The Hot Daddy Box Set

by Lexi Wilson

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Brett?”

  “Did you think you were dialing someone else, Evie? I mean, you called me.”

  “No, no, I meant to call you.” There was a pause, and I wasn’t sure if she was still there.

  “Evie?”

  “Oh! Sorry,” she apologized quickly. “Did you...I mean...” She let out a sigh, and I could hear her muttering to herself, but I couldn’t make out the words, so I assumed she pulled the phone away from her ear, so I waited patiently for her to return. “Thank you,” she said when she finally came back on the line.

  I smiled. My present must have gotten to her. “Did you enjoy your treat?” I asked her.

  She giggled. “I can’t believe they make pineapple daisies.”

  “I thought it was kismet when I found that particular bouquet. You love daisies.”

  “It is definitely something.”

  “Have you eaten it all?”

  “Not all of it, but at least half. Thank you again.”

  “You’re welcome. Just wanted to send something to brighten your day.”

  “I appreciate it. An edible arrangement is far more fun to receive than just flowers.”

  “Really I just wanted an excuse to send you pineapple. I still can't believe it's what you crave.”

  “Neither can I.” There was a beat where neither one of us said anything, and despite the silence, I felt something warm spread through my chest. “Well, I guess I’ll let you go,” Evie finally said softly.

  “Evie, um, I was actually about to call you before you called me. I had a question for you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Uh, do you think it would be possible to switch my day with Hannah from Wednesday to Thursday? Something has come up, and I have an important meeting Wednesday afternoon, and I wouldn't be back in time to pick her up from school.”

  “Oh,” she said again, but her tone was different. The softness was replaced with a hard edge.

  “I wouldn't ask if this wasn't important, you know that. Just...please, Evie.”

  “Fine,” she agreed grudgingly. “It’s fine. I’ll make sure she gets to choir practice.”

  “I’ll be back in time to take her and bring her home if you want.”

  “No, Brett, I’ve got it.”

  “I’ll see you there then.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to though. Evie, I swear, I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren't for a good reason; you know that.”

  “What’s more important than your daughter?” she asked sharply.

  I wanted to say something mean-spirited but I bit my tongue at her words. I hadn’t let go of all my anger just yet, and she didn't need to know why I needed to change my day, or what my meeting was about, and what it could mean for us. Not yet anyway. “You have to trust me, Evie,” I replied. “Just know I wouldn't ask you to do this for nothing. I want to spend every minute you’ve given me with Hannah. I don’t take a second of it for granted.”

  “It’s fine, Brett,” she said, her voice softening just a bit. “I’m sure it’s important.”

  “It is.”

  “I’ll talk to you later I guess.”

  “You will,” I promised. “And if you need anything, you know just to ask, right?”

  “I know.”

  “Okay, good. Have a good rest of your day, Evie.”

  “You too, Brett,” she said before hanging up.

  I stared at my phone for a long moment before setting it down with a smile. I could tell that Evie was miffed about my request to change night during the week, but I also could feel a shift between us. Things were starting to look up, I just knew it. I needed everything to go perfectly with my interview, and then I could really start piecing my life back together with Evie.

  I headed out to the grocery store a short time later to grab a few things for the house. As I pushed my cart down the cereal aisle, I spotted Matthew coming towards me.

  “Matthew,” I called out. “Hey, man,” I smiled.

  “Uh, hey, Brett,” he said unsurely.

  “Look, I just wanted to say that I’m not going to tell Evie you came and saw me.”

  A look of relief washed over his face. “I shouldn't have broken her confidence. I was just so angry with her.”

  “You don’t have to explain yourself. Just know that it's between us and it will stay between us, I promise. She told me, and that’s all that matters.”

  “You two are okay?”

  “We will be,” I replied confidently. “I have a job interview Wednesday, a good one that will let me continue to enjoy my passion for photography but also keep me right here where I belong.”

  Matthew smiled. “She’s scared, but she cares. Give her time, and she’ll let go of those fears.”

  “Fingers crossed,” I replied. Matthew chuckled. “What’s funny?” I asked him.

  “She uses that same expression. In fact, she used it yesterday when we were talking. You two are more in sync than you realize.”

  “You don’t know how much that means to me to hear you say. It means we have hope, and I can live with that for now.”

  Chapter 28

  Evie

  Hannah had been disappointed and upset that Brett wouldn’t be picking her up from school on Wednesday, but once I told her that she would see him Thursday instead, she seemed okay with it. I wondered what he had going on that would have him asking to change his day with her, and I let my mind wander to worst-case scenarios, like meeting up with his former bosses and taking a new assignment to who knew where, leaving Hannah and me alone again.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d made it through to the night’s choir practice as my thoughts kept straying to Brett, wondering what he was up to, and what news was going to come from him next after this meeting he was having. I tried to tell myself that he wasn’t going back out, but my head ran with every scary thought that popped up instead. I wanted him here, with Hannah and me and this baby.

