And she wanted to do that more.
“All set,” Alice said, coming into the room.
“Good,” Daniel said to his daughter, but he kept his gaze firmly planted on Meredith.
What thoughts were running through that brain of his?
What was he thinking about?
Was he as turned on as Meredith was?
“What next?” Alice asked.
“Please take the water pitcher to the table,” Daniel said. “Then sit down. We’ll be right out. The food is almost done.”
“Okay,” Alice shrugged and grabbed a pitcher of water. Then she carried it into the other room. There was a basket of fruit on the dining room table, and Meredith heard Alice opening a banana and munching on it.
“So what’s for breakfast?” Meredith asked Daniel. She still kept looking at him.
“Eggs and toast for breakfast. Hopefully you for lunch,” he said. He turned back around and started plating the food, and then he carried it to the dining room entrance. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled, winking.
“Coming?” He asked.
“Apparently,” she muttered under her breath.
Her for lunch?
What did that mean?
She didn’t want to read too much into it, but she had a pretty good guess that Daniel knew exactly what his comment had sounded like.
And she was pretty sure that he had meant it.
Chapter Four
“Zelda is a great game,” Alice said once we were all seated. “I have over a hundred hours of game play so far. I’ve completed almost everything in the game. Kevin says that Megaman is the superior game, though, so I might play that one next. Then I can compare.”
“Kevin?” Daniel asked, taking a bite of eggs. That was a name he hadn’t heard Alice mention before. He liked to think that he was a good dad, but it was day one of quarantine and he was already learning that he’d been far out of the loop when it came to his daughter’s interests and her life.
“He’s in her class,” Meredith told Daniel. She reached for a slide of toast and started to butter it. “The two of them have play dates sometimes. He’s a nice boy, and they like a lot of the same games.”
“What other games does Kevin like to play?” Daniel asked Alice, trying to be casual. The 8-year-old rolled her eyes.
“He’s not my boyfriend, Dad. Chill. I don’t even think like that yet. Meredith says after puberty, I’ll change my mind and start liking people.”
He looked at Meredith, who simply shrugged. Meredith had had those talks with Alice? She’d talked with Alice about dating and falling in love? Those were talks he should have had with her, he thought suddenly.
Had he really been so absent?
Being a single dad hadn’t been easy. After his wife passed away, he’d been lonely and sad. Too sad. Finding Meredith had been incredible. She’d joined their family and although she would never replace Daniel’s late wife in any way, Meredith had brought sunshine and joy into their hearts.
“I wasn’t suggesting anything like that,” Daniel said carefully.
Meredith and Alice just snickered.
“What’s that all about?” Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“You look nervous,” Meredith placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “You don’t need to be. Kevin is a good kid, and he’s not Alice’s only friend. In fact, they have a gaming group.”