At least she recognized her mistakes. That was a start. And only the future would tell if she’d truly commit herself to be worthy of being in our lives. For now, the distance was best.
Time nursing Dimitri backto health flew by—mostly a blur of his teasing jokes and all those "accidental" touches he kept sneaking in.
When he heard about Lady Maia's decision, he just pulled me into the softest hug and said he was honestly so relieved and glad that I wasn't shutting everything down or running from it anymore. Instead, I was finally facing what was inside me and giving those old scars the closure they needed. He admitted his own feelings about his mother are just as messy and complicated, but like I said—this might really be the best thing we could do.
Dimitri and I decided that we were going to tell Adele the truth the day he was discharged from the hospital. Her little “welcome back” party for Dimitri was cute. She’d made sure I ordered his favorite foods, and even planned an itinerary with Sarah, which involved watching movies and eating. When dinner was done, Sarah went home, and we sat with Adele in the living room to divulge the truth. We’d been dancing around it for weeks. She knew Dimitri was important.
“Baby, we need to talk about something important,” I said, going to settle into the couch beside her. Dimitri sat on her other side, his hand finding mine across her small body. “About Dimitri.”
“I thought you said he was fine!” Adele’s eyes went wide. “Is he still sick?”
“No, sweetheart. Nothing like that.” I took a breath. “Do you remember how you asked me once why you don’t have a daddy like yourfriends do?”
She nodded slowly.
“Well, the truth is, you do have a daddy. You’ve always had one. He just…he couldn’t be with us for a while.”
“Why not?”
God, how did I explain this to a four-year-old?
“Because grown-ups make mistakes sometimes,” Dimitri said gently. “And I made a really big mistake that kept me away from you and your mommy. But I’m here now. And I’m never going away again.”
Adele looked between us, her little brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“Adele,” I said softly, taking her hand. “Dimitri is your daddy. Your real daddy.”
She went very still. “Really?”
“Really,” Dimitri confirmed, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m your father. And I love you so much.”
For a long moment, Adele just stared at us. Processing. Trying to understand. Then, to my relief, her face broke into the biggest smile I’d ever seen.
“I have a daddy!” She launched herself at Dimitri, wrapping her small arms around his neck. “I have a real daddy!”
Dimitri caught her, holding her close, his eyes squeezed shut against tears. “You do, little dragon. You always did. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”
“It’s okay. You’re here now.” Adele said, pulling back to look at him. “Does this mean you’ll come live with us? And we can be a real family?”
“If your mommy will have me,” Dimitri said, looking at me over Adele’s head.
“Always,” I whispered with a smile, wiping the tear that fell from my face.
Adele squealed with delight, bouncing between us. “You, me, Mommy, and Uncle Crane are going to be one big happy family!”
That night, we read Adele a bedtime story together, and when she’d finally fallen asleep, we slipped away from her room into mine.
“Oh, she’s such a yapper,” I said with a rather delightful smile. “I thought she was going be up till one a.m.”
Dimitri chuckled, but the laugh died down rather too quickly.
I frowned. “What?”
Dimitri shook his head. “I just—I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy in my life. So at… peace. And it’s all because of you. You gave me the greatest joy in my entire life.”
His words sank in, and I smiled. “I couldn’t have done it alone. I mean it takes two to tango—if you know what I mean.” I winked, and Dimitri laughed.
“Speaking of Tango…” He crossed the room to me, wrapping an arm around my waist to pull me into him. I felt it then—the bulge in his pants.