Ari wrapped her arms around herself and began rubbing her arms.
“Are you chilly?
She smiled. “Just a little, but I’m okay.”
I stood up, took off my jacket, and handed it to her. “Here, babe. I have a T-shirt under my long-sleeved shirt.”
Ari gave me that adorable smile of hers where she scrunches up her nose and her eyes gleam with happiness. “Are you sure?”
I nodded my head as I walked around the table, and I helped her put it on. As I sat back down, I thanked God that Ari had made us stay. This whole morning and afternoon had been amazing.
The waitress took our drink order and gave us a few minutes to look at the menu.
I peeked up and let out a chuckle when I saw Ari looking at me. “What are you thinking about?”
She shrugged. “You. Us. How much I love you and how happy you make me.”
“I
love you, too, baby, and you’ve always made me so happy, Arianna. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you in my life.”
She glanced back down at the menu and then said, “I know what I want—a big cheeseburger with french fries…or maybe onion rings instead. Yeah, I want onion rings for sure.”
“You wanna split the onion rings?” I asked.
When she didn’t respond, I looked up.
“Really? Do you not know me at all? Onion rings, Jeff. Onion. Rings. No, I’m not sharing them with you.”
I dropped the menu and held up my hands. “Hey, the mind-blowing sex this morning must have screwed with my brain. I forgot how much you love them.”
Ari laughed. “I’d say. I think I might like a repeat of that mind-blowing sex this afternoon, if you’re, um…up for it.”
I grinned. “I’m in the mood for more, screw-with-my-head sex for sure. We could even try—” For some reason, I looked up and over Ari’s shoulder, and I instantly stopped talking.
You have got to be kidding me. What in the hell is he doing here?
Ari kicked me under the table and leaned forward. “What’s wrong? Just the thought of you being inside—ouch! Why in the hell did you kick me?”
I jerked my head and motioned for Ari to turn around.
She looked at me with a confused look, and then she turned and jumped up. “Daddy? Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?”
Mark glared at me as Ari wrapped her arms around her father. She pulled back and asked him again, “Daddy, why in the world are you here in Kentucky?”
When he finally stopped shooting daggers at me, he looked at Ari and smiled. “Your mother and I are in town for a Fragile X auction. A dear friend of mine from college is hosting the auction.”
“When’s the auction? Is it open to the public? Why didn’t y’all tell me about it? I swear, I told Mom that Jeff and I were going out of town.”
Mark snapped his eyes back at me, and I slid a little further down in my seat. The man still scared the shit out of me, and I was pretty sure his threat of knowing people who knew people had been spot-on.
“It’s tonight. It’s invite only, but I’m sure Jason wouldn’t mind at all if my daughter and her”—I smiled as he looked at me and shook his head—“husband came along as our guests. It’s a formal dinner and a dance afterward.”
Ari did that little jump she would do when she was excited. She clapped her hands and turned to me. “Shopping!”
I gave her a grin and began looking around for our waitress. I needed to put someone else between Mark and me.
As our waitress walked up, Ari quickly gave her father a kiss. “Plan on us being there for sure. I’ll call Mom here in a bit.”