“I LOVE THIS PLACE. So much.” Thea McNally waved her arms in the air of the spacious café nestled in the back of the science museum. Sunlight poured in from overhead skylights and the long line of windows showed an unbroken mat of green grass. “I could live here.”
Brisa enjoyed the innocent and uncontained joy on Wade’s daughter’s face. Thea hadn’t learned to worry about what other people thought of it yet. “You required a pool when you moved into Concord Court. I guess the aquarium counts here?” She checked her phone for the time. “Why don’t you have every exhibit memorized? I know this isn’t your first visit.” Her plan had been for one planetarium show. Thea had changed that to two shows.
Only hunger pains had stopped her from pressing for more.
Brisa’s phone showed no texts, no messages. Concord Court was fine without her.
So was Wade’s date, apparently. Brisa put her phone facedown. He and Mira were having a good time. Why didn’t that make her happier?
What would she have done if either one of them had backed out at the last minute?
Since she’d had to force herself to walk away from Wade that morning, Brisa might have celebrated. Then all three of them would be here. Together.
“Last year, I came with my class.” Thea shrugged before she took a bite of her salad. “We had to stay together, and the class voted to explore the fish in the aquarium. Fish are smart. Water is for swimming in, not pointing and banging on glass to get the shark’s attention.” Her tone made it clear how silly she knew that was. Stars would always win in her book.
“I agree. Banging on glass is always a bad idea.” Brisa reached for her phone again but forced her hands into her lap. “Who’s your best friend at school?” Before picking Thea up, Brisa had wondered what they would chat about. Luckily, she and Thea were good talkers.
The way Thea’s eyes darted to her face made her wonder if she’d touched a sore subject. As she recalled, girls Thea’s age could fight over anything, but they were friends again the next day.
“Isabel, I guess, but…” Thea fiddled with her fork. “I’m not sure she likes me that much.”
Brisa sat up straight in her chair. Someone didn’t like Thea McNally? Unbelievable. Then she realized she was ready to go fight Isabel’s mother over her daughter’s poor judgment, and forced herself to relax. This kid was awesome. Everyone should see that. “Why would you say that?” There. Reasonable. She’d channel Reyna and pursue this line of questioning in an adult manner.
“She didn’t invite me to her sleepover until my mother called her mother.” Thea shrugged. “Sometimes I talk too much about things kids don’t care about.”
Brisa crumpled up her napkin and realized that Thea’s confidence was less sturdy than she’d thought. “I get that. I have that trouble with some of my friends, too.” She did. If she was throwing Daddy’s money around, she had plenty of people to call. Buckling down to do a job had cut way back on those friends. Even Reggie would fade away soon. “What does Isabel like?”
Thea frowned as she considered that question. “Fish?”
Brisa bit back her smile. Thea was guessing. Had she ever taken the time to ask Isabel a question, or had she launched in the final frontier and talked nonstop?
“That’s good. You know something about fish. You could talk to her about that.” Brisa quickly continued. “If she likes fish, I bet she likes swimming.” Was it true? Brisa was way out on a limb here, but she was going to follow it. “Do you think she has synchronized swimming talent?”
Thea blinked. “We’ve never had a pool to practice, but now I do. She could visit me when I’m at Daddy’s and we could give it a try.” She chewed her salad as she worked it through in her head. “I’ll ask her tonight at the sleepover. Good idea, Brisa.”
Brisa winked and sipped her tea, forcing herself not to stare at her phone.
“Did you know they had a show about dark matter when you said that this morning or do you know something about space?” Thea’s eyes were locked on Brisa’s face. The answer was important.
In the past, Brisa might have tried to impress Wade’s daughter by rattling off the few bits she’d managed to pick up. Why it mattered so much that Thea McNally thought well of her when Brisa could barely remember meeting another child her age before deserved some reflection. Later.
