Chapter 5

“Just let me out there.” She pointed in front of Miranda’s apartment.

Ceaser pulled up directly in front of Miranda’s apartment.

“Wait.” He told Jules before he got out of the car and before Jules could ask why, he was opening her door.

Jules smiled as she stepped out.

“Thank you.”

“So, see you around?” Ceaser smiled.

“Maybe.”

Goodness, she was flirting with him.

She couldn’t remember the last time she flirted.

“Goodnight and thanks again.”

“Anytime.” Ceaser watched Jules as she made her way towards the apartment and climbed up the stairs. He rounded the car, got in and drove off.

Jules finally reached Miranda’s door then knocked once and waited. No one answered so she knocked again.

“I’m coming.” She heard someone yell from inside.

The door finally opened and she saw Sofi.

“Oh my goodness Jules, where have you been? You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.” she said. “Andy almost called the cops.”

“What?” Jules stepped into the cosy apartment.

“Andy, Jules is here.” Sofi yelled after she shut the door.

Andy came from one of the bedrooms into the medium sized sitting room with Ivy.

“Where have you been? I almost called the cops.”

“I’m sorry. My car didn’t start and there weren’t any available Uber. But I got a ride.” Jules said as she took Ivy in her arms and kissed the top of her head.

Sofi went to the kitchen while Andy took the other seat next to her.

“A ride uh?” Sofi asked from the kitchen as she stirred. “Who?”

Jules realized in that moment that she didn’t know who he was and they had met three times.

“I don’t know his name.” She shook her head, brows furrowed

“Oh, my goodness, didn’t anyone ever tell you not to accept rides from strangers and a male stranger at that.” Andy said “Was he hot though.”

Jules laughed

“First of all he wasn’t a stranger, not really.” She said “Secondly, yes, he was hot.”

And that was how their girl’s night started.

Ceaser couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something about her that attracted him to her. She was different for anyone he’d dated, before Bea and anyone he slept with, after Bea.

She was mesmerizing and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from glancing at her – one look hadn’t been enough. He remembered her baby then and he smiled at the irony of his situation, he was admiring someone else’s daughter when he hated kids. Hate was too strong a word. But from what he had seen and heard about them, they were loud and messy - two things he hated; Noise and Mess. He’d never thought of having his own kids but Bea’s letter had changed that. He wanted to be a father. He wanted to be called dad by his daughter and he didn’t just want the title, he wanted everything that came with the title.

A smile tugged at his lips as he pictured a little version of Bea and himself running around in his living room calling him dad and giggling as he chased her.

His smile faded as it occurred to him that he still didn’t know her name. They had met three times and he hadn’t gotten her name.

He would definitely be seeing her soon.

He thought and a smiled tugged at his lips as he pulled up into his garage.

The next morning, Jules woke up and got ready to leave after making breakfast for everyone. Ivy woke up later and Jules fed her, got her ready for the day, for whatever they were going to do. Andy woke up before she left and decided she and Sofi were going to take Ivy out. So, she had to leave Ivy with them and go home alone. They were going to bring her home in the evening which meant she had the day to herself.

Jules was cleaning late that afternoon when she heard a knock on the door. She went to check who it was and was very surprised at who she found standing in front of her.

“You.” She said after recovering from the shock.

Ceaser looked up from the floor and stared at the familiar face. His heart stopped beating as shock spread through his body. His breath caught.

He had woken up this morning with a smile on his face and he had no idea why. He decided to check out the address John gave his daughter’s adoptive mother – Jules Jenna. He wasted no time at all and after he reviewed some employee’s information, he left the house and went in search of Jules Jenna.

Thanks to the GPS, it didn’t take much time to find the house. Now here he was staring at her and all he could think was - this isn’t happening.

He released the breath he had been holding, still too shocked to speak.

“What are you doing here?” She smiled.

“What are ‘you’ doing here?” He asked, hoping this was some kind of mistake. He could clearly remember; he didn’t drop her here yesterday. So, what was she doing here, he wondered?

“I live here.” she said as-a-matter-of-fact.

Ceaser was confused. “The owner of the house?”

If she owned the house then…

“I own the house…” she said “…now at least.” she murmured.

“Who owned it previously?” he asked, praying silently that she would give him a name and he’d be on his way in search of the previous owners.

She stilled and just stared at him. She shook her head and blinked fast. Then she looked back at him.

“I’m sorry for my bad manners. Do you want to come in?” She smiled at him.

The change in her expression was so fast that he felt like he stumbled in.

“Sure.” He said, stepping in as she opened the door wide.