ medical expenses off her shoulders—anything that could make her life better. But for now, I wanted to do something for her that showed I cared for her.

On Friday, I was still out of ideas, so I decided to call my mother while I went to pick up Paisley from a playdate. Mom answered immediately.

‘Honey, what a surprise. You’re calling during your work hours. You never do that.’

“I’m actually leaving the office. I’m picking up Paisley. She, Lexi, and I are going to watch a movie.” Mom said nothing to that, which was suspicious, but I continued anyway. ‘I have a personal question that keeps nagging at me.”

‘I’m listening.’

‘I want to do something for Lexi, something meaningful, and I’m out of ideas.’

‘And by the way, you’re on loudspeaker,’ Mom said.

I groaned. ‘Really? You couldn’t have told me that two seconds ago?’

‘We asked her not to,’ Tyler said.

‘Who else is there?’ I inquired.

‘I am,’ came Reese’s voice.

‘And I’m here too,’ Travis added.

I groaned. ‘Great.’

‘I have so many ideas,’ Tyler said in his typical overexcited voice. ‘One: expensive gifts. Two: more expensive gifts.’

‘Really? That’s your suggestion?’ I asked sardonically. Wait… does he have someone in his life? Last I knew, my brother was enjoying the perks of being a star hockey player. Had that changed?

‘Well, that’s my advice. Take it or leave it. Though that might work for me because I’m so good-looking.’

“And humble,” Mom teased.

‘Oh, Tyler. That’s such bullshit. It doesn’t matter how expensive they are. Do something romantic,’ Reese added.

‘Thanks, Reese. Do you have anything more practical?’ I asked.

‘Well, no. I mean, I do, but if I voice them all, you’ll think I’m crazy.’

‘We think that regardless,’ Travis said conversationally. ‘But we love you anyway.’

‘Yes, but there are several types of crazy,’ Reese said, ‘like ‘Oh, she’s crazy but I’ll go with it,’ or ‘She’s crazy. Let’s call the police,’ and if I tell you all my ideas, I think it will be the latter.’

Everyone burst out laughing.

‘Travis, do you have any ideas? Everyone pitched in anyway, even without my asking.’

‘I’m not the right person to ask. For the past three years, I’ve just had time for one-night stands. Oh fu—Chuck. Sorry, Mom.’

Mom groaned. I could practically see her rolling her eyes.

‘I’ll pretend I’ve heard nothing,’ she said.

“Anyway,” Travis cut back in, “I vote to listen to Reese. She always has good ideas, unlike others in the family.”

And by others, he clearly meant Tyler.

“Hey, don’t diss it until you try it,” Tyler said in a smug tone. “You know my motto. I’ll try everything once, and the good things twice.”

“That motto’s gotten you into trouble a lot of times, young man,” Mom said sternly.

“Yes, but you know me. I like to focus on the good things,” Tyler pointed out.

That was true.

‘Why are all of you together so early on a weekday?’ I asked.

‘Well, I just finalized the sale,’ Travis said lazily.

‘Congratulations, man. That’s epic!’

‘And I thought I’d treat the ladies to a dinner out in the city,’ he went on.

‘And me. There can’t be a party without me,’ Tyler added. ‘Someone’s got to spice things up.”

“Talking about parties, I am actually going to throw a huge one next week, and everyone’s invited. I’m sorry for the short notice, but I’ve been too focused on the sale until now.’

‘No problem, man. Send me the details,’ I said. And all of a sudden, I had an idea about what to do.

***

By the time I picked up Paisley from her playdate, I had a plan in mind.

“Dad, where is Lexi?” she asked first thing as she secured her seat belt.

“She’s meeting us directly at the shopping center. She went to take your favorite dress for dry cleaning, remember? But we’ll all watch the movie together.”

“I changed my mind. Can we go shopping instead?”

I groaned. Why didn’t I foresee this?

“I thought you wanted to see that robot film. What happened to that? And you always say shopping with me is frustrating,” I reminded her, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. She was in the back, as usual, because it was safer.

“But Lexi will be with us too.”

“True.” I hesitated a moment. “Paisley, you like Lexi, right?”

“Yes, Daddy. A lot. Lexi told me it doesn’t feel like work when she’s with me. That she really likes me and we’re friends. And she’s so pretty, isn’t she, Dad?”

“Yes, she is,” I agreed.

Paisley narrowed her eyes, looking at me intently without saying anything. I focused on the traffic as we approached the parking lot of the shopping center. My daughter was silent until we entered the underground garage.

“Dad, do you know what kissing is?” Paisley asked as I parked. I nearly bumped into the car in front of us.

My eyes bulged as I wondered where this was coming from.

‘What?’ I said, looking straight at her in the mirror. “Why are you asking?”

She shrugged. “No reason.”

What the hell? There was always a reason.

Once I parked the car and turned off the ignition, I turned to look straight at my daughter.

‘Do you know what kissing is?’ I asked her.

She rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

‘You’re nine years old,’ I exclaimed.

‘Yes, I’m nine years old, not nine months. Some girls in my class have a boyfriend.’

‘Boyfriend?’ I sputtered.

Why didn’t Lexi tell me anything about this?

This was wrong. A boyfriend at nine years old? What was happening with the world? I was completely out of my depth in this conversation.

My mind raced back to what Lexi told me about boys. It was a good thing we were meeting her, because I needed her advice on this. I felt the irrational need to lock my daughter in her room until she turned eighteen, but somehow, I didn’t think that was the answer.

The shopping center was extremely crowded, but luckily Paisley only loved one shop and we went straight there. Typically she tried on one hundred outfits and chose five. I dreaded the experience usually, but Lexi joining us made it better by a factor of one million.

I took out my phone, messaging her.

Tate: (Im)patiently waiting for you. We’re at Paisley’s favorite store…

Lexi: I’m on my way.

Tate: Since we’re clearly not going to the movie, do you want to have dinner with us?

Lexi: Are you trying to lure me back to the house for “a glass of wine”?

I chuckled, because that was the code I used to convince her to stay over every evening after Paisley went to bed this past week.

Tate: Yes.

Lexi: Was that DIRTY TALK? Because my panties combusted. Spontaneously. Of their own accord.

I grinned at the phone. Since our trip last weekend, I’d been looking forward to every moment I could spend with her, but the few hours after Paisley went to bed weren’t nearly enough. I wanted to hijack all her time.

***

Lexi

When I arrived, Tate was sitting in an armchair looking pretty miserable. I didn’t blame him. This store was all about teenage life, from the weird music to the weirder outfits, but it was a hit with many kids Paisley’s age.

Even sitting in that ridiculous pink armchair, he looked sexy as hell, as usual. He was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, and I wholeheartedly approved of the outfit. If I wasn’t mistaken, they were his sex-bomb jeans. Yeah, I had a ranking of his jeans, and these were at the top of the list.

His expression suddenly lit up when he noticed me. I had flutters in my belly, and my already combusting panties seemed to vanish into thin air.

Paisley came out of the dressing room a second later, essentially throwing an ice bucket over me.

She noticed me right away and squealed, “Lexi, you’re here! Please help me. Dad isn’t even paying attention.”

‘Yes, I am!’ Tate said, sounding indignant.

Paisley rolled her eyes. ‘Dad, you looked right through me the past four dresses.’

I laughed, glancing between the two of them. ‘Well, I think this dress looks great on you, Paisley. The one thing I don’t really like is the color. This shade of yellow is too pale. Do you have it in any other colors?’

‘Yes, I also have it in pink.’

‘Okay. Let’s see it. You want me to come inside and help you?’

‘No, I’m okay.”

‘All right, I’ll wait right here,’ I replied, smiling at her display of maturity.

Going back to the changing room, she drew the curtain. I remembered being her age and not wanting anyone to see my body. In a few years, she was going to need a bra. I wondered if Tate or one of his cousins was going to take her, or maybe the future nanny.

A lump suddenly settled in my throat. I wanted to be there for every milestone.

Tate was right behind me the next second, putting an arm around my waist and kissing my cheek.

‘Hello, beautiful,’ he whispered in my ear. Hmm… his voice had a naughty edge that turned my skin to goose bumps. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

I turned around, putting my hands on his arms and feeling those hard muscles under my fingers. “Any time. I love shopping. How did she manage to drag you here?”

“Ambushed me.”

“Clever.”

He touched my bare shoulder with his fingertips. An unexpected wave of heat shot through me.

“Dad!” Paisley exclaimed, startling both of us.

Holy shit! She was standing right next to us.

I instantly let my hands drop, taking a step back. My pulse quickened.

Her eyes widened, looking from me to Tate, who seemed as taken aback as I was.

Shit, shit, shit. I had no clue if he ever intended to tell her about us, but this wasn’t the best way for her to find out.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should try to distract her. Did he want her to know? I sucked in a breath, waiting for his reply.

“Paisley, Lexi and I would like to tell you something.” He cleared his throat, stepping closer to me. My pulse calmed down a bit. “Remember when you asked me a while ago if I ever wanted a lady in my life? Well, Lexi and I are dating. We’re—”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Paisley’s face exploded in a grin. She clapped her hands and then started shimmying her hips, the way I did when I was happy about something. Then she hugged Tate around his middle, staring up at him before looking at me.

“I’m going back to try more dresses.”

She did a little dance as she went back into the changing room. She’d even forgotten to ask our opinion on the dress she had on.

Tate trained his gaze on me, and the air between us instantly charged. He took me a few feet away from the dressing room to the back of the store before stepping right into my personal space, tilting my chin up.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes. Why?”

“We never spoke about telling Paisley.”

“It was your call, Tate. She’s your daughter. I… didn’t even know if you wanted to tell her at all.”

