“It’s real. And I’m a complete puddle of feelings right now, too. I need you to come over tonight.”
“You know it. I have to make up for crying with some rough sex, baby.”
We both laughed and kept holding on. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him right now, but it didn’t feel like the right time. This moment was about him and Brooklyn.
Kane was haunted by his past. I’d never known what it meant to love someone so much that healing their pain was just as cathartic as healing your own. But right now, I felt light and free and hopeful. Kane was getting the chance he deserved.
Kane
My arms were locked around Viv and I couldn’t make myself let go. I closed my eyes and took in the warm, exotic scent of her perfume. She nestled against me and I buried my face in her soft hair.
“I’m so fucking nervous,” I admitted.
“Of course you are. It’ll be okay, though, I promise.”
“I still can’t believe it’s happening. All because of you.”
“Not just me. You, too.”
I shook my head slightly. “No, Viv. It’s you. You make me believe in things. I never did before.”
“You make me believe in things, too.” She pulled back and smiled up at me. “Now go meet your little girl. And call me as soon as you can.”
I kissed her and went to the door of her apartment, looking over my shoulder again before I walked out. Damn, she was so beautiful. Inside as much as out. I was one lucky bastard.
My stomach was in a knot the whole drive to the diner outside the city where I was meeting Cori and Brooklyn. I kept reminding myself this might not go well. Cori might be openly pissed off at me. Brooklyn might be scared of me. We might just look at each other in silence.
But even if all that happened, I’d still get to see her. I was about to see my daughter. My eyes welled with emotion at the thought.
By the time I pulled into the diner’s parking lot, I was almost shaking with nervousness. I laughed at myself. All the guys I’d roughed up in my life and a nine-year-old girl had me terrified. But this little girl meant everything to me.
I was early, so I sat in a booth and waited. I’d almost finished a cup of coffee when the front door swung open and Cori walked in. She had the same slender, petite build and long light brown hair. When she held the door open for someone else, my heart felt like it was about to pound right out of my chest.
I knew what Brooklyn looked like from the pictures, but still, seeing the resemblance in person knocked the wind out of me. She had glossy black hair that fell past her shoulders and dark eyes. And when those eyes turned on me, I had to swallow back the lump in my throat.
“Hi, Kane,” Cori said softly.
I got out of the booth and nodded at her. “Hey, Cori.” Then I bent down to my knees, putting myself at eye level with my daughter.
“Brook, this is your dad,” Cori said. “Can you say hi to him?”
“Hi,” Brooklyn said, edging closer to Cori.
“Hi.” I cleared my throat. “Thanks for coming. Both of you.”
The waitress flew over to the table, unaware of the emotional weight of the moment she was interrupting.
“Drinks, you two? And a kids’ menu?”
“Sure,” Cori said, letting Brooklyn slide into the booth. “Coffee and a Sprite.”
Brooklyn was looking at me. Taking in the details. I often wished I’d done a better job of memorizing my own father before he took off. I couldn’t for the life of me remember the details of what he’d looked like anymore.
“So.” I sighed deeply. “I just need to say thanks, Cori, for allowing this. It means so much to me.” I turned my attention to Brooklyn. “And I also need to say that the reason I missed out on being part of your life . . .” I cleared my throat, trying to keep myself under control. “It’s all my fault. It was never because of you.”
“My mom said that, too. She said you couldn’t see me but . . . you still love me.”
Her sweet voice and the words she spoke gripped my chest and squeezed like a vice. I made a tight fist beneath the table, forcing myself not to cry.
“I do,” I said, looking at Cori with more gratitude than I’d ever be able to express. “I always have. I mean, you’re about the best little girl anyone could ask for.”
She smiled. Fucking smiled at me. If I died in this moment, I’d die happy.
“Thanks for the dolls,” she said. “I have them on a shelf in my room.”
“You’re welcome.”
The waitress slid drinks and two more menus onto the table and left silently.
“So how have you been?” I asked Cori.
“Good. I went to nursing school and I work in a Palliative Care facility now.”
I looked at Cori’s ring finger, not because I cared about her relationship status, but because I wanted to know if my daughter had a stepfather. She didn’t have a ring. I felt relief mixed with a twinge of sadness. If Brooklyn had never had a father figure, I wanted to do everything I could to be the man she deserved.
“What grade are you in?” I asked Brooklyn.
“Fourth.”
“You play any sports?”
“Soccer and cheerleading.”
Her proud smile was beautiful. Hearing her and seeing her was reaching me so much deeper than I’d realized it would.
“I have soccer games on Saturdays in the summer if you ever want to come,” she said.
“Brook,” Cori said in a scolding tone. “He might not be—”
“I’d love to,” I said, cutting in. “I mean, if it’s okay with your mom.”
Cori nodded. “Sure. If you want to. But remember that if you say you’re coming, it’s important to be there.”
She didn’t know if I could be trusted. I understood that. She’d singlehandedly guarded Brooklyn’s heart all these years, and I couldn’t expect to just walk in and have her trust.
The waitress walked up and eyed us all, waiting for our orders. Brooklyn ordered a grilled cheese and I felt a twist of happiness in my stomach over knowing she liked grilled cheese sandwiches. I wanted to know everything about her.
Our lunch ended too quickly. That hour with Brooklyn wasn’t enough. I’d told myself all I needed was one meeting with her, but now that I knew–really knew–what I’d been missing, I didn’t want to go back to life without her.
“Thanks again,” I said to Cori on the way out of the diner. “I don’t want to overstep, but if there’s any chance I can see her again . . .”
“How about dinner at our house this weekend?”
I looked at her, surprised. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Just make sure you show up if you say you will.”
“I will. Text me when and I’ll be there.”
“When do you work?”
“I can come anytime.”
She gave me a skeptical look as Brooklyn escaped the bitterly cold wind by getting into Cori’s beat up old sedan.
“Do you work? From the way you sent all that money so fast after . . . you know . . . I just wondered where it came from.”
She thought I was a drug dealer. I could see it in her eyes. And no surprise, since I’d been strung out every time we were together ten years ago.
“I’m above board these days,” I said. “No drugs or alcohol. I’m an owner of a club downtown.”
Her eyes brightened. “Which one?”
“Six.”
“Oh, wow. Really? I’ve heard of it.”
I nodded. “I swear I’ll be a good influence in Brooklyn’s life. This chance means so much to me. I won’t fuck it up.”
“Okay.” She moved to open her car door but stopped. “Hey, did you ever get married and have more kids? Does Brook have any half siblings?”
The question caught me off guard. “No.”
She smiled. “Okay. So we’ll see you this weekend.”
I looked in the backseat, where Brooklyn sat looking at me through the window. I raised a hand in a wave and she waved back. And smiled.
I reached into my pocket and took out my phone to call Viv and share every last detail with her.