Tate’s heart stopped everytime Stella called him ‘dad’ around Margaret. The pessimistic part of him thought that Margaret would be angered and tell her daughter to stop acknowledging him like that. But when Margaret said nothing the first time, he felt relieved; the second time, he felt hopeful; the third time, which was now, he felt like the most blessed creature in the world.

He matched Stella’s smirk when he said, “Says the one who’s trying to converge every conversation with me to only one topic.”

“Which topic is that?” Stella questioned.

“You’re doing it again.”

“I know,” Stella chuckled, and as embarrassed as Margaret was, she couldn’t help but...