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I hadn’t entertained anyone at the house since Grace had died, and facing a few people in my own backyard suddenly felt more daunting than stepping out on stage in front of thousands of people.
Performing was what I did for a living, and even in the darkest of times, I could still be relied on to put on a show, but the people I was meeting knew my daughter almost as well as I did.
Stepping out through the open patio doors, I stared down at the strangers milling around by the pool, and as if Harper had a sixth sense about my feelings, she turned to look at us. Smiling, her bright blue eyes met mine, and even from this distance I felt more reassured.
Excusing herself, she wandered down the side of the pool to meet me. Layla broke away from me and ran to talk to her friends.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Harper asked, her tone soft and her eyes searching my face. Realizing it was the first time we’d really spoken since my breakdown a few days before, I felt a little embarrassed about displaying my vulnerabilities in front of her.
“Good… better. Thanks for—”
“Don’t mention it. I’m glad I was there,” she offered, knowing exactly what I had been about to say and not letting me finish.
“Take a deep breath because they are all, with the exception of Sarah-Jayne, fangirling,” she told me, and I gave her a pissed-off look and a wry smirk.
“Cole, let me introduce you to Cressida, she’s—”
About to pop, I thought staring down at her huge pregnant belly and an instant pang of hurt shot through me.
“Jaden and Tom’s mom,” I interjected. I rubbed my sternum and tried to ease the ache in my chest. I also needed everyone to know I knew something of my child’s life.
“Yes! Oh. My. God. Cole Harkin knows who I am,” she gushed, turning to look at the two other women who stood gawking at me. I wished I had a buck for every time someone bragged about this.
“How could I not when there are threats to cut off your son’s wiener?” I replied with a flirty wink.
Cressida crumpled her body with laughter, her bones looking like they’d instantly melted during our little conversation. “Jesus, Layla told you that? I guess my husband and I had better think before we express any more thoughts in future.”
“Cole,” Sarah-Jayne’s soft feminine tone smoothly interrupted, rescuing me from the awkwardness of the moment, as she stepped forward and hugged me tight. “You look like you needed some help,” she whispered, and I squeezed the hand she had slipped into mine.
Pulling back to look at her I flashed her a genuine grin. “Sarah-Jayne,” I mused, holding her away from me. My eyes raked down her outfit and I noted how lovely she was. “Glad you guys could make it on short notice. You look beautiful as always. Is Max in the pool house?” I asked, knowing full well he’d be propping up the bar away from the other women present.
“Where else would you find him on a Sunday afternoon?” she joked.
Sliding an arm over her shoulder, I began to lead us toward the pool house door when Harper stepped forward, blocking my way. She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the other two women who had been watching my interaction with Cressida.
“Tammy and Francessca this is—”
“Oh. My. God. Cole Harkin. As if we didn’t know. I have every one of your albums,” the taller of the two brunettes told me, following with a wide grin as she batted a ridiculous pair of eyelash extensions over her fangirl eyes. The shorter woman with her was prettier—striking actually—but she didn’t speak until nudged by the one who’d just spoken.
“Sorry,” she pleaded, shaking her head. “Excuse me, but this feels… weird, being here in your home when I’ve seen you in concert so many times.” She shrugged her shoulders. I immediately decided I liked her honesty far better than the over-exuberance of her friend’s greeting.
“Ah, well, here,” I gestured at my property. “I’m an ordinary Joe. The real me,” I offered, placing my hand over my heart and giving her a genuine smile. “Please enjoy the food and relax. My daughter is so excited to have your kids over to play. Hopefully as we get to know each other, you’ll find there isn’t much of a mystery to me, and I’m a dad like any of the others here.”
“Kinda hard to imagine that if he was slipping into my bed every night,” Cressida mumbled to Harper who shot me a wide-eyed look because it was obviously far louder than Cressida had intended. Harper’s cheeks blushed, clearly embarrassed I’d heard, and I bit back a grin at her innocent reaction.
Making my apologies to the ladies, I made my way over to their husbands and found them a far more comfortable proposition than hanging out with their partners, who I gauged—like Matty had already surmised—would have been delighted to get in my pants.
Once the ice was broken and everyone relaxed, the day turned out to be one of the best I’d had in years. I was myself, not Cole the rock star, and the entertainment revolved around playing baseball and water polo with the kids. Later in the day we watched them as they put on a show led by Lucinda.
When the last of the children’s energy was spent, a more sedate mood settled on the evening, where the kids sat on the lawn chatting and us adults shared some stories from our pasts.
Night had fallen by the time everyone left, and I heard Cressida praise Jaden for keeping his wiener in his pants. It made me chuckle. Jaden grinned big in return and promptly informed her he’d peed in our pool. Luckily, Paul was dedicated to his chlorine routines, so I figured we were all safe.
Harper came into the kitchen as I stored some food in the fridge. “How are you feeling?” she asked, after everyone had gone. “Layla had a ball today,” she added.
“Good. At first, I missed Grace like hell. She was always the more sociable of the two of us. She had this… great ability to make everyone feel at ease. Whereas, I’ve always been moody, broody… reserved. It wasn’t as bad as I thought… mainly because you were there,” I added after a hesitation. Credit where it was due. “It was as if you just knew when I needed that extra bit of support.”
Harper’s lips curved up in a smile as she tore off a large strip of plastic wrap. Placing it over a tray of pastries, she shrugged. “Isn’t that why I’m here? To support you as a family?”
