by Ali Parker
“She’s probably never had to kick someone out before,” Ryan said.
“At least we’re memorable.”
The valet pulled Ryan’s car up, and Ryan helped me inside before hurrying around to climb behind the wheel. We picked up our conversation easily on the drive home, but it ended as soon as Ryan pulled into the parking garage.
In an instant, our easygoing, lighthearted conversation faded into silence. Ryan’s hand was back on my lower back as we walked through the halls. We reached my door, and I cleared my throat, rummaging in my purse for my keys.
When I found them, Ryan dropped his hand and looked down at his feet.
“Thank you for dinner,” I said. “I really did have fun tonight.”
“Me too.” Ryan smiled.
He inched forward, his hand slowly rising to my hip. When he touched me, it was with just the tips of his fingers. My stomach flipped. My breath caught in my throat.
Ryan moved closer, his green eyes unblinking.
I knew the kiss was coming, but I wasn’t prepared. His lips brushed gently over mine. They barely touched at first, hovering just close enough to make me want more.
His fingers trailed over my hip to my back, and he stepped closer. Our lips obeyed our bodies, pressing against each other again and lingering for just a second longer.
Ryan kissed me slowly, making sure I felt it all the way down to my toes.
Then, just like that, it was over.
Ryan stepped back and smiled. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and bounced once on the balls of his feet.
“Do you want to come inside?” I asked suddenly, surprising even myself.
Ryan glanced at the door and then back to me. He looked like he wanted to say yes, but an internal struggle was waging a vicious war inside of him.
“I should get home,” he said. “I have to pick Paisley up early tomorrow morning.”
“Oh.” I nodded, clutching my keys tighter. “Right.”
“I’ll call you, okay?” Ryan said.
“Sure.” I smiled and turned to unlock my door. “Yeah. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Good night.”
Just as I pushed the door open, Ryan turned away, and I was left with a pit in my stomach.
All the times he’d watched me walk away from the coffee shop, I wondered if he felt what I suddenly did—an unexplainable desire to follow.
Chapter 13
Ryan
Max was waiting for me on his front lawn. I pulled into the driveway with dread filling my gut. After each step, my heart pounded a little faster against my ribcage. It wasn’t like Max to leave Paisley inside by herself.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded, stopping in front of him. “What happened? Is she okay?”
Max frowned. “Paisley? Of course,” he said. “She’s fine. She’s still sleeping.”
“Oh.” Exhaling sharply, I ran my fingers through my messy hair. “Jesus. You scared the shit out of me.”
“She’s fine.” Max laughed lightly. “Calm down.”
“You don’t normally wait for me out here.” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Max cleared his throat and dropped his eyes. He shuffled his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets, just like I did whenever my nerves overwhelmed me.
“Listen,” Max finally said. “Last night was pretty rough.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“Paisley was terrible.” Max sighed. “Ryan, she was a brat. I’ve never seen her behave that way before.”
My already narrowed eyes narrowed even further.
“She’s four,” I said pointedly. “Kids act out, Max. It happens.”
“Not like this.” Max shook his head. “She wouldn’t listen to me. She threw her toys. She refused to eat dinner. Ryan, it was bad.”
Stepping around him, I stomped across the yard to the front door.
“Ryan,” Max called after me, jogging to keep up with my angry stride.
I ignored him and pushed the door open. My vision was blurry, I was so angry. Max didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about.
“Ryan.” Max’s voice was calm, determined.
“What?” I rounded on him, our noses less than an inch apart. “What, Max? Do you want to keep insulting my daughter? Because I’m already two seconds away from laying you out all over your living room floor.”
Max didn’t flinch. He stared at me, waiting for my rage to lessen. It didn’t.
“I’m not insulting her,” Max said. “You’re her father. I just thought you would want to know.”
Cursing under my breath, I spun back around. I paced around the living room, making a half circle around the couch and then spinning on my heel and retracing my steps.
“She’s fine,” I snapped. “All little kids act out. It’s perfectly normal.”
“You’re right,” Max said. “It is normal, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a sign of something bigger.”
Scoffing, I shot a glare across the room. “Bigger?”
Max sighed and took two steps forward, his hands held up defensively. I turned away from him, uninterested in whatever he had to say.
“She needs more attention,” Max said. “Not from me. And not from Mrs. Tucker or Timothy the snake. She needs attention from you.”
“I give her attention!”
“You do.” Max nodded quickly. “Ryan, you are a good dad, okay? I know that.”
“Then, what the hell?”
“She needs you around more often,” Max said bluntly. “That’s the problem. That’s why she’s throwing fits and pouting and having an attitude. Because you are a good father, Ryan. And she needs more of that.”
The “fuck you” was poised on my tongue, ready to fly free and embed itself deep in Max’s chest. But I stopped myself.
Turning away from him, I closed my eyes and breathed slowly through my nose. So much of me wanted to hang onto my anger, but I couldn’t. Not when he was right.
“Okay,” I finally said. “Okay, you’re right.”
