Page 56 of Heartache & Playdates
I glanced up and saw that the swarm of parents had thinned out. Only two remained and they both seemed to be wrapping things up. The second bell rang, signaling it was time for the kids to head inside and they both began to say their goodbyes.
“Yeah, you can.” I walked a few steps behind Hannah, who waited her turn to speak to Miss Peyton.
After the moms turned to leave, my daughter walked up confidently with a smile on her face.
“Hi, Miss Peyton. I’m Hannah and these are for you.”
Peyton’s face lit up when she saw the box. I didn’t blame her; Sadie’s cupcakes were the bomb. I didn’t know how Alex hadn’t gained fifty pounds by now. I sure as hell would have.
“Oh, wow. Thank you!” She opened the box. “I’ve had these, they are amazing!”
“My Aunt Sadie makes them, huh Daddy?” Hannah turned to me, and I saw the moment that Peyton realized that she might be talking to my daughter.
It was when Hannah referred to Sadie as her aunt. I’d told her that Alex was with the woman who owned the bakery. I could see that she was already putting two and two together when she looked up and her suspicion was confirmed.
“Maddox,” she mouthed more than actually saying it aloud.
“Hi.” I was glad that I’d had a few moments to prepare myself, because seeing her, speaking to her again hit me like a punch square in the chest.
She was just so fucking beautiful. Even with all the color drained from her face, she still looked breathtaking.
Her mouth opened and then shut again. Clearly, she was at a loss for words. I knew the feeling. The kids were all running inside, and I saw a woman with curly hair holding the door.
“Peyton!”
Peyton glanced over her shoulder then looked back at me. “I um I have…”
“To go,” I finished.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
I leaned down and kissed Hannah on her head. “Have a good day, Peanut.”
“Bye, Daddy!” Hannah ran inside the school.
Peyton turned and immediately tripped as she started up the steps. I reached out and caught her elbow. Once she was steady, I brushed strands of hair that had fallen in her face and tucked them behind her ear. She gasped softly and a flush colored her cheeks. We were standing less than an inch away from one another. She looked up at me and swallowed so loud I heard the gulp.
I smiled, happy to see that I wasn’t the only one affected by this turn of events. “Have a good day, Peyton.”
She pulled away from me and continued up the stairs. “Yeah, you too.”
I watched her make it all the way up the steps and disappear behind the glass doors.
If this wasn’t fate, then I didn’t know what the fuck was?
22
PEYTON
The bell rangfor lunch and all the kids stood up and single filed out of the room. Some of them were talking and giggling. Some were already digging into their lunchboxes. Some were pulling out their cellphones, which still blew my mind that six-year-olds had them.
As they walked out, my eyes were drawn to one student in particular. Hannah Cruz. I’d been doing my level best to not pay any extra attention to Maddox’s daughter, to not stare at her and wonder things I had no business wondering.
She truly was an exceptional student. Not only was she clearly gifted, like her father, she also had a heart of gold, like her father. One of the girls was a little overwhelmed this morning because she was missing her mom, and Hannah sat next to her and told her that it was okay if she needed to cry. She said that crying wasn’t being a baby it was being brave.
The girl, Willa Combs, whose mom definitely fell in the helicopter category and might even fall in the bulldozer category, sniffed and wiped her face then seemed totally fine. It seemed that all she needed was the permission to cry and then she felt better.
My heart melted as I watched the exchange.