“Fuck yes, I did.” His gaze intensified. “For weeks, it’s all I’ve been thinking about.”

Oh man. Those flutters in my belly were out of control now. And so was my grin.

“Really?” I definitely felt like dancing, but we were in a store, so I stayed put.

When Tate brought his hands to my waist, I felt the touch of his fingers, even through my cotton dress.

“Yes, Lexi. You’re in my life, and I want everyone to know it. I was serious when I said I want you all the time. And I don’t mean in bed. I like spending time with you. Pouring you wine in the evening. Watching you pretend to look for the TV remote when you’re raiding the stash of chocolate.”

“I don’t do that every evening,” I countered, even though I kind of did. And he’d noticed!

“Today, I wasn’t thrilled about coming to this place, but knowing you were going to be here made everything better.”

I couldn’t help myself and shimmied a bit. “Oh, good. I like this arrangement. I give my opinion to Paisley. You make me swoon and fan myself when she’s in the changing room. Everyone’s happy.”

I wasn’t just happy. I was over the moon.

He wanted Paisley to know.

Even though his parents and siblings knew about us, sharing this with his daughter meant so much more.

When Paisley called my name, I nodded toward the changing room. We headed that direction, and when we were within earshot, I said, “I’m here.”

‘I don’t like the pink one, Lexi,’ Paisley called from inside the changing room, ‘but they also have one in green.’

‘I can go get it for you,’ I said. ‘Where is it?’

‘Right next to the entrance.’

‘I’ll be right back,’ I said.

Tate groaned, but I slapped his hand, and he reluctantly dropped it from my waist.

I went to the rack with clothes near the entrance and quickly found the green version of the dress Paisley was trying on. When I returned, the sales associate was there as well, checking in with her through the curtain.

‘No, it’s okay. Lexi is bringing me the dress,’ Paisley was saying.

‘Okay.’ She stepped back, looking at me and smiling at the dress. ‘I think that one is going to look great with her eyes.’

‘I think so too,’ I said. ‘I’m her nanny, and we talk about clothes and fashion a lot.’ I gave Paisley the dress, poking my head inside. ‘You want me to take anything back?’

‘No, I’m good,’ Paisley said, pushing me back out.

When I turned around, to my astonishment, the sales associate was flirting with Tate, who was standing next to the pink armchair. She was playing with her hair between her fingers and looking up at him between her eyelashes.

‘Anything you and your daughter need, let me know.’

‘We’re good,’ Tate said, coming up to me. A second later, he put an arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple. ‘Lexi’s a genius when it comes to finding clothes for Paisley, but we’ll let you know if we need any help.’

Her smile dropped. She looked at me, eyes cold. ‘Right, okay. I’ll wait at the front, at the cash register.’ She stepped away quickly, but Tate still didn’t let go of me.

‘I can’t believe I turned my back once and someone’s already flirting with you.’ I knew I sounded jealous, but damn, she moved fast. Of course, with the way Tate looked, it was no surprise.

‘Why did you tell her you were the nanny? You know you’re more than that, Lexi. I’m more than happy to tell everyone that we’re together.’ He turned me around, looking straight at my mouth. ‘Everyone, Lexi.”

“But I am Paisley’s nanny.”

“If you want, I’ll fire you now, just so we’re clear.” Amusement danced in his eyes. “You’re also my girlfriend.”

Oh man. I was swooning again.

“I don’t want you to fire me. I love the job. But we probably should talk about you paying me. It doesn’t feel right if I’m your girlfriend.”

He stared at me incredulously. “You’re one of a kind. We can talk about that another time. Now, I have an idea.”

“Do tell.”

“My brother Travis announced that he’s throwing a party in two weeks.”

‘Oh, I haven’t met him yet. It’s his birthday?”

‘No. He finalized the sale of his tech startup, and he wants to celebrate ‘in style,’ as he calls it. I want you there, with me.’

‘Sure. Will there be any more kids besides Paisley? I can probably watch about six or seven.’

He pressed a thumb at the corner of my mouth.

‘Stop that, Lexi. You’re not going as Paisley’s nanny. I want you to go there with me as my date, my woman. I told you I want everyone to know. I mean, my family knows. But I want us to go there together.’

Something crept up inside me, filling me with a burst of joy. The impulse to shimmy my hips and break out in a dance right here in the store was stronger than ever.

‘Together,” I repeated, then murmured, “Tate, I would love to.’ I couldn’t deny it. My feelings for him were deepening. And with that, the chances of getting heartbroken were also growing, because I knew Tate still hadn’t healed from his divorce.

“Now, keep your hands to yourself while I help Paisley, mister.”

He grinned. “Your wish is my command.”

“Really?”

“For now.”

I raised a brow. “Oh, you have ulterior motives? Care to share? Is it part of your plan to convince me to come home with you?”

“Yes.”

“Ha! You don’t have to work too much to sell me on that. You and Paisley are there. And the not-so-secret stash of excellent chocolate too.”