Nate was so used to being the one who was calm and collected in social situations. It was his bread and butter for so many years, winning over stuffy businesspeople, charming information from women and men at bars, and chatting up whoever could grant him the access he was looking for. He engaged in a relationship with a police officer for a year, despite the criminal past he carried with him, and he did not blink. It was rare for any meeting that could be arranged to rattle Nate’s nerves.

But this was his daughter, and he was terrified.

It had only been hours since Nat let Nate in on the secret that he had a six-year-old daughter he never knew about. They agreed to set the meeting that evening, giving Nate an afternoon to think and overthink what his night would be like. If this was a con or a mission, he would be using the time to think back to similar situations he had been in, logical variables to expect, and backup plans to fall back on when all else failed.

There were no situations in Nate’s life similar to this. Truly, this was the one circumstance he never saw himself in. It was not that he had never considered being a father; the idea crossed his mind on one or two particularly perfect nights when he was still with Quin. What Nate ever expected was meeting his child when she was already forming who she would be as a person. Like an good conman, he once fancied himself invincible and immune to the consequences that plagued lesser men.

Joke was on him; his carelessness put him in this position where it would be so easy for him to fail. She was able to have thoughts and ideas and opinions of her own, and what was to say one of them would not be, “I don’t want you to be my dad.” Could he go back to his normal life knowing he failed his daughter before he ever met her?

Those thoughts did him no good in the hours leading up to the evening, and they would not help him now that he was at the door of Natalie’s apartment. Given all the details of the woman he met for the second time that morning, it was unsurprising to find her living in a beautiful apartment building in a high-end area of New York. It was at least good to know his daughter was in the position to want for nothing, and unlike if he had been her provider, this was all given to her (he assumed) legally. Nate chose to wear his button-down shirt, because he had no clue how to make a good first impression on a six-year-old. All he did know was her mother dressed professionally, so at least it would be something she was familiar with.

Steeling his nerves, Nate knocked on the door. ”Nat, it’s Nate. I’m here to…” Right, he could not just say he was there to meet Norah. He was not there as her father yet, so he had no reason to be dropping by just to meet Natalie’s daughter. He stopped his comment and just repeated, ”Well, I’m here. Can I come in?”

Turning himself into the police was less stressful than this.

"What did I say about eating before dinner?"

Norah's face fell and she hid the partially eaten cookie that she'd swiped from the counter behind her back. Her face contorted slightly as she began to speak, obviously trying to remember the rule that her mother had given her. "Only do it when the dinner sucks."

Natalie nodded proudly, moving behind her daughter to take the cookie out of her hand. The gluten-free, raw sugar makeup of the thing caused it to crumble slightly under her grip. She'd been working hard to teach her the ins and outs of loopholes, and this was an easy beginner one to start with. You only ruin your appetite if you know that what's coming isn't going to be worth waiting for. 

"Lucky for you, this dinner does not suck. Can't you smell it?" She moved through the kitchen and began to waft the smell of the pot roast that had been cooking for a while over to the little girl. She was making dinner for three rather than two, and her thoughts had immediately travelled to a pot roast. To her, it seemed like the ultimate family dish and they were finally going to be a family. All together. In one home. It almost seemed like she was imagining it.

She lifted the cookie in the air and then pointed to it with her index finger. "You can have this back later, alright?" She set it down on the countertop in a spot that she knew Norah would be able to reach when the time came, provided that she used some fancy methods to get at it.

"Who's coming? Is it Kaitlyn again?" Norah asked, referring to her favourite babysitter. She'd been told the details of the evening several times already, but she couldn't seem to - or didn't want to bother to - remember.

Natalie shook her head. "No, it's mommy's friend Nate, remember? Don't worry, you'll like him lots. We'll have fun." 

There was coffee brewing, wine chilling, and food in the oven. She'd even gotten Norah a juice bottle for the special occasion. All she had to do was wait for-

Natalie sped to the door at the sound of the knock. She stepped carefully over toys that were strewn carelessly over the floor. It was the only part of her life that she'd ever let be messy, and she was actually rather enjoying it. 

"Nathaniel, come in," Natalie said as she opened the door. It had come out far more formally than she'd meant for it to. "Norah, come say hello."

Staring at the fine wood of the door, Nate felt like he was stuck in limbo. He was standing and waiting for his life to change, but he had already knocked, so the matter was out of his hands. Once Natalie answered the door, he was in a new reality; a whole new world where he had to be a new man.

