When the last note played, she paused, her hands out, tears in her eyes and her body shaking. He wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline or what, but f**k, she was astonishing. Pride exploded in him, and he wanted to scream out that she was his girl. Because she was, and she always would be. No matter what. He was going to make up for the time he wasn’t there for her. He was going to make her proud of have him as an uncle as he was proud to have her as a niece.

A grin sat on his face as he watched her bite into her lip, her shoulders falling with each breath she took as she looked over at him. Reese shut the music off, and then clapped her hands.

“So, what do you think?”

Phillip couldn’t stop grinning as he slowly clapped. “Breathtaking, Claire. Simply breathtaking.”

A radiant grin covered her lips as she crossed her legs, her cheeks burning with color. “Really?”

“Yes, I am so freaking proud of you. You were made to be a dancer, so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said, shyly looking away.

“Awesome, I think she’s gonna kill in Chicago,” Reese added.

Phillip smiled widely at her. “I agree, make sure you get me the times. I hope I can be there.”

“You’ll be gone,” Claire objected.

“Yeah, but our last away game is in Chicago, so I am hoping I can swing it.”

Claire’s face lit up. “So you’ll be there!”

He nodded. “I’m going to try my hardest.”

“Awesome,” she said before doing a little twirl.

He smiled before looking back over at Reese. She was grinning at him, looking all sexy and edible. Damn, she was like a f**king candy shop to him. He wanted to savor each of her flavors and treats. He just wanted to devour her. All of her.

He needed to get out of there before he did just that. Looking back at Claire, he smiled. “Come on, let’s go celebrate. We’ll go to dinner and maybe a movie since Harper will be picking you up from school tomorrow.”

Claire smiled. “Awesome.” She then turned to Reese. “Wanna come?”

Reese looked over at her and smiled. He would love that. Both his girls at dinner? Hell yeah, but Reese shook her head. “Not tonight, Claire, he’s leaving. Spend time with your uncle. We’ll all go out in Chicago, hopefully.”

Claire made a disgruntled noise as Phillip said, “Are you sure?”

She smiled. “Yeah, thanks for the invite though. Y’all have fun.”

He wanted to change her mind, but he didn’t want to seem too eager in front of Claire. So instead, he looked away and waited for Claire to get her things before they turned to leave. When he reached the door though, he turned to look over his shoulder at Reese. She was smiling, pulling at the bottom of her shirt, looking so damn pretty it wasn’t fair. She waved, and he threw her a lopsided grin before leaving with the promise in his mind that one day soon, it would be all of them going out together.

As a family.

Shit, he was in deep, he thought as he reached the car where Claire was waiting for him. He slid into his seat and started the engine, noticing that Claire was on her phone. He wondered who she was talking to. Maybe that Brian kid, which reminded him.

Clearing his throat, he said, “I saw your dance partner guy.”

Claire looked up from her phone. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, I passed by him when I was coming in. Seems like a nice guy.”

“He is.”

“Do I need to talk to the kid? Warn him if he hurts you, he dies?”

Claire scoffed. “What the heck? Who said anything about hurting me?”

“He looks like one of those One Direction kids you like. I know you probably like him.”

She shook her head. “He’s a friend.”

Friend, huh? That didn’t work for him because he was in love with his supposed-to-be friend.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm what?” She laughed. “Nothing is going on.”

“You’d tell me?”

“Yeah. We’re cool, I guess, and I mean I like him, but it’s not a big deal.”

Choosing her words carefully, he said, “You know you can tell me anything. No reason to be bulletproof or put walls up. I’m here for you.”

She looked away. “I am starting to believe that.”

“Good because I love you, and I am so proud of you.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Phillip.”

No, I love you back, and that stung, but he knew that he could change that. She just needed time. Everyone he loved needed time and that was fine, he knew he would get what he wanted in the end.

There was no other option but winning.

“I’m just throwing this out there,” Reese said from beside him with a big tub of popcorn in her lap and a large soda between them. “But if this is your last few hours home, don’t you think we should spend it in my bed or yours?”

He chuckled as he took a handful of popcorn and threw it in his mouth. His idea of a date at the movies was a spur-of-the-moment thing. He had planned to do just what she said, but he wanted her to see that they had fun together, that they worked. He had picked her up on his bike, since it was a gorgeous day. It was a little chilly, but they were both dressed for the weather and enjoyed the ride immensely. After taking her to sushi at their favorite spot, they headed to the theater. It was dead in there, they were early to the movie, but it seemed as if they were going to be the only people here and he didn’t mind that one bit.