Worth It All(31)

“Last one,” the gamer said, interrupting her moment. “Wind it up!”

“Okay, this is for the big win,” Jake said. “You have your eye on a prize, Short Stuff?”

“Yes! That purple bear at the top. I need that one!”

“Well, if you need it, then I better not miss.”

He smiled affectionately at Casey and that, more than anything, went straight to her heart. She hadn’t given much thought to Casey having a father, but her daughter blossomed under his attention. She had to admit, there was a calm, a warm reassurance being with him. Something she wouldn’t have known how to explain until she felt it. It had been like that all day, mingling in a crowded flock of people, but under Jake’s protective wing.

He drew back his arm with the last ball, hurled it at the farthest target. He hit it dead-on and was rewarded with Casey’s squeal of delight. Her daughter’s smile when she hugged the bear to her chest was her own reward.

Still feeling a little off-kilter by a simple kiss on the cheek, she suggested a food break. After all, it had been at least an hour since they last ate.

They found a shady spot and Casey sat between them, licking the edges of her soft-serve cone. She and Jake shared a jumbo pretzel with loads of salt and a zigzag of bright yellow mustard.

She watched Casey mashing her mouth into the ice cream, making lip prints, but she felt Jake staring at the side of her face and she turned her head. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“What? Do I have stuff on my face?”

Jake shared a look with Casey, and she giggled.

He pointed at her cheek, but his eyes were on her lips.

Her hands were full of pretzel and drink so she reached for it with her tongue. The hot look in Jake’s eyes made her stop.

“You could lick it off,” Casey suggested to Jake. “Like a cat.”

Jake’s heated gaze flared, then his eyes widened like he’d been caught doing something naughty. He looked from her to Casey and back again, and she laughed. Really, really laughed and kissed Casey’s cheek. “I love you, but you are the worst chaperone ever.”

The sun finished its slide beneath the horizon, and the fairgrounds were transformed into twinkling light. Jake suggested one last ride before leaving the fair to the younger crowd. By the time they reached the line for the Ferris wheel, their chaperone had fallen off the job completely. Casey’s head rested on Jake’s shoulder with one arm hanging limply down her side and her other small hand tucked under her cheek.

And she hadn’t thought he could be any more attractive. Wrong. So wrong.

They shuffled forward a few steps at a time as the previous riders exited and new riders got on.

“Should we wake her?” he asked.

“Nah. I hate for her to miss it, but waking her could go very, very badly.” And she wouldn’t mind having Jake to herself for a few minutes.

His hand grazed her lower back as they took another step. She’d never considered herself lonely, but she felt especially not lonely when she was with Jake.

The Ferris wheel spun and their turn came. Jake ushered her in first, holding out a hand, which she took, bypassing the attendant’s. He scooted into the small space on her left until they pressed together shoulder to thigh. When the small door was closed and secured, they were lifted into the air before stopping to let new riders on behind them.

Jake adjusted Casey in his lap so that she was sitting on his left knee, her head lolling against his chest. She wouldn’t mind being snuggled against him with his arms wrapped around her. “You sure you don’t want me to take her?”

“She’s fine,” he said, a soft smile on his lips as he looked down at her daughter.

The picture they made was sweet and she found herself smiling too. She didn’t know that Casey had ever been held by a man before. She’d had male doctors, but there was no father or grandfather or uncle in her life. He glanced up and their eyes met, because while he’d been looking at Casey, she’d been looking at him.

His chocolate-brown eyes met hers in a way that brought out her rambling. “She’s out. I think she’s had all the fun she can stand for one day.” She brushed the unruly waves back from Casey’s face. “She’s still a pretty good napper,” she went on. “So I’m not surprised. I hope she doesn’t drool on you. Or throw up.” They both glanced down at Casey’s face. “I don’t even want to think about what she ate today.”

“Partly my fault,” Jake said.

“Yes. It is,” she agreed with a smile. His fault because it had been a day of yeses. Anything Casey wanted. Balloons—two, and both had gotten away—games, rides, food. There hadn’t been a single no.