Page 46 of The Blessing

I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess I never really had a good relationship with her. I just hope my dad isn’t suffering.”

“Did he seem to be in pretty bad shape when you saw him?”

“No, he just looked tired—so fucking tired.”

She kisses me, and it makes me forget about everything else. She pulls away to breathe and smiles at me before giving me one more quick peck. “Grey’s missed you all day.”

As if on cue, Grey becomes fussy and reaches for me, pouting until I pick him up and hold against my chest. “Stop being so fussy, little man. Dad’s home. Chill out.” I kiss his forehead and he calms down immediately. I look over at Ronnie, who’s nervously toying with her hair next to me. “What is it, baby?”

“It’s nothing,” she says, but I know she’s lying.

“Ronnie,” I admonish, in the same tone of voice my dad always used when he wants to get something out of me.

“Okay, it’s just my sister really wants to meet you. Since I told her I had a boyfriend, she’s been wanting to have you and Grey over for lunch.”

“Wow, she works fast.” I chuckle. We’ve only been a couple for a matter of days.

“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” she continues, but I’ve already made up my mind. “I know it’s really soon, Trev.”

“No, it’s fine. I want to meet your sister. Didn’t you say she has a daughter? Maybe she and Grey can become friends and have playdates.”

Ronnie smiles at me, obviously thrilled with my answer. “Okay, well, I told her you have the day off tomorrow, so maybe we can go then?”

I give her a dubious look. “Is it that obvious I’ll say ‘yes’ to anything that you ask?”

“Well,” she blushes, giving me a sly smile as she continues, “it’s not super obvious or anything. It’s just you’ve never let me down before.”

“I never want to let you down. Ever.”