Page 144 of Falling Back to You

“Of course,” I squeaked.

Cal didn’t move, but I felt the smugness of his grin. The man absolutely knew what he was doing to me and relished in it.

“Your competence is very attractive,” he murmured.

“I’m better with vomit than you are, so I can see why.”

“Don’t remind me.” He groaned with a shudder. “I gotta go.” He glanced at the bathroom door. “Has she been in there long?”

“No—”

Retching came from inside the bathroom.

Cal grimaced, clearly torn—and a little green. He’d been a sympathetic puker back in the day. Some things never changed.

“I’ve got her. Go.”

“Tell her goodbye for me?”

“Of course.” I handed him a thermos of coffee, and he brushed a quick kiss to my lips before hurrying out the door.

“I don’t feel good,” Khia whimpered as I slipped into the bathroom.

“I know, Sweet Pea.” I rubbed her back until her stomach calmed down, then handed her the medicine cup. She scrunched her nose. “It’ll make you feel better,” I said.

She shoved it away. “I want Daddy.”

“I know, but he had to go to work. He’ll be back for dinner.”

“He left?” Her eyes welled up. “He forgot my goodbye. He never forgets.”

Aw, baby. The tears tugged all my maternal heartstrings. He didn’t forget, but reasoning with a sick child wasn’t going to help. But I couldn’t ignore the heartbreak in her eyes. He hadn’t been gone that long. I picked up the phone and hit his number.

“Everything okay?” he asked breathlessly.

“Yeah,” I reassured him. “But you have a very sad little girl who is missing her goodbye hug.”

“She just came out?”

“Yup.”

“Give me five minutes.” And he hung up.

“Can you take this while we’re waiting for Daddy?” I handed her the cup again, and she sniffled. But after eyeing it like she was a royal taste tester suspicious of poison, she gulped it down.

I ran a cool bath, and true to his world, Cal bolted into the door four minutes later and scooped Khia up.

She clung to him. “Don’t leave,” she begged.

Cal’s conflicted eyes locked on me, and I carefully eased her octopus arms from his neck. “I have to work, but I’ll be home later, Lovebug,” he promised.

“No!” Khia started crying and complaining she was cold.

Cal’s haggard expression sent a pang through my heart. Like any good father, he didn’t want to leave when his little girl was hurting.

“I’ve got her,” I told him, then cupped his cheek with the hand that wasn’t trying to comfort the child sobbing on my shoulder. Leaning in, I kissed him softly. “It’s okay, Callan.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Call me if anything changes?”