  Hannah and I arrived early to choir practice and to my surprise, Brett was already there, standing near the front of the room waiting for practice to start. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him still dressed up from whatever meeting he had been at. He looked so ridiculously handsome, and I sort of hated him for bouncing back and being a better version of the man I remembered while I was getting bigger and rounder every day of this pregnancy. I basically waddled everywhere I went, and it was not a cute look. When I had been pregnant with Hannah, I had glowed and had an adorable little baby bump, but this time around, not only was the kid a ninja who had me craving pineapple, but I felt as big as a house and still had four months to go.

  I started forward to see if he wanted to sit together, but I stopped when a woman approached him. I was surprised that it wasn’t Monica, but instead the new single mother who had just recently joined our church. I watched for a moment as she introduced herself and Brett politely smiled a greeting in return. I walked a little bit closer so I could hear them.

  “We just moved here a month ago, and I still find myself getting lost most days. I just have no sense of direction,” the woman giggled.

  “The town isn’t that big; I’m sure you’ll get it sooner rather than later,” Brett replied.

  “Maybe you can help be my tour guide.” She reached out and touched his arm when she said it, and I rolled my eyes. “Perhaps over dinner tomorrow? I can get a babysitter.”

  My fists balled at my side. I wanted to throat punch this woman I had never met because she was flirting with Brett, yet I had no claim to him. I wanted one though and the thought made me step back in surprise.

  “I have my daughter tomorrow, sorry,” he told her.

  “How about Friday?”

  “Listen, you seem nice, but I’m really just trying to make up for lost time with my daughter. I worked a lot until recently, and I just want to spend time getting to know her again. I’m not looking for any sort of relationship.”

&nbs
p; “I’m not looking for any sorry of relationship either. We can keep this casual, no strings.”

  I couldn't believe how forward this woman was being. I knew I had to bite my tongue, but I couldn’t stop myself from eavesdropping. I had to know what Brett would say next.

  I watched as Brett’s gaze moved to the group of kids waiting for practice to start. When he saw Hannah, he smiled as he watched her. When she noticed him, she waved and ran over to hug him. He bent down to hug her back, and when the choir teacher called everyone over, he watched as she scampered off to join the others again.

  “I’m really sorry, Melissa, but I’m just not interested. But you know, there is another single mom here, Monica. I bet she could use a friend she has so much in common with. If you’ll excuse me,” Brett said to her before walking away and taking a different seat to watch practice.

  I heard her scoff and mutter under her breath as she huffed past me up the aisle and I couldn't help but smile to myself as I took a seat to watch practice myself.

  When it ended, Hannah made a beeline for Brett, who scooped her up. He turned, and his eyes fell on me as he smiled and headed directly towards me. “Hey,” Brett greeted me.

  “Hi,” I replied, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

  “Thanks for being so understanding and letting me switch to tomorrow to have Hannah; I really appreciate it.”

  “Oh, sure, sure, no problem,” I answered. “I hope your meeting went well.”

  He beamed. “It did actually. I got a job.”

  I felt my heart sink at his words. A job. He was leaving us again. He was going back out and putting himself in the line of danger for a photograph. I wanted to scream and shout and hit him, but I took a deep breath instead and let it out slowly.

  I tried to put on a happy face, but I wasn’t sure I accomplished it when I heard my voice crack. “That’s great, Brett.”

  “You’re leaving, Daddy?” Hannah asked sadly. Her expression had fallen, and I could tell she was on the verge of tears.

  Brett squeezed her to him and kissed her cheek. “I'm not going anywhere, Hannah Banana.”

  “You’re not?” I asked.

  He looked at me and stared into my eyes. “I’m never leaving you again. I promised, and I intend to keep it. I’m going to teach photography at the college.”

  “You’re going to teach?” I asked.

  “Yep. And I’m really excited about it. I think it’s going to be fantastic.”

  “Well, congratulations.”

  “Thanks, Evie. Have you guys eaten? I came straight here and didn’t stop and get anything first.”

  “No, we were going to grab something on the way home.”

  “We could all go to celebrate if you want,” Brett suggested.

  “Please, Mommy, can we go?” Hannah begged.

  “Sure, we can go.”

  We made our way to a small diner not far from the church and were seated at a booth. Brett sat beside Hannah, and I sat across from them. We had been going to the diner for years so none of us needed to look at a menu. We ordered when a waitress came to take our drink order.

  “How was school today, Hannah Banana?” Brett asked while we waited.

  “I won the spelling bee in my classroom today!” she told him excitedly.

  “That’s my girl. I’m so proud of you,” he beamed.

  “Thanks,” she said before grabbing the crayons on the table and beginning to color.

  “What about you?” Brett asked. “Good day?”

  “The ninja didn’t tap dance on every organ I have, so that was nice,” I told him.

  He laughed. “I bet.”

  “Other than that, it was a pretty ordinary day.”

  “Everything with the baby is okay?”

