“Damn straight, including me.”
She scoffed. “I’ve seen all I need to see.”
“Then get the hell out.” I pointed at the door. “You’re the one who wanted to stay, to take care of Gigi.”
“I didn’t want to stay. You made me stay.”
“If you want to take care of my daughter, yeah.”
“Your daughter. About time she was your daughter. You talk about her like she’s your possession, but you don’t even know her. Seven years of nothing, and now she’s your precious little girl.”
“Listen. Get this through your head.” I leaned down until I could almost feel the fear coming off her in waves. “I never had a father—nothing. So I wouldn’t know, would I? How to be, I mean. And I didn’t know about her until Monday. So excuse me, Miss Perfect, if I’m doing the best I can and it’s not good enough for you. I’d hate to be in the shoes of any man who tried to be good enough for you.”
I walked away then. I was afraid of what else I would say if I didn’t. I sat down at the poker table and didn’t get up for hours. By the time I left the game, she was gone. Probably in bed.
Only she wasn’t. She was in my office, curled up on the sofa by the wall. I looked around, wondering what the hell was going on. I knew Erica already set her up with a room.
I nudged her gently to get her to wake up. She sat up fast, shaking her head.
“Shoot. I didn’t mean to fall asleep like that.”
I shrugged it off. “It’s okay. I was just coming in to turn off the computer. What’s up? Something wrong with your room?”
She shook her head, stretching. I couldn’t help looking at her body when she did, especially when she pulled her arms back behind her and showed off her tits. Even in a baggy t-shirt I saw that what she had going on was mouthwatering.
“I wanted to apologize,” she murmured. Her eyes were on the floor. I knew it wasn’t easy for her to say it.
“For what?” I couldn’t help it. I wanted her to admit what a bitch she was earlier.
“For trying to make you feel bad. You’re right—there are all different ways to be a father. I can’t give you crap for it. You don’t know what you’re doing. By this time, most dads would have seven years of experience under their belts. You don’t have seven days.”
“That’s true.” I leaned on my desk, facing her. “I’m only doing what I can. I’m guessing most of the time.”
“You’re doing well,” she said. “When I thought about it—the way she’s so happy here, or seems to be, the way she’s so comfortable in her room. The way you’ve eaten her favorite food every night to keep her satisfied?” She grinned.
I grinned, too. “Yeah, I’m getting kinda sick of spaghetti. If she likes anything else, and you know about it, tell me. Please.”
She laughed. “I’ll have to think about it. How do you feel about chicken nuggets, though?”
I groaned. “We’ll have to make something separate for her.” Jamie laughed again.
“I know you’re trying. This is all new to me, too. Your world.” She motioned with her arms to take in the whole building and everything in it. “I’m not used to the partying, the drinking and card playing, and all that stuff. I don’t feel comfortable, I guess. And I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“What do you do for fun, then?”
“Fun?” Her face was blank.
“Yeah. Fun. You know.”
“Nothing specific.”
“Don’t you have friends?”
“Oh, yeah. We hang out sometimes, drink wine, watch our favorite TV shows. Now that Downton Abbey is over, I don’t know what we’ll do. Though I like Game of Thrones, too.”
“I love Game of Thrones.”
“Really?” Her face lit up.
“See? We have that in common.”
“We have Gigi in common, too,” she said, softly. “And you have to forgive me, but I’ve been looking after her since late August. I started packing two lunches to make sure she always has something to eat. I keep snacks in my desk drawer for her. I keep an eye on her shoes to see when she needs a new pair. Rae doesn’t do those things. She’s sort of been my project for the year. So it’s hard for me to give that up.”
“You don’t have to give it up. She needs all the help she can get.”
“True.” Jamie smirked.
“Be nice.” Her face went blank again, and I went on. “We can work together. We don’t have to work against each other. I want her to be happy. You want her to be happy.”