“Oh, Luke,” I whisper. She is going to love that so much. I wonder to myself how he knew or if he even knows that ‘dolphin’ is what I call her when she has been swimming all day. If he does know, he must have talked to Adam. Bending down and giving my girl a soft kiss on her cheek, I go to my room and grab my phone off of the dresser to call Adam. He answers on the first ring.
“Hey, brat.”
“Hey, Adam,” I reply, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“How did everything go tonight?”
“It went good, actually. Before he got here she was a little scared, but once they saw each other it was love at first sight. Do you have any idea how much of a relief it is to know that they know about each other?”
“Actually, I do. When you called and told me about it I was relieved, too. Lucy is one lucky girl to have so many people who love her. And wait until Camillia sees her. That poor girl is going to be smothered to death.” We both start laughing, anticipating how much Luke’s mom is going to spoil our girl.
As our laughter dies down, I turn serious. “Adam, the other reason why I am calling is because I need to talk to you about Aunt Judy’s house. I can’t take Luke’s daughter away from him now, so I am going to call the clinic tomorrow and tell them what is going on. At some point I am sure I will have to fly down there and take care of everything with the house and all the other stuff, but I guess Lucy and I will be moving here.”
Adam gives a grunt of approval. “Knew you would be moving here already, Shayne. You have always put her first.”
“Thanks, Adam.”
“No thanks needed, girl, it’s the truth,” he tells me, then asks, “When are you going to see him again?”
I heave a deep sigh before answering him. Today went so much better than I could have ever imagined, therefore I am not sure why spending the day at Luke’s house tomorrow is troubling me as much as it is. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t know where the two of us stand with each other anymore. We talked a little bit after going to tell his parents about Lucy. I do feel so much better about things, but I still can’t help wondering how Luke truly feels about all of this.
You know what? I can’t let myself worry about that right now. Like Adam just said, I always put my daughter first and I will continue to do so. I push all those thoughts out of my mind and answer Adam’s question.
“Tomorrow morning. He is taking us out to Beach Paradise for pancakes and then to his house so Lucy can swim. He also says we have to talk and I am sure it is about Lucy.”
“You can handle it, Shayne. Just keep being honest like you have been and it will all work out. Call me if you need me.”
“I will. Good night.” And with that I get myself ready for bed and dream about the dark haired, green-eyed man who I am bound and determined to make listen to me.
Chapter Fifteen
“Wake up, Mommy,” Lucy whispers in my ear, taking me out of my sleep-deprived state. I look over to the clock. 7:02. I lay my head back down on the pillow and look into the big bright eyes of my daughter, who is holding her dolphin in her arms.
“What do you have here, Lucy?” I ask with a yawn.
Her smile is a mile wide. “It’s a dolphin! Did you get it for me?”
“Nope, not me. I think your Daddy got it for you. He tucked you in bed last night after you fell asleep. We need to get cleaned up and get our things together now because Daddy wants to take us to breakfast and have pancakes before we go to his house.”
“Pancakes are so good! Come on, Mommy, let’s get up and go.”
“You have to take a shower and brush your teeth first, little girl.”
Before I even throw the covers off of me, she is jumping off of the bed and heading to the shower.
I get Lucy all cleaned up and she picks out a bright orange tank top and a cute pair of white shorts with orange flowers embroidered on them. Deciding that she is going to bring the new bathing suit I bought her, she packs it and her dolphin into her backpack with a few games that she wants to play. Leaving her in her room watching cartoons and playing, I take my own shower, pulling deep within myself for the strength I need to talk to Luke today.
After showering, I braid my hair off to the side and finish up my morning routine. I choose an off the shoulder gray dress and my white bikini to wear, then grab my phone and send Luke a text telling him we are ready to go. He responds back immediately telling me he can be at the restaurant in fifteen minutes.
I get Lucy from her room and gather all of our stuff. We lock up and walk outside where the sun is shining so brightly and the birds are chirping. I stash our bags in the front seat of the car and buckle Lucy up in the back. I push my sunglasses onto my face and set off to enjoy the day as a family, just like it should be.