He was not a religious person, but he prayed he was ready to be that man.

His purgatory finally came to an end when the doorknob turned and Natalie was standing before him in the open doorway. All of his senses were hyper-aware; he could smell the wafting scent of something savory and mouth-watering emanating from the kitchen; he could see the high-end, well-furnished apartment, and the toys strewn about the otherwise tidy living room; and when Nat called for Norah, he could hear the shuffling of feet coming from the kitchen, growing closer.

Nate took a deep breath as he stepped into the apartment, because this was his last chance to prepare himself.

Love at first sight was, Nate was sure, a myth, but there were rare exceptions. Laying eyes on his daughter for the first time was one of those exceptions. Norah was more perfect than even the collection of photos on Nat’s phone could do justice. She stood a little more than half of Nate’s height, but one day she would grow up and be even taller than her mother, given the height she might inherit from Nate. He was going to watch this girl grow up.

There was so much of Nat in Norah, from the long, brown hair to the smile she greeted Nate with. (Nat smiling was an admittedly rarer occurrence, but when she did, it was something to behold.) Meeting Norah’s eyes for the first time, all he could do was smile warmly. She was his. The eyes did not lie.

”Hello, Mr. Nate,” Norah greeted politely. It was nice to know Natalie prepared the girl to meet him, at least enough that she knew his name.

Nate crouched so he could get closer to his daughter’s level. All he wanted to do was hug her and tell her he loved her; that he was here now and he was not going away. For now, he offered his hand. ”Hello, Norah. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Your mom has told me all about you.”

Norah smiled proudly and shook Nate’s hand, replying (in a tone that was more polite than what she was saying,) ”Nice to meet you! Mom didn’t tell me about you at all.”

It was honest and pure and Nate found himself laughing, looking up at Nat before returning his eyes to his daughter. ”Well, I knew your mom a long time ago,” he admitted, thankful that he could be entirely truthful to his daughter, even if he had to skirt around certain truths. ”But now we’re going to be friends again, which means I get to know you, too!” He was doing his best to keep his composure, but his voice betrayed some of the genuine excitement he was feeling now that he was finally talking to Norah.

Calm down… your on dad probation, remember? Nate had to be on his best behavior, because all it would take was Nat changing her mind for this wonderful moment to be taken away from him again. He needed this first step to work out.

The corners of Natalie’s mouth turned ever so slightly upward as she listened to the conversation between Norah and Nate. She’d raised her daughter to be honest in each situation that it made sense to be honest in, and that was exactly what she was doing.

She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at Norah’s second statement. The smile that she was nearly wearing freely divulged a dangerous secret. No, she was not a cold hard bitch all the time. In fact, around her daughter, she often smiled. There was a stark difference between her personality at home and her personality everywhere else. It was a little strange to have someone that she would interact with regularly learn that.

She hadn’t told Norah a lot about Nate, but that was mostly because she wanted to leave that task up to him. She didn’t want any sort of prefacing that she did to leave an impact on the girl and give her negative connotations. Any of those would be coming straight from the source.

However, as she watched Nate look at their daughter, she had a strong suspicion that that wasn’t likely to happen of his own volition. The way he looked at her was… something else. It was a look that Natalie wished her own father would have looked at her with.

The woman cleared her throat and shoved any emotion she felt down to the deep pit where they belonged. Cold and steely, she reminded herself, don’t get too attached.

”Come on, Norah. Why don’t you show Nate inside?” she suggested, placing a hand gently on her daughter’s back to usher her inside of their apartment. She turned back to face Nate and nodded toward the inside of her apartment, signaling that it was perfectly fine if he came inside.

”Yeah!” Norah cried excitedly, ”wanna see my new colouring book? It has Moana on it. I got it for a prize at school.”

Natalie smiled to herself as she ventured back into the kitchen, leaving Norah and Nate alone to chat. Once the girl got going on a subject that she liked (such as disney movies) she could talk anyone’s ear off. It was a good way to clear any ice or awkwardness that threatened the relationship between the newly introduced family members.

While the other two occupants of the apartment were busy, the woman pulled the roast out of the oven and set it down on top of the oven. The meat and potatoes still sizzled in the pan, creating a wonder sound and aroma that travelled all through the room. She turned the pots that had vegetables boiling off and drained the water into the sink. Then, carefully, she set the dishes down on the table where there were coasters waiting for them.

