“You were,” she said. “Loudly.”
I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her head. She hugged my leg and stayed there for only a moment before going to the table. I reached into the refrigerator for milk for her.
“Did you have fun last night?” she asked.
I stiffened and then I realized she meant on my date with Kimberly.
“It was all right,” I said, holding back the urge to cringe in front of her. Gina would undoubtedly tell Jess about my reaction to the date and Kimberly was Jess’s friend. Though Jess hadn’t been loyal to her friend last night.
“You are going out again?” she asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m not sure.”
Gina frowned. “That’s sad. But I think you will find someone, Daddy. Does Jess have another friend?”
This kid was too smart for her age. I picked up the plate of cooling waffles and brought them over to the table. Food always distracted Gina and this time was no different. She dug her fork into one of the waffles, and I helped her get it onto her plate.
“What did you do with Jess last night?” I asked, not wanting to talk about my part of the evening.
“We watched that doggie movie. And then we played dress up and had a tea party!” She nibbled on a bite of her breakfast.
“You had tea before bed?” Gina was potty-trained but having a lot of any drink before bed was usually a sign of wet sheets.
“It was pretend tea, Daddy,” she said. Her tone had a hint of a teenage attitude clipped onto it.
She had no idea how much trouble she was going to cause me when she was older. I reached over and tickled her side. She laughed. And I held onto that sound. I would refer to it when she was going on dates with boys.
I shivered and started eating my food. “Uncle Brandon is back.”
“Can we see him?” Gina asked, bouncing in her chair.
“Sure,” I said. “I’ll give him a call this morning. I’m sure he has something special for you from his vacation.”
“Present! Present!” she chanted.
I smirked. “Only if you finish your breakfast first.”
That was all the motivation she needed.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated that afternoon. At the park, I was able to shed my jacket with the warmer temperature. I tossed the jacket on the bench on the outskirts of the playground. Gina took off for the slide, her favorite thing to do there. She could slide for an entire day if it were up to her. I stayed back, keeping a good eye on her without encroaching on her fun.
I scanned the area, looking for Brandon. He had a tendency to arrive at places whenever he felt like it. Something that annoyed the hell out of Amelia and myself.
I’d stopped looking for him after five minutes and sat on one of the benches watching Gina. Gina had played for almost a half-hour before Brandon arrived.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brandon said, yawning.
“Did you just wake up?” I asked. It was after one o’clock.
“I’m on a different time zone,” he said.
His whole life was on a different time zone. I shook hands with him. In his other hand was a small bag, undoubtedly a present for Gina. She was far too busy with sliding to see that her honorary uncle had shown up.
I didn’t interrupt her. I needed to talk to someone about Jess. Even though I was sure Brandon would see this as a step forward in getting me together with someone.
“So, last night,” I started.
“Oh, that’s right,” he said, chucking me in the arm. “You had a date. How did it go?”