It's not the view of the city that's visible on the far wall. It's not even the polished marble floors. It's him. Nolan is standing directly in front of me. A small girl with long blonde hair is next to him. They both smile at me and when they do the pink headbands sporting bunny ears sitting atop their heads move slightly in sync with each other. The fact that they're both wearing jeans and white T-shirts only adds to how perfect they are together.
"It's her." The little girl jumps up and down. "Daddy, is this her?"
He scoops her up easily with one arm. She leans her hands on his shoulder. "This is Daddy's friend Ellie. You should invite her in, May."
She nods and takes a deep breath. She mumbles something under her breath before she speaks, loudly and slowly. "Would you like to come in, Ellie?"
I stare at her. She's incredible. Her eyes are a rich shade of brown, her nose a perfect small replica of Nolan's. As she turns to look at him, I catch her profile. There's no denying she's his daughter. I see it in her smile.
"I brought you something, May," I say as I step inside. "I picked it up on my way over. That's why I was late."
"You're not late." She reaches for Nolan's wrist and looks at his watch.
"You can tell time?" I ask, trying not to sound surprised.
"Not yet." She shakes her head slightly, her bunny ears moving as she does. "Daddy is teaching me about the big hand and the little hand. He says no digital nine cents May."
She lowers her voice slightly as she tries to mimic Nolan.
"Nonsense, May," Nolan corrects her with a kiss on her cheek.
I reach into my pocket and pull out the small box that I asked the clerk at the store to wrap with a pink ribbon. "I hope you like this, May."
"I will. Presents are my favorite." She reaches her small hand toward me. "Thank you, Ellie."
I hand her the box and watch while she delicately unwraps the ribbon. She pulls open the box before her hand jumps to cover her mouth.
"Monkey earrings," she screams. "Daddy, look!"
Nolan shoots me a look that says that I'll pay for the gift later. I wiggle my brows.
She makes quick work of the packaging, pulling out both the clip-on earrings in the shape of a monkey's head. Nolan holds the packaging in one hand while he balances her in his arm.
"This one is for Daddy." She carefully clips the earring on his left ear, taking extra time to adjust it correctly. She softly kisses his cheek before she clips the other to her right ear.
"They're pretty, Ellie." She looks at Nolan. "Is she safety, Daddy? Can I hug her?"
"She's safe," he says quietly with a dip of his chin and an arch of his brow.
I answer the silent question he poses to me. "I'd love a hug, May."
Chapter 45
Nolan
"It's not L E, May." I write Ellie's name out on a piece of white paper sitting on my lap. "It's Ellie. See the letters I wrote here?"
May scoots out of Ellie's lap and crawls across the couch to land in mine. "Oh, Daddy. I see."
I look over at Ellie's colorful palm. May ran to her bedroom to get her markers as soon as we'd finished our pancakes. She set to work on Ellie's palm, drawing a picture of a monkey, a star and finishing it with Ellie's name written as it sounds, L E.
"It was a good guess, May." Ellie smiles at her. "It sounds like it's just an L and an E."
"My name has three letters," May announces proudly. "Daddy is teaching me the letters, so when I go to school, I'll be the smartie."
"I think you're great at writing the letters and drawing pictures."
May beams at Ellie's words. "I can draw you a picture of me. I'll get more paper."
With that, she bounces out of my lap and heads down the hallway toward her bedroom.
"You're fucking amazing," I whisper across the couch to Ellie. "She's crazy about you. I am too."
Her eyes light up. "She's a beautiful little girl, Nolan."
I was fishing for an 'I'm crazy about you too, Nolan,' but my apparently my bait game isn't strong enough.
"Do you need anything, sir," Tilde, one of May's nannies, comes out from the kitchen. "My shift ends in thirty minutes. I've prepped a bedtime snack for May. You'll find that in the refrigerator. She had tidied her room before you arrived home earlier. I think that's everything."
"You're free to go." I glance at Ellie before I turn back to Tilde. "I'm taking May to a museum tomorrow so I won't need you until four. You can let the staff know they have the morning off."
Ellie shifts uncomfortably in her seat. I was worried when she didn't arrive at five. By the time my watch signaled its daily alarm at five thirty I was convinced she wouldn't show. I was resigned to eating alone with May at six, as I do most days, but then the light tapping on the door erased all my doubt.
"Karen is here for the night." Tilde picks up an empty glass from the coffee table. "Enjoy your evening."
I watch Ellie as Tilde walks away. She follows her every step, not turning back to me until Tilde is out of sight.
"Tell me what you're thinking." I inch closer to her. "You look so serious. Something is going on in that head of yours."