”Dinner’s ready whenever you are,” Natalie announced, her voice having returned to its normal, steady state.

Natalie was probably dealing with emotions of her own as her daughter unknowingly met her father for the first time, but if she was showing any signs of them, Nate was oblivious. He held nothing against Natalie, but she was not the person he cared about in this moment. He did notice that she almost laughed as well at their daughter’s blatantly honest statement; he was sure Norah was given a vague idea of who he was, but there were so many particulars Natalie was not ready to discuss.

He hoped she would understand when they told her the truth.

Natalie officially invited Nate in with a wordless nod and suggested that Norah be his guide until dinner was ready. The young girl took the role gladly, excited to show Nate her coloring book. The man smiled and nodded. ”I would love that, Norah,” he assured her as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the couch in the living room. As he sat down and she grabbed the coloring book from the coffee table.

”This is Moana and she is a chieftain’s daughter, which is not the same thing as a princess, but she’s kinda a lot like a princess,” Norah explained enthusiastically, clearly excited about the subject matter, as any good six-year-old would be. ”And that’s Maui. He’s big and he acts selfish, but he’s not actually selfish, he’s nice.”

Nate taught younger students, so he knew about the popular movie, but he was content to listen to Norah’s insights. ”Interesting!” He pointed to the rooster on the page and asked, ”And who is this?”

Looking down at the page, Norah giggled. ”That’s Heihei! He’s silly and tries to eat rocks.” Nate had to laugh too; Norah’s energy was infectious.

She flipped though more pages, before pointing out, ”I’m almost done coloring this one.”

The end of that sentence had Nate curious. ”Do you have a lot of coloring books?”

”Mhmm! Tons! I love to color and I love to draw.” Norah beamed with pride when she added, ”My teacher says I’m the best drawer in our class!”

She was not the only one beaming with pride, as Nate felt a warm feeling in his chest knowing his daughter was taking to drawing at such a young age. He knew Nat would make sure the girl was diligent with her studies, but he felt a special connection knowing she had a creative side growing already. Maybe some things really were genetic. ”That’s great, Norah! I actually teach art, so I like to draw, too. I’d love to see your drawings later, if that’s okay.”

Norah nodded excitedly, ”I can do that! I can even draw you something.”

There was clearly something in Nate’s eye. That was why he felt a sudden stinging. ”That’d be wonderful, Norah.”

Nate would have a chance to compose himself as Nat’s voice called out from the kitchen, inviting them in for food. ”Come on, Nate! Mommy made great food that doesn’t suck tonight!” Nate choked back a laugh at what he was sure was a remnant from a past conversation between mother and daughter.

Following his daughter into the dining area, the scents of meat and vegetables filled the air, and Nate smirked. ”Norah was right; that doesn’t smell like it sucks,” he joked, before more sincerely adding, ”Thank you for inviting me, Nat.” Dinner was a nice gesture, but she surely knew that was not what he was thanking her for. Already, this was one of Nate’s best nights in a long, long time.

”Sure,” Natalie nodded at Nate’s thanks. She’d been watching how he’d interacted with Norah, and she was honestly impressed. Not many people were that enthusiastic about listening to Norah talk about Moana, but he certainly was. If she wasn’t mistaken, she could have even sworn that she saw the hint of a tear in his eye.

However, she was forced to reflect back on her own parenting. She hadn’t paid attention to Norah’s talking about Moana in some time. What did that say about her?

No, she reminded herself, stopping any spiralling thoughts in their tracks. She’d had lots of time to warm up to Norah and hear her talking about the shiny crab. She’d heard enough about the shiny crab to last for several lifetimes. It was Nate’s first time listening to it all. No, she was a good mother. She just wasn’t quite as enamoured with the small things anymore.

She sliced into the roast easily and began to dole out slices that matched the size of the person that they were going to. A small one for Norah, a larger one for Nate, and a mid-sized one for herself. She couldn’t help but notice that it was reminiscent of Goldilocks, of all things. It was so incredibly mundane, it felt… nice. A good change of pace from their usual company of two and the occasional nanny.

She put a few potatoes and carrots on Norah’s plate before adding some to her own. ”I don’t want to eat the carrots!” Norah complained, pushing her plate farther back onto the table.

”One for each of your years being alive or no dessert,” Natalie told her. She was used to that compromise. She made it often, and Norah had come to understand it.

