Reagan Ann dressed up for their lunch date in a frilly yellow and white dress and cute black shoes. She beamed at Luke through the car window and waved high over her head. Luke waved back. He stood on the sidewalk by the restaurant, waiting for them to arrive. He’d shown up a handful of minutes early, too excited to see Freddie and Reagan Ann again to stay home.

Freddie parked and got out of the car. He waved to Luke briefly, then focused on getting Reagan Ann out of her booster seat. The second her shoes hit the parking lot, she jumped up and down, waving at Luke like they were long-lost friends. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

Freddie closed the door, locked the car, and took her hand. They looked both ways, then crossed the parking lot to join Luke on the sidewalk. Reagan Ann practically dragged Freddie behind her.

“Hi Luke!” Reagan Ann said. She hugged his leg tightly. “Daddy said you’d be here and you’re here!”

“Yup. Here I am.” Her hair was too nice for him to muss, so he left it be. “Are you excited for lunch? Do you know what you’re going to eat?”

“Chicken nuggets,” Reagan Ann declared. “And French fries.”

“A good choice. But I think they serve chicken tenders here, not chicken nuggets. They’re even tastier.”

“Yum!”

Luke looked from Reagan Ann to her father. Freddie stood just behind her, a gentle smile on his face.

“Hi, Luke,” Freddie said.

“Hey.” Luke smiled. “What are you going to eat for lunch today?”

“Maybe a salad with a grilled chicken breast,” Freddie said with a shrug. “I’m not too hungry today.”

“Nervous?” Luke grinned.

The look in Freddie’s eyes said yes. “About what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Life in general.” Luke pointed toward the door. “Let’s go get seated so we can look at the menu. I don’t know about you, Reagan Ann, but I’m starved.”

“Me too!” Reagan Ann skipped back to stand beside her father. She reached up and took his hand. “We’re going to have a good lunch together, aren’t we, Luke?”

“Yes, we are.” Luke held the door open for them, and Freddie held the inner door in return. Luke gave him a semi-thankful, semi-flirtatious look on the way past.

The hostess seated them quickly and gave them menus. Luke looked over his, not too sure what he was in the mood for. It was a little Mom and Pop business that served American cuisine, but there were so many dishes to choose from that he couldn’t put his finger on what sounded the best.

Across the table, Freddie was helping Reagan Ann with the menu. They worked on numbers and letters together, and every time Reagan Ann got something right, her expression grew a little brighter. The girl was smart, and Luke was sure she’d grow up to be a fine student. It certainly looked like she had an aptitude for learning.

Luke decided to get chicken tenders — Reagan Ann was thrilled — and they placed their order with the waitress who stopped by. When she was gone, Reagan Ann squirmed in her chair, then spoke. “Are we going to go to the movies after this?”

“No, baby.” Freddie kissed the top of her head and glanced across the table at Luke, silently asking if he was ready. Luke nodded. “But maybe we can go some other time. How does that sound?”

“Yes!” Reagan Ann exclaimed. She hugged Freddie tightly. “We get to play with Luke again? I missed him.”

“I know, sweetheart, but you won’t have to miss him again.” Freddie hugged her back. “Luke and I have decided that we like each other very much, and we’re going to start dating. That means that Luke is going to be around the house a little more often, and we’ll get to go out with him more, too. How do you feel about that?”

Reagan Ann’s eyes went wide. She looked at Luke, then she grinned a sharkish smile that almost had Luke bursting out with laughter. “You are going to be my new Daddy.”

Freddie froze. His cheeks went pink — something that Luke found way too hot — and he put a hand on Reagan Ann’s back to try to distract her. Reagan Ann looked his way.

“That’s not quite how it works, sweetheart.”

“Yes it is,” Reagan Ann said. “You date someone, then you get married, and then whoever you marry gets to be my new Daddy. Or Mommy. But Luke isn’t a girl, so he can’t be a Mommy. That’s how it works.”

Luke was still close to laughter, but Freddie looked so flustered that he had no choice but to step in. “That’s almost right, Reagan Ann. You have the right idea. When people like each other very, very much, sometimes they decide to date to see if they can really get along during day to day life. Sometimes they can, and they start to fall in love and decide to get married, but sometimes, they learn they’re better off as friends and they choose to go their separate ways.”

“No,” Reagan Ann gasped. “No, don’t leave, Luke! Please, marry my daddy!”

Luke couldn’t help himself — he laughed into his hand. She was way too adorable.

“We’re not planning on leaving each other,” Freddie said, stepping in. His cheeks were still red. “But we’re not planning on getting married just yet, either. You have to give us some time.”

“Then... then can we play pretend?” Reagan Ann asked in a small, eager voice. “You can pretend to be husbands, and I can be your daughter. Okay?”

The stupefied look on Freddie’s face was priceless. Luke pinched his lips together, trying not to laugh. It was good to see him put on the spot like this — it showed a side to him that Luke usually wouldn’t get to see.

“Well...” Freddie trailed off. “That’s what dating kind of is, sweetheart. It’s playing pretend at being married.”