Along with why successfully setting Wade up with someone as great as Mira didn’t feel like a win. It was too easy imagining them falling into a friendly, easy love and it burned at the same time.
“I researched the museum before I picked you up this morning. I wanted to impress you. Dark matter sounded spacey, so I guessed you’d be interested.” Brisa waved at the open café. “I like it here, too. Can you imagine how bored you would be stuck in my place or yours for hours on end?”
Thea frowned. “We could be at the pool. I like the pool.”
“Your nose is already peeling from so much time in the sunshine. It’s good to have other hobbies.” Brisa took the last bite of her garden salad, chosen more to impress Thea than to answer any hunger pains. She’d almost ordered the chicken salad sandwich. Her vegetarian friend would not have approved. “When you’re my age, you might thank me for saving your skin a little sun.”
“When I’m your age, skin cancer will be cured.” Thea’s matter-of-fact tone was cute. Brisa hoped her optimism was rewarded.
“What about fine lines? Aging? Don’t you watch enough television to know that women of a certain age, like me, and you someday in the very distant future, should avoid the appearance of getting older?” Brisa asked, curious about her reaction. Thea McNally had no intention of pretending to be interested in things that didn’t matter to her. What would she say?
Her response: a long look of rebuke.
“Good answer, Thea. I like it.” Brisa held up her hand for a high five. When Thea laughed, Brisa added, “Spend plenty of time in the sunshine, but learn to love other things, too. I used to come to the museum when I was in school. Back in the ancient days, the space was smaller, and the technology—not so much, but that’s all changed. I was always fascinated by archaeology, how the past is literally under our feet if we can find it.” Brisa sipped her drink. “I felt like I was flying through space today.”
Thea nodded wildly. “Yeah. It’s too bad you’re too old to be an astronaut. It would be fun to go to space with a friend.”
Too old to be an astronaut. Brisa had to bite her lips as she shoved the rest of her salad away. That would put a woman in her spot, for sure.
Then she realized Thea had said “friend.” They were friends.
How fun it would be to have a front-row seat to Thea’s adventures. “You know who’s not too old? Isabel.” Brisa waved her fork at Thea to encourage her to make another effort with the fish fan.
Brisa watched Thea finish her salad, amazed all over again at how mature Wade’s daughter was most of the time and how easy it was to be with her. Thea didn’t pretend or cover up her emotions; she lived loudly and with her heart on her sleeve. Here, she was swinging her legs in her chair in a manner that would have irritated Brisa’s father, the rhythmic thump of her heels hitting the legs loud enough to hear.
How did Brisa know it would annoy Luis Montero? She’d initiated more than one experiment to prove it. Growing up, Brisa had learned early how to push his buttons. He didn’t listen, so she made sure to get his attention any way she could.
Maybe he hadn’t been the only one who could have made their relationship easier.
“How do you know you want to be an astronaut?” Brisa asked. Could this kid explain how to pick a career? Brisa had fought to win her spot at Concord Court but teetering on the edge of failure made it tempting to admit defeat and walk away.
That wasn’t going to happen this time. She might have landed on her last chance to redeem herself in her family’s eyes.
Thea frowned
. “I don’t remember where I got the idea.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t want to go to space. It’s beautiful. I can imagine my life there and not here.”
Brisa gathered up their trash as she evaluated that. At nine, Brisa had imagined modeling, acting, seeing new cities and doing exactly what she wanted when she wanted to do it. She’d done it all, too. Now every part of her imaginary future took place at Concord Court.
Parts of her plan for the next stage of her life were hazy, but she could easily make out the backdrop. Wrought-iron fence around a sparkling pool. A spacious office with a heavy oak desk. Sean and Reyna grossing her out with cuteness; her father and Marisol were hazy on the periphery.
Reggie didn’t make the picture.
“Should we go check on your father?” Brisa asked. Unless she presented a good alternative, Thea would push for sitting through the next show at the planetarium, too. And Brisa was planning on keeping both feet on the ground.
