She smiles. “Oh good. I’m glad. I’m sure she missed you.”
“She’s seventeen. Missing her old man isn’t a top priority for her.”
She gives me a sexy smile. “For what it’s worth, I missed you.”
I can’t help but kiss her again. “I missed you too. I want to see you later this afternoon. I have a few things to do, but then I’ll come back. It’s supposed to be nice out. Let’s go for a long walk along the river. We can talk and I want to take some pictures down there.”
“Sounds good.” She gives me a nervous look.
“What?”
She covers her eyes in embarrassment. “I don’t even know your last name.”
I chuckle. “It’s McGinley.”
“Okay, Declan McGinley. Have fun with Jade.” She pulls the blankets up over her. “I’m going back to bed. Some sex lunatic kept me up half the night.”
I smile. “Funny, I had the exact same problem.”
I pull up to Amanda’s house. Jade’s mom and I were never really together. We were both pretty screwed up when Jade was conceived. I barely remember the brief time I had with her. We did a lot of drugs and had a lot of sex. I’m just happy that she got clean as soon as she found out about being pregnant. I’m thankful to her for that. She’s been clean ever since.
I ring the doorbell and Jade answers. She throws her arms around me. “Dec…Dad, I’m so happy to see you.” It took her years to call me Dad, and she still slips from time to time. She’s so damn stubborn and was so damn mad at me for missing the first seven years of her life. I don’t blame her. I hate myself for it too. It took a lot of time and patience for her to finally come around, but I think we have a pretty good relationship now.
I start tearing when I look at her. “Wow, you’ve grown up so much in just a few months. You’re a woman now. A beautiful woman.”
She’s gorgeous. She’s tall with all of my coloring. Her eyes are so expressive. Such a bright shade of blue. She’s wearing a little make-up now, so her eyes really pop.
She gives me a big grin at the compliment.
“I was clearly just an incubator.” Amanda comes to the door and smiles. Amanda is shorter with dark hair and brown eyes. “If she didn’t come out of me, I’m not sure I’d believe she’s mine. I’d demand a maternity test.” She laughs. “She even has your temper, Declan.”
Jade and I laugh. I shake my head. “We’re just passionate, right sweetie?” I wink at her.
Jade smiles as she nods. “Yep. Passionate.”
“You ready, kiddo? I need a big pile of pancakes.” I pat my empty stomach. I worked up a big appetite all night long. I’m starving.
Amanda bites her lip. “Dec, can you and I talk privately for a minute?”
I nod. “Of course.”
Amanda looks up at Jade. “Why don’t you run upstairs and put away your laundry. Just give Dad and I five minutes.”
Jade nods and heads back into the house.
I pull out an envelope and hand it to Amanda. She looks in it. “Declan, this is too much.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s just right. Jade’s going to have a lot of expenses coming up. Let her have whatever she wants. Clothes, dresses for dances, computers for school, sock some away for college, whatever you think she needs.”
She smiles. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I guess Africa went well?”
I shrug. “I didn’t love being away for so long, but it paid extremely well.”
She nods. “I actually thought you’d be away much longer. Jade did too.”
“I was supposed to be, but I worked twice as hard and did what I needed to do to stay way ahead of schedule. Now, why don’t you tell me why we needed to have a private conversation. What’s up?”
“Well, I’ve gotten pretty serious with Rick.” I’ve met Rick a few times. They’ve been dating for a few years. He seems like a decent enough guy.