Luke had never thought of it like that before. The sentiment behind it made him smile. He didn’t mind pretending to be Freddie’s husband. In fact, the thought filled him with radiant joy. A simple life. An eternal love. A quiet eternity next to a soul who knew him so well...

“Oh. Okay.” Reagan Ann looked back at Luke, then at Freddie. “So... so do I call Luke ‘Daddy’ now, like I call you?”

“No, sweetheart. Just call him Luke.”

“What if I want to call him Daddy?” Reagan Ann asked, curious. She wasn’t trying to make a fuss about it, as far as Luke was concerned — she just wanted to know.

He stepped in to answer for Freddie, taking the pressure off his shoulders. “One day, you’ll be able to call me that, but until the day I actually marry your father, you need to keep that feeling tight inside your chest and keep it special, okay? I want it to be a special time when I become a part of your family. Can you do that for me?”

Reagan Ann nodded furiously, her lips pressed shut. Freddie looked grateful. Luke smiled. He knew that breaking the news to Reagan Ann wasn’t going to be difficult, but he was still touched by the size of her heart. She was ready to trust him to fill an important role in her life, and he found his chest swelling with a strange kind of paternal pride. He wouldn’t let her down. For as long as she needed him, he would be there for her. She may not have been his flesh and blood, but she looked up to him, and that was enough.

“Daddy, I’m so happy,” Reagan Ann said. She rested her head against his arm, her expression genuinely blissful. “Luke is good. He’s a lot of fun. Do you think you’ll do lots of dating at the movies with me?”

Freddie laughed. “Maybe every now and then. We’ll see, okay?”

“Okay.”

Their food arrived, and soon enough, Reagan Ann was too focused on her chicken tenders to care much about what was going on between Luke and Freddie. Luke stretched his leg out beneath the table and brushed Freddie’s calf with his ankle. To his delight, Freddie brushed his calf against his ankle in exchange. Dating a man with a young child wasn’t going to be easy, and it was going to be a bit of a learning curve, but Luke was ready to be challenged. He wanted this. The niggling thought in the back of his mind that one day he’d marry the man sitting across from him wouldn’t leave him alone.

He may have been younger than Freddie, but he knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to get it. The tiny family he’d found in Freddie and Reagan Ann was one he couldn’t stand the thought of losing.

So very different than my blood family... I wish it wasn’t, but I’m grateful for what I have now. This is my chance for a new beginning... for a fresh start. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I make the most of it.

“Oh! Oh!” Reagan Ann clapped her hands suddenly, no longer distracted by chicken tenders. “Can we have ice cream? Please? Please, can we have ice cream?”

“I don’t know...” Freddie trailed off. He looked at Luke as if he was searching for answers. “Luke and I haven’t discussed what’s going on this afternoon. He might be busy.”

“I’m not busy,” Luke said. “But I know for a fact that your dad is very busy trying to keep up with his orders so you will have food to eat and to keep a roof over your heads. If he’s as busy this afternoon as I think he is, why don’t we come up with a compromise?”

“What’s a compro... compree... compreemise?” Reagan Ann asked, stumbling over the word.

Luke smiled. “A compromise is when you have two people who want different things, and you find a way to make them both happy. Usually it means taking a little part of what each person wants and joining it together. So, in this case, I know that your dad is busy and that he needs to go home to work, but I also know that you like ice cream... so my compromise is, why don’t you go home with your dad, and I’ll stop by the store on my way over and pick up some ice cream we can serve ourselves at your new house? At least, if that’s okay with your dad...”

“It is,” Freddie said. His smile was brighter than ever, and Luke saw a glimmer of attraction in his eyes. “I think that’s a great compromise.”

“Can you get the ice cream with chocolate and vanilla and strawberry?” Reagan Ann asked. “Neo... Nepo... Nepolan.”

“Neapolitan,” Luke said. “And I sure can. Why don’t you and your dad get ready to go home, and I’ll take care of the bill? I’ll meet you back at the house.”

“I’ve got this, Luke,” Freddie insisted. He looked worried, like he was expecting the worst. “It’s not fair to ask you to pay for both of us.”

“We’re playing pretend husbands, remember?” Luke winked. He stood, ready to go. “I’ve got this one. Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t think I could afford it... so let it be my treat, okay?”

Freddie looked grateful. Reagan Ann grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat, obviously excited about the idea of spending time with Luke and eating ice cream.

“I’ll see you guys at home,” Luke said. He gave Freddie one final, lingering look, then went to pay the bill. His heart fluttered, and every step he took felt brisk, like he was suddenly imbued with more energy than usual.

Love... that’s what this is, isn’t it? It’s so simple, but so wonderful. I’m going to show him exactly how it makes me feel.

The storm was over, and the repair work had begun. Luke knew that what they built from the ruins of their old relationship would make their new one stronger. He couldn’t wait to eat some ice cream with Reagan Ann and celebrate his victory the way it deserved to be celebrated — with the ones he loved.