Chapter 327: Dinner
*Miss Shiloh is so cool. Can she be our new mom? – Alyssa*
Being a single dad for eight years made Pagan very good at domestic chores. Granted, he loved cooking. His mother bought him cookbooks and cleaning manuals for Christmas and birthdays. If there was a meal or a mess, he could take care of it.
Except for his ex.
That was a mess that no amount of bleach could make go away. And the fact that his seven-year-old would rather have a stranger over her own mom, said a lot.
Their divorce had to be postponed until Amber had the baby. Then there was the DNA test to determine paternity. Even if Alyssa had not been his, he would have fought for her. The moment the nurse placed the tiny newborn in his arms, he was in love.
That precious, precocious little girl was helping her older sister to set the table. Watching them as he finished the broccoli and rice, he could only smile. He never would have imagined that he would be a single dad living in a large Victorian house preparing dinner for a woman he planned on taking to bed once his daughters were asleep.
But that is exactly what he was doing.
When the doorbell rang, Pagan was just as excited as the girls were. He reminded them to check the sidelight before opening the door.
“It’s her! It’s her!” Alyssa jumped up and down excitedly.
Stepping out of the kitchen, he nodded for Ashlyn to open the door. She opened it and asked Shiloh to come in.
Both girls had insisted on changing into their new outfits. Ashlyn wore black Capri pants with tiffany blue trim and a matching Tiffany blue t-shirt with an iconic Audrey Hepburn silhouette from Breakfast at Tiffany’s on it. Alyssa wore leggings that were a pale blue with black stitches and a long t-shirt dress with Jack and Sally on it.
Shiloh complimented both girls on their outfits. She wore the same outfit from earlier, a black cardigan with skeleton hands across the collar bones, a red cotton shirt and a black pencil skirt with ridiculously high platform Mary Jane shoes.
Her hair was in waves down her back. She had silver skeleton hands holding red roses clipped in her hair to keep it out of her face. Her Betty bangs had a streak of red matching the other streaks in her black hair.
Pagan felt underdressed in his jeans and t-shirt. When she smiled at him, he suddenly felt overdressed. Would it be wrong to send the girls to bed before dinner?
“Probably.” Pagan muttered under his breath.
“I brought wine for us and cider for the girls.” Shiloh said handing him a Dark Moon bag.
“I don’t have any glasses.” He admitted as he took the bag.
“I brought those, too.” She blushed. “A housewarming gift.”
“Thanks.” He said taking the bag into the kitchen.
The girls each had one of Shiloh’s hands and were talking a mile a minute. Opening the bag, he found two bottles, already chilled, and four wine glasses in individual boxes.
The first glass he pulled out was a crystal goblet with a pewter devil. The goblet sat on the pitchfork and the tail wrapped around it keeping it in place. There was a mate to it with a female devil.
The next one was a plastic wine glass with the Corpse Bride on it. Alyssa’s favorite Tim Burton movie. The next was also plastic with a pink Barbie silhouette on the stem. On the goblet it read “My life goal is to have Barbie’s closet.”
The two girls were now sitting at the table with Shiloh. Alyssa sat on her right and Ashlyn on the left. Once again, they were intrigued by her hair. Patiently she was explaining how she used extensions to add color to her hair.
Typically, the girls helped bring the dishes to the table. He let them stay at the table while he washed the new glasses. After drying them, he poured sparkling cider for the girls. He took them to the table before pouring the wine.
“If you would rather have a beer, I understand.” Shiloh said as he placed their glasses on the table.
“You’ll never know if you like it unless you try it.” Both girls recited and he grinned.
“I’ve been out voted.” Pagan said with a wink.
He moved back to the kitchen and his girls followed him. It warmed his heart that they wanted to help. Of course, they wanted to impress Miss Shiloh.
He wanted to impress Miss Shiloh. Not the same way as his daughters.
Alyssa picked up the breadbasket that had her moon biscuits in it. Seriously, children should be in charge of naming things. Moon biscuits was so much better than crescents.
He should send that to Pillsbury.
Ashlyn picked up the plate of rabbit spears, also known as asparagus in other households. He grabbed the chicken and reached for the broccoli and rice. Shiloh already had the potholders in hand and picking up the casserole dish.
Once they were all seated with their plates filled, Pagan decided that they needed to do their regular routine.
“What was today’s word of the day?”
“Mine was euphoric. A feeling of intense…” Ashlyn paused and then got excited, “excitement or happiness. Today left me feeling euphoric.”
“And?” He encouraged.
“E-U-P-H-O-R-I-C.”
“Very good. Alyssa?”
“Accident. A-C-I-D-E-N-T.”
“Almost.” Shiloh said gently. “Accident is one of those weird words where you have the same letter twice, making two different sounds.”
With a confused look on her face, Alyssa slowly said accident several times. Suddenly a smile broke out on her face.
“There’s two C's. A-C-C-I-D-E-N-T. I left out a C on accident. Oh yeah, when something goes wrong.”
Pagan smiled at the woman across from him over his wine glass. She met his eyes and smiled back.
“Do you have a word also?”
“I do. Doughty. D-O-U-G-H-T-Y. Steadfast and persistent. Shiloh has a doughty attitude to open two stores at once.”
“Thank you.” Shiloh smiled. “This is really good. Thank you for inviting me.”
“You’re welcome. I should have asked for Gertie to come also.” He shook his head realizing that he had not even thought of her roommate.
Shiloh gave a little laugh before taking a drink of her wine. “Her plans for tonight included finishing the sandwich trays, opening a bottle of wine and soaking in a bubble bath.” She smiled with amusement and gave another laugh. "And keeping her kittens *out* of the tub."
