Chapter 19
1163 Words
★NINA★
The estate looked like a princess exploded in pastel.
Balloons bobbed from every tree, every railing, every chair. Pink, purple, gold—tied in clusters so thick you could barely see the lawn underneath. The bounce house rose like a sugary castle in the middle of the grass, pink-and-purple stripes glowing in the afternoon sun. Kids screamed inside it, tumbling over each other, their laughter sharp and wild.
Sugar was everywhere. Frosting on tiny hands, on cheeks, on the hem of my dress. Tiara after tiara had slipped sideways. Face paint had turned from cute butterflies into abstract war paint. I was in full nanny mode—refereeing games of musical chairs, reattaching loose bows, wiping sticky fingers with wet wipes I’d stashed in every pocket.
And Malachi?
He stood near the edge of the patio, arms crossed, in dark jeans and a simple white button-down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. No tie or jacket. Just him, looking like he’d wandered into the wrong universe.
He wasn’t mingling with the crowd, just watching.
Every few minutes his eyes found me across the chaos. Held. Then slid away.
I felt it every time.
Security was there—black suits blending into the background like shadows. But Malachi still looked tense. Shoulders tight. Jaw set. Like he was waiting for something to go wrong.
I kept glancing at him while I organized pin-the-tail-on-the-unicorn. Lila was blindfolded, spinning in circles, giggling so hard she almost fell over. The other kids cheered her on. I clapped too, but half my attention was on the man by the patio railing.
He looked out of place.
And heartbreakingly beautiful.
Lila finally pinned the tail dead center. The kids erupted. She ripped off the blindfold and ran straight for me, arms wide.
“Nina! I won!”
“You did, baby!” I scooped her up, spun her once. She smelled like sugar and grass and happiness.
Then she looked past me.
“Daddy!”
Malachi straightened. Pushed off the railing.
Lila wiggled down and sprinted toward him. He crouched just in time to catch her. She threw her arms around his neck, smearing pink frosting across his white shirt.
He froze, for half a second. Then his arms came around her.
The kids started chanting for cake. I tore my eyes away and herded everyone toward the long table under the canopy. The cake was ridiculous—three tiers of pink buttercream, edible pearls, a glitter-dusted princess on top. Lila’s eyes went wide.
We sang the birthday song, loud, very off-key but joyful.
Lila climbed onto her chair. I lit the candles, all five of them.
“Make a wish, sweetheart,” I said.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Then opened them.
“Wait! Wait!” She looked around wildly. “Daddy has to be here!”
Malachi was still standing back, phone buzzing in his pocket. Probably work. He glanced at it—jaw tightening—then at Lila.
Then at me, I didn’t say anything, I just held his gaze.
He looked down at the phone again, then—deliberately—he pressed the side button, declining the call.
He walked over and joined us.
Lila grabbed his hand the second he was close enough, and squeezed tight.
“Together,” she said.
He nodded. Voice low. “Together.”
We counted down.
“Five… four… three… two… one!”
Lila blew hard. All five candles flickered out.
She threw her arms around Malachi’s neck again—frosting and all. He hugged her back. Just… a father holding his daughter like she was the only thing that mattered.
I felt my throat close.
The kids cheered. Cameras flashed. I blinked fast and turned away to start slicing cake.
But I kept seeing it.
The way his shoulders relaxed. The way he pressed his cheek to the top of her head. The way he looked at her like she’d hung the moon.
And the way he looked at me after.
Like I’d given him something he didn’t know he needed.
Later, while the kids were back in the bounce house, I noticed a man near the gate. He was tall, clad in black everything. Watching the whole show.
He didn't look like he belonged here, he looked suspicious.
My stomach twisted.
I caught one of the security guys’ eyes—Mario—and nodded toward the gate. He followed my gaze, spoke quietly into his earpiece. Two others moved. The man was gone in under thirty seconds.
Malachi appeared beside me.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I hesitated. “Someone was watching from the gate, but your security handled it.”
He glanced toward the gate. Then back at me. “They’re gone. It’s fine.”
I nodded. But my unease lingered.
The party wound down. Parents came for pickups. Kids left with goodie bags and painted faces. The bounce house deflated slowly, like a tired sigh. Lila crashed hard, mid-sentence—telling me about the unicorn she’d almost caught—her eyes fluttered shut. I carried her upstairs, her small body heavy with exhaustion and joy. Tucked her in. Kissed her forehead.
She smiled in her sleep.
When I came back down, the living room was a disaster. Balloons everywhere. Wrapping paper. Half-eaten cake. Frosting smears on the rug.
Malachi sat alone on the couch, surrounded by pink latex. He looked up when I walked in
“Thank you,” he said.
I stopped in the doorway. “For what?”
“For today.” He gestured vaguely at the mess. “For pushing me. For making it… this.”
I walked closer. Sat on the other end of the couch. “She deserved it.”
“She did.” He leaned forward, elbows on knees. “I don’t know how to do this father thing right. Most days I feel like I’m guessing. But today… she was happy. Really happy.”
I swallowed. “She loves you. She just wants you there.”
He looked at me then. Long. Steady.
“I don’t know how to stop caring either,” I admitted. Quiet. “About her. About… this.”
The air thickened. He shifted closer.
He slowly lifted his hand and brushed a streak of pink frosting off my cheek with his thumb.
I froze. He didn’t pull away, and neither did I.
His thumb lingered on my face. Traced the curve of my cheekbone. His eyes dropped to my mouth.
My breath caught. For one heartbeat, the room was only us. Every other thing fading into the background.
Then his phone buzzed again, cutting through the haze.
He exhaled, dropped his hand and looked away. He stood up. “I should take this.”
I nodded. Couldn’t speak even if I tried to. Malachi nodded again then left.
I sat there, surrounded by balloons, heart hammering in my chest.
The frosting on my cheek still felt warm where he’d touched it.
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