With a sigh, I turned back to face my brother. For the first time in a long time, Max didn’t look at me with disgust or disapproval. He just walked over to me and slapped his hand down on my shoulder.
“Look,” he said softly. “I don’t say this enough, but I am proud of you, Ryan. I mean, I hate your damn job, but other than that …”
Snorting, I shoved his hand away without malice.
“But,” he said loudly, “when it comes to Paisley, you’re doing okay. Just try to spend more time with her, okay? Plan something special for her. Let her know that even though you have to work, you’re always thinking about her.”
“Yeah.” I sniffed. “Yeah. I can do that.”
Max smiled just as Paisley came running into the living room. When she saw me, her face lit up with so much joy, my heart melted. I could feel my entire body crumble as the leftover anger disappeared.
“Daddy!” Paisley darted into my arms.
Picking her up, I hugged her tightly and closed my eyes.
“Are you working today?” Paisley asked, pulling back to look at me.
“No,” I promised. “I’m not.”
Paisley jumped down and pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!”
“Actually.” I laughed. “I was thinking we’d spend the whole day together. Just you and me. What do you think?”
“Awesome!” Paisley jumped up and down. “I’ll go get my stuff.”
Without a word, she ran to get her bag. When she returned, her smile was so big, I could see all her teeth.
“I’ll make you a deal,” I told her, bending down so our faces were level. “I’ll turn my phone off if you turn off your iPad.”
Paisley didn’t hesitate. “Deal!” she yelled, already pulling it out of her bag.
I turned it and my phone off and then stuffed them both at the bottom of Paisley’s bag. She grinned and grabb
ed my hand.
“Come on!” She yanked me forward.
“Say goodbye to Uncle Max,” I said. “And tell him thank you.”
“Bye! Thank you!”
“Get out of here.” Max jerked his head toward the door. “Have fun.”
“Hey,” I said, catching his eye. “Thank you.”
With a knowing smile, Max ushered us through the door. Paisley pulled me hard to the car, shaking with excitement the whole way.
***
Paisley’s hand felt so tiny in mine. We walked through Central Park, her yanking and pulling me the whole way.
“Where are we going?” she kept asking, but I didn’t have an answer.
“I don’t know,” I said again. “Today is a free-for-all.”
Paisley frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means we can do whatever we want.” I shrugged. “Right now, we’re just walking. Enjoying the sunshine.”
“What are we gonna do next?” she demanded.
“Whatever you want.” I grinned down at her. “Anything at all. You name it and we’ll do it.”
Paisley pursed her lips and looked around. She stopped pulling on my arm but kept her hand pressed tightly in mine.
“Ice cream!” she screamed and darted forward.
I hurried after her, dodging people as we went. By the time we reached the stand, Paisley was giggling, and I was panting.
“Geez, kid.” I laughed. “When did you get so fast?”
“I’m the fastest kid in Mrs. Tucker’s class.” Paisley pumped out her chest proudly. “Everyone knows it. Even though no one really talks to me, they all know it’s true.”
“What do you mean they don’t talk to you?” I asked, my face dropping.
Paisley shrugged, unaffected. “I’m weird,” she said simply.
“Paisley,” I began.
“Dad, we’re next!” She bounced forward and hopped on one foot until I ordered us each a chocolate cone.
Handing Paisley her ice cream, I opened my mouth to ask about school again, but something stopped me. The sight of Paisley lapping up her ice cream like a starving puppy was too cute, too perfect for me to ruin. Today was about being happy together. Everything else could wait.
We sat on a nearby bench to eat our ice cream and point out funny looking birds.
“Look at that one!” Paisley squealed and jumped up. “His head is orange.”
“I love it.” I laughed and broke off a piece of my cone. Throwing it to the ground, I watched the orange-headed bird come closer.
Paisley inched forward, but she wasn’t fast enough. The bird caught sight of her and spread its wings, flying quickly to the side and settling on a trash can.
“Ugh!” Paisley threw her arms up. “One day, I’ll catch one.”
“I’m sure you will.”
When our ice cream was gone, Paisley and I kept walking through the park. No matter how many times I asked what she wanted to do, her answer was always the same.
“I wanna keep walking,” she would say.
We spent all day walking and holding hands, only stopping to eat a couple of hot dogs or grab some water. By the time the sun began to set, Paisley was yawning, and my feet were on fire.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to do?” I asked for the hundredth time. “We can see a movie or something before we go home.”
“No.” Paisley shook her head and tightened her hold on my hand. “I just want to walk with you.”
Smiling, I rubbed my thumb over her tiny hand. We stayed in the park until dinnertime and then I hailed a cab, and we headed home.
Paisley didn’t make it five minutes in the cab before her head collapsed on my shoulder. She was snoring softly as the cab turned down our street.
With her safely in my arms, I pushed open the front door and stepped inside. Paisley stayed asleep the whole way upstairs, only waking as I laid her down on top of her comforter.
“Daddy.” She yawned and stretched her arms above her head.