Thea nodded. “After we stop at the gift shop. I have money to spend.” She tapped her backpack and led the way.
Brisa didn’t laugh out loud, but it was nice to find something they truly had in common.
They browsed in the shop for the perfect souvenir for some time. Thea eventually picked a glow-in-the-dark water bottle because it would be “easier to find in the middle of the night” and a book about string theory that Brisa asked zero questions about. She had no clue how anyone other than rocket scientists would read or understand it, but Thea opened it as soon as they got in the car and started flipping pages.
There were pictures. Maybe Brisa should borrow it sometime.
Watching Thea read while she drove tickled her memory of once doing the same.
They’d almost made it back to Concord Court when Thea asked in a distracted tone, “Why don’t you want to go out on a date with my dad?” She didn’t look up from the book in her lap, so Brisa had a minute to close her mouth and gather herself.
The direct approach was Thea’s MO. Brisa would have to adjust.
“Your dad is great but…” Brisa managed to stop at a light that had turned yellow. “Mira has a lot in common with him. I don’t.” She fiddled with her seat belt, which had decided to strangle her at some point on the drive. “I’m already dating someone.”
Thea’s head popped up at that. “Oh.” She pursed her lips. “Is it serious?”
Brisa blinked and then took her foot off the brake when someone behind her beeped their horn. “No, it isn’t. And that’s why I like it.” Was that even true anymore? It was what she’d told herself and her father more than once, but it wasn’t satisfying this time.
“My dad is serious, but not always. Mom says he deserves to be as happy as she is with Steven. She was trying to convince me that his dating was a good thing, but I already knew that.” Thea closed her book and slipped it into the backpack she’d faithfully kept up with all day long. “He missed a lot while he was in the Navy. He should have everything now. I like you.” She propped her elbow on the window. “Wonder if there’s enough shade over the pool to swim yet.”
That glow that came from her approval washed over Brisa again. Thea was a tough customer. Her acceptance was sweet.
“You don’t have to worry about your dad spending time with anyone you don’t like. You’re his favorite everything,” Brisa said, even though she was tempted to let the conversation fade away. “You know that, right?” Wade’s affection for Thea was obvious. He left no doubts how he felt, even if he was confused, alarmed or outright flabbergasted by his daughter.
“His favorite everything?” Thea frowned. “I don’t know about that. We argue. He’s too bossy, treats me like a baby, like this morning, saying you should carry our money. I have my own savings account.” The kid ducked her chin in a “can you even?” expression. “He loves me anyway. Sometimes we had to go a long time with just phone calls, but he always told me how much he missed me.” She shrugged. “He always remembered the things that mattered. Always. My birthdays, first day of school, the time I won second place for selling the most candy bars in the first grade.” She wrinkled her nose. “My mom did all the work, so I didn’t mind not winning the pizza party so much. My dad paid for my mom to order pizza anyway. He was still in South Korea. I never visited him there because it’s so far and I was too little then.”
Wade had made Thea a priority, even when he was a continent away.
Thea argued with her parents, but she never doubted their love.
He was worried about his relationship with his growing daughter, probably because he felt guilty for not being physically near, but he’d always done his best. Thea knew that.
Brisa wondered if she’d ever considered that her own father had been doing the same thing.
“I mean, you should have heard Daddy cursing when he thought I couldn’t hear while he was installing the system to control the lights in my new room. My mom? She would have thrown everything in the box and sent it back. She would have been sorry, but she wouldn’t have spent twenty minutes on hold to get tech support.” Thea sighed. “I love her, but she is not good with tools or instructions. Now that they’re both here, I can have it all.”
Kids were so funny. She’d had no idea. Brisa couldn’t help but chuckle at Thea’s smug satisfaction. Wade and his ex-wife were raising a young woman who knew her worth, what she deserved and what she could accomplish. Divorce could have derailed that. Military life could have interfered. Their own flaws could have changed Thea’s view of herself.
