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“I’m catching a movie.”
I tried to keep it light and easy, not wanting to arouse my little detective’s suspicion. It had been easier to date when she was younger. She didn’t ask questions when I went out for the night other than if I’d be home when she woke up. There was no getting anything by her now, though. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to get this by her or be straight up and tell her I was seeing someone. I hadn’t decided, and I was hoping for time to consider it.
Her head tipped to the side. “Can you cancel? I want you to come to dinner at our house. Mom’s making meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and I miss you so much.”
Fuck. I could’ve passed on dinner, but not my daughter missing me. Guilt swept in, knocking me back a step. I’d been looking forward to tonight for days, and I would’ve given anything not to miss it. But not to the detriment of my girl…
Turning to face her, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked her over. She’d shown up bouncy and happy, in her typical good mood. She hadn’t acted out of sorts. I tried to assess how serious this was.
“You’re coming back to me tomorrow afternoon, sweetheart. We’ll have all week together. You’re going to be sick of seeing me.”
Her eyebrows popped. “Sooo…you’re saying even though your beloved daughter misses you, you really don’t want to cancel your plans?”
“I will if you really need me to.” I took her chin in my hand, tilting her head left and right. “I’m just trying to decide how serious you are. Is something going on? Something happen at school or your mom’s house?”
“Nope.” Her mouth curved into a devious little smirk. “I was testing you.”
“How so?”
“Well, you’ll drop anything for me, so I wanted to see how disappointed you’d be at the possibility of canceling.” Her smirk morphed into a full-wattage grin. “You have a date, don’t you?”
Ah, damn. I knew Sage was smart, but I hadn’t expected her to be able to manipulate me so easily. This girl was going to be trouble if she chose to use her powers for evil.
“What would you think if I said I did?”
“I’d say I hope she’s cool and treats you nice.”
“She is, and she does.”
Sage gasped. “So, you’ve been on more than one date with her?”
I nodded. “A few.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“No. Didn’t think you’d be interested in a couple old people going out, doing boring things.”
That earned me an eye roll. “Oh, please. Of course I’m interested. What’s her name? Does she like kids? Do you think she’d like me?”
Looked like we were doing this. Lying to Sage wasn’t in my wheelhouse. She was old enough to get straight answers. And I guessed telling her about Clara and letting her get attached to her were two very different things.
“Do you remember Clara?”
She shot to her feet, her hands flying to her hips. “You’re not dating Clara.”
I had to laugh at her adamance. “Why not?”
“She’s too cool for you, obviously.”
I ruffled her hair. “Sorry to break it to you, but she happens to think I’m cool enough for her.”
She huffed and stalked out of the bathroom. Worried she was genuinely upset, I followed her into my closet where she was riffling through my shirts.
“What’s up?” I asked from the doorway.
She didn’t bother looking back at me. “Your clothes are too boring for Clara. Do we have time to go shopping before your date?”
This kid. She was a roller coaster. One second, she had me thinking she felt one way, then she flipped and showed me a whole other side. Sometimes, I didn’t know which way was up, but damn was it a fun ride.
