“Gage.” She nods, her arms crossing her chest.
Nothing about her has changed. Her brown hair is still cut in a bob. Her blue eyes are tinged with sadness.
“How’s Perry?” I ask without a hint of resentment.
I never wanted Kristin to be subjected to the bullshit around her.
I tried to keep things calm after I found out I wasn’t her biological father. I didn’t want anything to change, but Perry wanted the family he thought he deserved.
“Divorcing me,” she quips, waving her bare left hand in the air.
“Daddy Perry is divorcing us.” Kristin shrugs. “He found a new family, Daddy.”
I raise a brow at Madison. “He what exactly?”
“Fell in love with his assistant.” She pats her stomach. “She’s having his baby. He calls it a new beginning. I call it an alimony check.”
I toss her a look meant to silently tell her to shut the hell up.
Kristin doesn’t need to hear that.
“We’re going to look for a new house.” Kristin wraps her arms around my neck. “You can live next door.”
Tears prick the corners of my eyes.
This is exactly what I’ve wanted.
“Daddy has a new family now too.”
I glance at Madison and the look I toss her this time is a clear, what the fuck are you talking about?
“Granny and Papa Burke met us at the airport.” Madison smiles. “Your mom said that you were back with Kate Wesley.”
My parents had to have been overjoyed to see Kristin. They missed being called Granny and Papa. They missed everything about her almost as much as I have.
When I called them before I left New York, I mentioned that I reconnected with Katie. I didn’t expect a response from them, so I wasn’t surprised when my dad changed the subject to the weather.
There was no offer from them to meet me when my flight landed.
“Is Katie your new family, Daddy?” Kristin nudges my face so she can look into my eyes. “Does she have a baby in her tummy too?”
“No baby.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Katie is my old friend. I want you to meet her.”
“Slow down.” Madison’s hand jumps into the air. “One step at a time, Gage.”
“Our first step is having dinner together.” I give Kristin a big hug as I look at Madison. “We can take care of everything else after that.”
Chapter 49
Kate
I stare down at my phone.
I haven’t heard anything from Gage since yesterday.
He called me from Minneapolis. His connecting flight to L.A. was delayed by a few hours.
I was in the middle of a consult with a bride and her party of twelve friends and relatives.