“Yeah, Pea?” I asked.
“What’s your job?”
Frowning, I helped Paisley take off her shoes and then tuck herself into bed.
“My job?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Paisley nodded. “You’re always working. What do you do when you go to work?”
“Well,” I said, carefully deciding on an answer. “I help women who are struggling.”
“What’s struggling?” Paisley asked.
“It means they’re having a hard time,” I said. “They aren’t very happy.”
Paisley nodded again and laid her head back on her pillow. Her bright green eyes blinked heavily as the day began to take hold of her.
“You’re tired,” I said, standing up. “Get some sleep, Pea.”
“Daddy,” Paisley said again.
“Yeah?”
She pushed herself up slightly. “If you help women feel better, then how come you didn’t help Mommy when she wasn’t happy?”
Closing my eyes, I sat back down on the edge of Paisley’s bed. Sometimes, it was hard to believe she was only four years old.
“Your mom wasn’t just unhappy,” I said. “She was … Well, honey, she just needed some time alone.”
“That’s why she left?” Paisley asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “That’s why she left. She wanted to be by herself, and that’s not something I could help her with.”
“I get it,” Paisley said.
Smiling, I kissed her forehead and turned to leave. “Good night,” I said. “I love you.”
“Hey, Daddy?”
“Yeah?” I asked, turning back around.
“I think it’s okay that Mommy had to leave,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Paisley nodded and yawned. “Because now me and you are best friends. If Mommy was still here, then she would be your best friend, and I wouldn’t be.”
Grinning, I hurried back over to hug her one more time before she fell asleep. Her little arms wrapped themselves around my neck.
“You will always be my best friend,” I promised her.
“Good.” Paisley yawned again, and I knew it was time to let her sleep.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, tiptoeing across the room.
“I love you,” Paisley said sleepily. “Thank you for my walk and my ice cream.”
When I reached the door, her eyes were already closed.
Chapter 14
Candice
Sunday 9:03 a.m.
Good morning, beautiful. When can I see you again?
Sunday 4:17 p.m.
Coffee tomorrow? Same time, same place?
Monday 6:07 a.m.
My ego is totally bruised
Laughing to myself, I scanned Ryan’s text messages. Only three messages since Friday night. Just insistent enough to be cute without crossing over into obsessive.
I knew Ryan spent all of Saturday with his daughter, and most of my weekend had been taken up by work, but as Monday morning rolled around, I finally had to make a decision. Continue playing hard to get or admit just how badly I wanted to see him again.
Can’t today, I wrote. Meetings all day. Craziness for the new line. Wednesday night?
Ryan didn’t text back right away. Glancing at my clock, I realized he was probably getting Paisley ready for school, so I tucked my phone in my desk drawer and focused on work.
Kendra poked her head inside my office a couple minutes later, an apologetic grimace on her face.
I froze immediately, already poised for the bad news. “What’s wrong?”
“Roberto quit.”
My eyes closed, and my head dropped into my hands. This was a fucking nightmare. We were three days away from finalizing the latest issue of Smart Cosmet magazine, and we couldn’t do it without a photographer.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I breathed. Lifting my head, I exhaled slowly and regained my calm demeanor. “It’s fine. It’s all going t
o be fine.”
Kendra stepped inside my office, a pen and paper already in her hand. She sat down in front of me and waited for instructions.
“Call Andres,” I said. “Have him get to the studio immediately. Tell him we just need him for today. Just a few reshoots. The usual fee.”
Kendra’s hand flew over the paper, and she jotted everything down.
“Then,” I said. “Call Roberto and gently remind him of the contract he signed at the start of the year. His ass is legally mine until December thirty-first. If he wants to quit, that’s fine, but I want the retainer returned to me in full.”
Wincing, Kendra’s hand froze, the pen hanging in midair.
“What?” I demanded.
“His lawyer has already been in touch,” Kendra said. “She seems to believe there’s a loophole in his contract, an oversight.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “That’s impossible.”
“I thought so too,” Kendra said. “But Candice, she might be right. Annie from legal is already on it, but we may not be able to move forward until—”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “That’s why we’re calling Andres. Just get him here.”
“On it.”
Kendra jumped up and hurried across the room. Closing my door softly behind her, she left me alone to stew.
Roberto was the best photographer in New York City. Without him, our reshoots would be shit, but we were on a clock. I couldn’t afford to waste another second waiting around for his contract to be reviewed by a team of lawyers.
Groaning, I rolled my neck to the left and then the right. It cracked, and I moaned deeply. Grabbing my phone, I got to my feet and breezed across the room.
As I stepped into the hall, all my anger and frustration disappeared. I had a job to do. My team was waiting for me in the studio. Shoving Roberto to the back of my mind, I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.
Just as the door slid open, my phone chimed in my hand.
Wednesday is practically another lifetime, but I guess I can wait that long. If I have to.
Grinning, I typed out a quick response and stepped off the elevator. My mood had drastically improved by the time I reached the studio.
