Damn you, Chris, he inwardly raged as he stared at his daughter. She was far too young to believe that she needed to buy friends. No doubt, she had overheard some of her mother’s conversations with her cronies. The fact that his impressionable six-year-old attached a dollar figure to loyalty made him queasy. He could tell from the look on Lydia’s face that she felt the same way. Before he could gather his wits to talk to her, Lydia had already dropped to her knees to bring her face-to-face with Casey. “Thank you so much, sweetheart, for offering to loan me the money for my stuffed animal. That is so very generous and thoughtful of you. I am truly honored to be your friend because of how very special you are. A true friend doesn’t need gifts; they only need you. And even when you don’t see me every day, I’ll still be thinking about how very special you are and wishing you all the best.”

   Casey stood silently as if digesting Lydia’s heartfelt words before she latched on to the last sentence. “You see me at Daddy’s, Lydie. I’ll ask my mommy if I can come play with you and your ramps.”

   At that point, Lydia was blinking away tears, and Jake wasn’t far behind. A child’s simple words were sometimes the hardest to bear, and both he and Lydia were floundering. He straightened his spine and took control, even though it was tough. “All right, girls,” he said with false enthusiasm. “Let’s finish up in here and go have some lunch. I don’t know about you two, but I could eat a whole whale myself!”

   Lydia blinked rapidly at the sudden change of conversation, while Casey, with a child’s short attention span, rolled with it and ran to grab her pink stingray while handing the blue one to her new friend. Lydia attempted to object, but Jake insisted on paying for both. She’d been amazing with his daughter today, and they both deserved a souvenir to remember their fun. As they stepped back outside into the bright sunlight, Casey took first his hand and then Lydia’s as she skipped happily between them. “You know you can’t get whale for lunch, silly.” She giggled as they swung her off her little feet. “Wheee, again!” she demanded over and over until their arms tired.

   This is what it feels like to have a family. The thought struck him suddenly and without forewarning.

   He had a great relationship with his parents and his brother, but even though he was a father, he’d never experienced a family moment like this since he became an adult. He’d twirled Casey and she’d ridden on his shoulders countless times, but never with a happy Chris alongside them. This type of behavior was known to irritate her beyond reason. Even at Casey’s young age, Chris felt as if she should act like an adult. Jake, on the other hand, wanted his daughter to enjoy being a child. Those carefree years would be gone before any of them knew it, and they could never get them back again.

   One of Casey’s favorite places was Johnny Rockets. She loved the burgers and milkshakes there, so Jacob ran it past Lydia first to see if the location worked for her and then they walked in that direction. The hostess gave them a big booth, and Casey insisted they all be on the same side so she didn’t have to choose who to sit with. As his daughter used the coloring page and crayons to create another masterpiece for his refrigerator, Lydia looked over her head at him and said sweetly, “She’s precious, Jake. After one afternoon, I’m totally in love with her.”

   A sense of pride filled him as he smoothed his daughter’s wavy hair. “Regardless of everything with her mother, she’s the very air that I breathe,” he replied quietly.

   Nodding her head in agreement, Lydia said, “I understand why you were willing to do anything to keep from losing her.” They both kept an eye on Casey, making sure she wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. She appeared to be engrossed in her artwork and have tuned out the rest of the world.

   “You were amazing with her today,” Jacob said truthfully. “She’s always been a little wary around strangers, which I normally encourage for safety reasons, but she connected with you almost immediately.”

   Lydia appeared touched by his words. “Thanks. I’m an only child, so I’ve never really been around children much. Brett did have a nephew that we saw at all of the holidays, but that’s pretty much the extent of my experience with children. I’ve always loved them, though, and today was a real treat for me. Seeing a place you’ve been dozens of times before through the eyes of a child is unbelievable.”

   They continued to talk throughout the meal whenever they could get in a word around Casey’s chatter. By the time they left the restaurant and walked back to the truck, it was nearly time to drop his daughter at home. Casey begged Lydia to sit in the back with her on the drive, and Jacob noticed them cuddled up together through the rearview mirror. If he’d been looking for the perfect stepmother for Casey, he’d found her. They were two peas in a pod. But sadly, all good things had to end, and that time had officially come as he pulled into Chris’s driveway and parked behind her BMW.

   The house was a modern-style craftsman that Chris complained about constantly. It was in a great neighborhood and a premiere school district, so Jacob ignored her. It also had an amazing fenced backyard, where he knew that his daughter would be safe. Chris would rather live in a trendy condominium, but he’d put his foot down. If he was picking up the tab, then his daughter was going to have the type of house he’d grown up in. As he opened his door and came around to Casey’s, he stood awkwardly for a moment. “Lydia—”

   “Jake, you don’t have to say it. I’m going to move to the front seat and wait for you in the truck. It wouldn’t be right for me to barge in there until you’ve talked to her about me.”

   Feeling the tension leave his body, Jacob gave her an appreciative wink. “Thanks for understanding, sweetheart. You’ve been so great today. I don’t want to subject you to any more ugliness.”

   He took his dozing daughter into his arms and heard Lydia close the door behind them as he moved carefully down the walkway with his precious cargo. It appeared to be his lucky night because Chris was on the phone when she answered the door and made no move to end the conversation as she took Casey’s hand when he set her on her feet. He gave her a hug and kiss then walked out. He was always sad when he left Casey behind, but somehow, knowing Lydia was waiting for him made it more bearable. She’d been with him for one full day, and already, he was eager to be with her. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking of her as his wife today and the need to make that into something other than a title was fast becoming an urge he was having trouble denying.