  “Oh, ninja baby is fine. Me, on the other hand, I’m more tired than I remember being when I was pregnant with Hannah, but I’m hoping that passes soon. I could really use a good night's sleep to keep up with my students. I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to a break from school as much as I am the winter break coming up.”

  “Why don’t you let me take Hannah home tonight, so you can just sleep, Evie? I don’t mind, and you need to take care of yourself and the baby.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “It’s settled then.”

  “Thank you. So, tell me about this job. Are you excited?”

  “I’m excited I get to work but don’t have to leave the country to do it. UConn is only forty-five minutes up the road, so I can be home every night. I think I’ll like pursuing my passion in a new way too. Teaching others the tricks of the trade I’ve learned over the years. That publisher has been back in contact since I got home too; they still want to go forward with my coffee table book, and they want me to write my memoir too.”

  “That’s fantastic, Brett. I don’t think I ever thought there would come a day when we both were in the same profession.”

  “You know, I hadn't even thought about that, but you’re right.”

  “So, how did you hear about the job anyway?”

  “Funnily enough, my dad.”

  “Really? Your dad knows people at UConn?” I asked.

  “Apparently the dean is one the members of his golf club, and when he realized I was his son, he told him about an opening and put in a good word after I submitted my resume.”

  “Small world, right?” I smiled.

  “Yeah, no kidding.”

  “Well, I'm really happy you’ll be around,” I admitted. “Because if this kid continues to be such a ninja, I’m going to need help keeping him in line.”

  “I can’t believe we’re having another baby, Evie,” he said softly, reaching across the table to wrap his fingers around mine. I smiled up at him shyly.

  “Me either. I was pretty scared for a while.”

  “I hope not anymore,” he said and searched my expression like he was scared I’d say something he didn’t want to hear.

  “No, not anymore,” I smiled.

  He smiled in return. “Maybe me and you can do something soon, just the two of us?”

  “Are you asking me on a date, Brett Capal?”

  “I believe I am.”

  The thought both excited me and scared me. “I think I would like that very much,” I replied.

  Our moment was interrupted as our food arrived, and I reluctantly pulled my hand away from his when Hannah looked up. We all dug into our meals, enjoyed our dinner, and after we walked out to our cars. He buckled Hannah into his car while I watched, and after he closed the door, he walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. He kissed my cheek, and I felt it everywhere.

  “I’ll call you,” he promised.

  I nodded and got into my car after he let me go. He watched until I lost sight of him in my rearview mirror. I was still a little scared of how things might turn out with him, but I could no longer deny the butterflies in my stomach every time I was around him either.

  Chapter 29

  Brett

  When I took Hannah to school the next morning, I looked for Evie. She usually helped with the car rider line, and I was surprised not to see her out front. As I left the lot, I tried to look for her car, but I didn’t see it anywhere in the teacher’s lot either. Instead of heading home, I pointed my car towards our house to check on her. On my way, I made a quick stop at the store to pick up a few things.

  Sure enough, her car sat in the driveway when I reached the house. I parked behind her and made my way to the front door. I knocked, and after a moment I could see her shadow approaching the door.

  “Brett! What are you doing here?”

  She reached for her hair, which was pulled up in a messy bun, smoothing the hairs in the front. She was still in her pajamas, little sleep shorts and a t-shirt that I recognized as one of my old shirts. She blushed as I looked her up and down.

  “You look gorgeous, Evie.”

  “I look a mess.”

  “Can I come in?”

  She stepped aside
so I could pass and closed the door behind me. “What are you doing here?” she repeated as we stood in the foyer.

  “You weren’t at school, so I wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay.”

  “I took a mental health day is all. I think I told you that I haven't been sleeping well since the ninja is so dang active, and I just needed to try and catch up on some sleep.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing I stopped and grabbed some things that might help then,” I told her, holding up the bags from the store. “Go sit down, and I’ll bring you some tea and then I can rub your feet. That helped while you were pregnant with Hannah, remember?”

  “I remember,” she replied softly.

  “Go get comfortable on the couch,” I prodded her. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She nodded and shuffled off to the living room while I went to the kitchen. Despite being gone for the last several months, everything was exactly where I remembered. I boiled water for tea, and while I waited on that, I grabbed a small platter and filled it with some of the foods I had bought. When the tea was ready, I fixed two mugs and then brought everything into the living room. Evie was stretched out on the couch, her head laid back on the pillows and her eyes closed. When she heard me enter the room, her eyes opened, and she smiled softly at me as I arranged everything on the coffee table. She sat up, and I handed her a mug of tea as she inspected the tray of food.

  “Is that...are those cut up Slim Jims?” she asked before starting to laugh. “Oh my gosh, those are pieces of Slim Jims.”

  “You love Slim Jims about as much as you do peanut butter, but since you have an aversion to that right now, I thought I’d get these.”

  “You cut them up.”

  “It’s all about presentation. You’ve got your meat, some cheese,” I continued, pointing to the cubes of cheese on the platter, “and then your fruit.”