Brisa was learning how easy it would be to fall in love with a man who was this kind of parent. The ache in her chest was back, the gooey emotional melt that never happened when Reggie was around.
It was tempting to tell herself she deserved a man who made her melt.
What did Wade deserve?
More than a mess who depended on Daddy to live, for sure. Mira had proven herself through public service, and she was going to voluntarily surround herself with teenagers. Brisa would never measure up.
“Your dad and Mira had a great time together, I know it.” Brisa could see Concord Court now, determined to enlist whomever she could to keep her friends plan for Wade and herself on track. “Let’s help him figure out what to do on their next date, okay? We don’t want him to lose any momentum.”
As Brisa pulled into the parking spot in front of her town house, Thea unbuckled her seat belt and shook her head slowly. “Okay, if that’s what you want. Whoever she is, she can’t be prettier than you are. Best babysitter I’ve ever had. You’ve got natural swimming talent, too. I still think you’re making a mistake. Guys like my dad don’t come along often.”
Reggie Beaumont was a professional athlete, successful in business and determined to give back to his community. Brisa could easily argue he was just as rare.
But men who’d treated her as a convenience instead of a priority? Too common.
Guys who valued her connections over her brains, personality or even her looks, which had always opened doors? As hard to count as grains of sand in South Beach.
Frustrated with herself because she’d already settled this question, and the temptation to bump Mira out of the picture was a selfish urge old Brisa would have grabbed, Brisa slammed the car door too hard.
As she followed Thea down the sidewalk, she could see that Wade’s car was already in the parking lot. He’d made it home before they had. Was that a good sign? The way the door swung open before Thea could knock meant Wade had been watching for them, waiting.
Brisa asked in her most friend-like tone, “Were you afraid I’d lost her? We had to stay for a second show, and then I was too hungry to go on without food.” Plus, finding the right souvenir had meant a thorough search, but Brisa had no intention of ratting out Thea.
Or having to explain that the bag she herself was carrying included a Mars T-shirt and three pens that
changed color and could write in space if she ever made it there.
Brisa had bought the loot after Thea told her she was too old to go to space because she refused to surrender so easily. Science would cure skin cancer and wrinkles someday. Getting old astronauts into space had to be easier than that.
“No, ma’am, I knew she was in good hands. I missed her.” Wade held his arms open and Thea launched herself at his chest.
The hard twist of jealousy in her gut surprised Brisa.
Their greeting was sweet.
She’d never had that kind of hello with any man.
“There was a show on dark matter, Dad. Brisa and I both learned a lot.” Thea tossed her braids over her shoulders. “And the salad was pretty good, too, but look what I got!” She knelt on the floor and pulled out her book. “String theory. I’m going to learn so much.”
Wade met Brisa’s stare as he nodded. “Uh-huh, okay, good. I’ll learn so much, too, I’m sure.”
Thea blinked slowly. “You’re welcome.”
Wade looked skeptical. “Tell Brisa ‘thank you.’”
Brisa was prepared to smile, wave and slowly fade away. Standing there and watching them caused that weird ache in the center of her chest to return.
Thea stood and wrapped her arms around Brisa’s waist before squeezing. “You didn’t have to take me to see the stars. I appreciate it.”
Brisa had to clear her throat before she could answer. “I enjoyed every minute, Thea.”
When Thea stepped back, she tilted her head to the side. “Think about what I said. About my dad.” She waggled her eyebrows before picking up her bag. “I’m going to pack my stuff for tonight, Dad. Daylight’s wasting.”
She’d disappeared into her room before Wade could turn back to Brisa. “Are you exhausted? I’m sure she’d be happy to arrange more sculling practice if you’d like.”
If she didn’t get away from the McNallys soon, Brisa was going to make a fool of herself. Apart, they were great; together, they were devastating to her emotions.
Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set Page 38