The little girl frowned, but picked up a carrot and put it in her mouth anyway. As usual, she weighed her dessert above the horrible experience of eating her vegetables.

With Norah’s dinner sorted, Natalie sat back down in her seat and glanced up at Nate.

It was a surreal feeling taking his seat at the table with Natalie and Norah. Pot roast was not the type of meal he would usually cook for himself, and it was not a date night meal to cook for a girlfriend. The meal was a hallmark of family dinners, and that was what he felt he was attending at the table. Nate and Natalie were not together, but they were Norah’s parents, even if they had not shared that detail with her just yet. He picked up on the little, cliché details like the slices Natalie distributed onto plates: the smallest for the daughter, a medium piece for the mother, and the largest piece for the father. It felt like something out of an idyllic family show from the fifties.

Thinking about it, this was the only family dinner Nate could remember having. By the time he was forming memories, his mother was alternating between being busy and being sick until she eventually passed away. She did her best, but this was not the kind of experience she could give her son. Now, he was sitting, watching his daughter and the woman who brought her into the world arguing about carrots.

He would be lying if he said the interaction was anything less than heartwarming. Norah was honest and lively, but she respected her mother. She grimaced at her first bite of carrot, but she ate it anyway. Hoping to try his hand at co-parenting and working on the same team as Nat, he said, ”Your mom is looking out for you, Norah. Carrots are good for your eyes, after all.” It was an overgeneralization of the science, but it was not untrue. ”Clearly, I should have eaten more carrots,” he joked, tapping the rim of his glasses.

Then again, it was possible all the carrots in the world would not save Norah. If genetics played a role, there was a real possibility she might take after her father and wear a pair of glasses of her own one day. For now, she just giggled at Nate and his self-admitted poor eyesight.

Cutting a piece from his slice of the roast, he speared a bit of potato and a carrot, trying out the meal himself. As a good cook himself, Nate was happy to have confirmation that Natalie had not been feeding his daughter terribly. ”Mm, the roast is delicious, Nat.” He glanced over to Norah and, with a grin, added, ”The carrots, too.”

Norah smiled and rolled her eyes, but she popped another carrot in her mouth. ”Maybe they’re not the most yucky,” she admitted while still chewing her vegetable.

Natalie looked up at Nate as he backed her up. She raised an eyebrow at him, not about to argue with his wive’s tale. The erudite woman was used to having to argue her point alone, but it was nice to have someone else agreeing with her. Even if he was feeding their daughter partial misinformation.

”Thank you,” she nodded at the compliment. She did have to admit that it tasted good. She absolutely was not trying to impress anyone. Absolutely not. She was a temple; the Pantheon. There was no way that she was subconsciously seeking the approval of an old flame that meant nothing to her.

Norah wiggled around in her chair as she ate her food, looking between the two adults at the table. She pushed her carrots around her plate, trying to make it look like she was eating more of them than she was.

”So, Norah, how was your day?” Natalie prompted, using her fork to guide some carrots onto the girl’s utensil. She received a frown, but she didn’t pay it any mind.

The little brunette chewed a piece of moist meat, swallowed, and then began to speak. ”I won a contest and Hailey gave me a bracelet!” Norah grinned, repeating the highlights that she’d already told Natalie.

The woman looked back at the man across from her, not bothering to stop the hint of a smile that had spread across her face. Norah was rambling on about the things that had happened at school, but Natalie was more interested in watching Nate’s reaction.

Nate was glad Natalie accepted the praise for her cooking, because it was warranted. The evening was obviously meant for him to impress her as a potential parenting partner, but Nate was finding himself impressed with the woman Nat had become. She still had all the sharp wit and attitude of the woman he met years earlier, but Norah brought out the side of her he assumed never existed. He saw the way she lit up when Norah shared the highlights of her day. She cooked with care when she was cooking for her daughter, and it seemed like she thought of Norah before even approaching a major decision (like reintroducing her long-lost father.) Natalie was right; she seemed like a great mother, and he saw her as a better person for it.

People always said children make you better, and Nate was sure that was not the case for everyone, but he was sure he would not be one of those exceptions. Norah was already having a good effect on Nate, who was pulled in by her enthusiasm as she recalled her successful day at school. He could tell he was smiling from ear to ear, and he did not care. ”Sounds impressive,” he said genuinely. ”What kind of contest did you win?”

