Page 41 of The Do-Over

My cheeks heated. In fact, I think the temperature rose at least fifteen degrees. I cleared my throat. “Hi?”

He was clothed in the same beat-up jeans, long-sleeved work shirt and boots. His hair looked damp. In one of his hands, he clutched a bright red gerbera daisy. I wanted to sigh in pleasure at how delicious he looked.

I blinked. Delicious? Where had that come from? Thank the stars he couldn’t read my thoughts. His eyes sharpened on my face like he was trying to, anyway.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I work here. What are you doing here?” Nervous laughter, bordering on crazy, slipped from me.

Chill out, Perci. And then it hit me—the little girl who’d been with him in the elevator that day. I’d never seen her face because of the mask.

From behind me, Lilah squealed. A tangle of skinny legs and dark hair rushed by. She flung her arms around Nate’s waist. “Daddy!”

Nate held up the daisy. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Lilah gasped. “For me?”

“Yeah.” He tickled the tip of her nose with the blossom. “Here, you take it.”

She did, gripping it with one hand and leaning into his side. “Thank you, Daddy.”

Nate pressed a kiss to the top of her head. My insides did a surprisingly accurate imitation of Jell-O.

“Lilah, you didn’t tell me we’d met before,” I said.

Her shoulders rose to her ears. “I didn’t think it was important.” She turned to her father. “This is my new friend, Perci. Her favorite bird is a flamingo and—”

“No bird talk for now, please. Let’s get going. I’ve planned a very special meal for my valentine.”

“Is it macaroni and cheese?” Lilah dug a fist into her hip. “Again?”

“Excuse me, I said ‘special.’ It’s shells and cheese.” He tweaked her nose, and she grinned up at him. “Where’s your backpack?”

Lilah raced off while Nate signed her out in Miss Marge’s ancient logbook. He leaned a hip against the counter while he waited, his eyes skimming the small area before landing on me. The corner of his mouth quirked. “Nice shirt.”

I tugged at the hem of my t-shirt—bright red with an enormous candy heart on my chest that read, HUG ME. “The kids liked it.”

He nodded and again, I got the impression he was holding onto a smile. “Kids are good judges of character. Lilah seems to like you a lot.”

“I like her too. I had no idea you and she were”—I tapped my two pointer fingers together in a supremely awkward gesture—“related.”

His grin reached his eyes and confirmed he did have a dimple in his left cheek. “We are indeed.”

Lilah rushed into the area, dragging a backpack with a giant owl on it. Pausing in front of her dad, she dug around until she pulled out a folded piece of construction paper. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Nate took it with reverence, like it was a priceless piece of art. He studied the card before he flashed Lilah a wide smile that made my chest tighten. “I love it.”

Her face beamed. “And guess what else?”

“What?”

“I saw a cardinal today, and so did Perci.”

Nate’s face changed in an instant, his brow crinkling. “Lilah.”

“I saw it at recess. It was right there at the fence, and I saw it again when I got back to my class and looked out the window. I think it followed me. Do you know why?” A note of excitement slipped into her voice.

“I know you think you know why.”