Norah beamed, clearly proud of herself. ”We did a spelling contest and I spelled more words right than anyone else.” It was so enlightening seeing the priorities of a six-year-old and remembering how special it felt to win something like a spelling bee.

For a moment, Nate was so caught up in his daughter’s success, he almost slipped before catching himself. ”That’s great, Norah! I’m pr—I’m sure your mom is proud.” It might have seemed odd for a friend of Natalie to express his pride for a girl he had never met, but it was a hard sentiment to hide. ”And Hailey? She must be quite the friend to give you a bracelet.”

Norah nodded as she finished chewing the carrot she had popped into her mouth, barely grimacing because she was focused on sharing more than hating veggies. With her mouth now clear of food, (clearly learning proper manners from her mother,) she answered, ”Hailey is my best friend. Look!” The young girl held her arm out, brandishing a homemade bracelet adorned with beads and charms.

Nate examined the child’s jewelry as if he was appraising the street value of a diamond. ”Oh yes… I see… Definitely a best friend bracelet,” he affirmed with a smile. ”Are you going to give her one, too?”

The idea was well-received by Norah, who stopped just shy of biting a piece of roast from her fork. ”I should! Mommy, can I make Hailey a bracelet after dinner?” Nate was so happy to have given Norah such genuine excitement, he genuinely thought he might shed a tear. He was making his daughter smile. What more could he want in the world?

Like her mother, Norah had an aptitude for all things English. She excelled in her spelling class, and she was always the first person to answer any question about spelling or grammar. Whenever Natalie went to volunteer in her classroom, she was blown away by how much she knew at such a young age.

She also had an aptitude for art, and Natalie knew exactly where that came from, but it wasn't the time or place to comment on that.

She hadn't been surprised when Norah had come home to tell her that she'd won the spelling bee. Proud? Definitely proud. Surprised? Not even a little.

From across the table, she shot Nate a look after his slip-up. Sure, there was no way that Norah would catch on, but he was skirting the line; playing with fire. If he was already making mistakes after less than an hour with her, then who knew what he would do after a longer period of time? It became obvious to Natalie that she would have to tell Norah the truth sooner rather than later.

There went her plan, right down the drain. Then again, that was life, wasn't it? Having to constantly readjust to accommodate changes? Maybe it would be a good thing. She had wanted Norah to have a father more than anything, anyway, and she was young. She would adjust.

"Of course you can make her a bracelet. Do you remember what I taught you before? With the thread and the knots?" Natalie inquired. The Chinese staircase. A horribly outdated name, but it was a relatively simple way to make a bracelet with embroidery thread, and it was something that she had been able to teach her six-year-old. To some degree, anyway. She often made mistakes, but that wasn't a big deal at all.

"I think so, but that one doesn't have beads! Hailey made me one with beads!" Norah exclaimed, distraught by the very idea of a bracelet that was not adorned with the shiniest of objects.

Natalie paused for a second before continuing, "I think I know how we could add beads. Do you want to try it with me?" She had never attempted it before, but she was fairly certain that she knew of a way to make it work.

Norah considered her proposition before nodding. "Okay," she agreed before looking back at Nate. "Do you want to make some, mister Nate? If we all eat our food really fast then we can make lots before bed!"

The girl's face lit up as she talked. It seemed that the more the thought about the idea, the more excited she became about it.

Norah was clever, which was not surprising given her parentage, but what did seem to defy her parentage was the girl’s attitude and social grace. Nate was a master of faking the genuine, and Nat seemed like she could play at being social when necessary, but neither person had a history of trusting others, making connections, or altruism. Still, somehow they came together to create a little girl who wanted to reciprocate her friend’s kind gesture, adamant that she wanted to give Hailey something back that was just as good as what she was given. If it was a parents goal to bring someone into the world that could be better than them, Norah was a great start for that.

Natalie was clearly a big part of that. She did not flinch at Norah’s request to add beads to her friendship bracelet, figuring out a way for the girl to make it work. Nat was accommodating, encouraging, and clearly saw Norah as her one important priority in life. It reminded Nate of the bar she was setting as a parent—one she fully expected him to live up to, regardless of if he was starting late.

Watching the excitable young girl, Nate quietly wondered if this bracelet plan would be something that happened after he left. Norah banished the thought, enthusiastically asking if he wanted to help them with their crafts. His heart swelled, happy with how she was warming up to him. ”Of course I’d love to help. We’ll make so many bracelets, and we can pick out the best one for Hailey,” he answered with a smile. ”Don’t rush too much, though! You don’t want to upset your stomach.” His advice was hypocritical, as he suddenly found himself eating at a quicker pace than before.

---

It was hard to explain how idyllic everything felt. His stomach was full of a homecooked roast, followed by “vegan cookies” that were… well, the dinner was delicious. Norah even ate all her carrots, much to the joy of her mother, (who then rewarded her with dirt cookies.) He had a mug of coffee nearby as he sat on the carpet of the living room with Nat and Norah, making bracelets.

Norah was not joking; they made enough bracelets that he was wondering if her real plan was to use her parents as manual labor so she could start a business at school. Nate was in the middle of tying a knot to keep a bead in place when Norah held a bracelet in front of him and said, ”This one.”

He looked at the bracelet, curious. ”This one’s for Hailey?”

Norah shook her head adamantly. ”Nope! I already made Hailey’s. This one’s for you, Mister Nate.”

Nate’s eyes lit up like he himself was a child, looking at the gift in wonderment. ”Really?”

”Mhmm!” she confirmed before walking over to Natalie and handing her a bracelet as well. ”And this one is for you, mommy.”

Nate carefully slipped the bracelet on his wrist, certain it would remain there for some time to come. It was the first gift he received from his daughter; how could he not treasure it? He looked to Nat and smiled warmly, so thankful to her for the opportunity she gave him.

Natalie's wonderful dinner was cut short by the fact that the three of them were trying to eat quickly in order to make bracelets. Natalie tried to be angry about the fact that she'd put effort into that meal and it was being scarfed down, but she also found herself eating at a quicker rate than before. She hated that she could occasionally be swayed by groupthink.

Soon enough, there were two clean plates and one picked over plate (Norah didn't like certain parts of her meat) on the table. Natalie picked up the plates and allowed Nate and their daughter move over into the living room to work on the bracelets. She worked quickly, wanting to join them as soon as possible.

As soon as she was finished, Natalie joined the two of them in the seating area with a plate of her house-renowned gluten-free, raw sugar, vegan cookies. Norah had found her box of embroidery thread and was working through a bracelet. She had a few messy knots done, but Natalie was not about to fix them for her. She wanted the bracelet to be entirely her doing, after all.

"Alright, now I'll hold the bracelet for you and you can string on the beads, okay?" Natalie held it straight while her daughter threaded a bead on with little fingers. "After that, you can keep going with the bracelet, but do it tightly so the bead stays in place."

---

Before long, there was a growing pile of bracelets in the middle of the table. Natalie had taken to working on her own creations (she had drawn on her experiences at summer camp to figure out how to spell words within bracelets) in order to let Norah have some independence. It had turned out great, really. She'd produced more bracelets that she would have thought possible for one little girl.

What she hadn't expected was for Norah to give one to Nate. The woman watched with nearly tearful (not that she would let anyone see that) eyes as her daughter interacted with the father that she never knew. She had been worried that there wouldn't be enough ground work for her to be able to tell her the details of their relationship on, but it was building itself - no intervention required. Some might even say it was kismet.

She held out her wrist for Norah to tie the bracelet on her and then held it up to the light. It was a string of mismatched beads on a transparent string. There was no way that she would be able to wear it at work, but she would definitely wear it at home. And perhaps put it on the picture frame that she kept on her desk.

"It's beautiful, Norah. Thank you," she complimented and kissed the girl on the top of her head. "It's nearly bedtime, though. Why don't we clean this up and say goodnight to mister Nate?"

Nate was still looking at the colored beads around his wrist as Norah gave another gift to her mother. He knew realistically, it was a silly thing to get worked up about for a parent who had been around to enjoy these arts and crafts moments growing up, but that was not him. This was the first time he was receiving something from Norah, and it felt more precious than anything he had stolen.

Nat advised her daughter to wish goodnight to the man she had met that evening. Ever the good daughter, she offered a delicate little hand for Nate to take gently. ”It was really nice to meet you, Mister Nate!”

It was all he could do not to pick the girl up and give her a long-overdue hug, but Nate held back for the moment. ”It was a pleasure meeting you, Norah.”

Natalie brought her daughter up to bed, and returned back to the living room. It had been a successful night for a first meeting, and with the daughter drifting off to sleep, the parents had their time to catch up over coffee and good feelings.