Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 38

The day was a little cooler, and as a breeze passed, she clutched her denim jacket a little tighter around herself. She walked up to the front door, only to see Maddie already waiting in the window for her, a grin plastered on her face. She heard her faint shout as she scrambled down from her perch, making Meredith laugh softly, shaking her head. It made her heart swell to see how excited Maddie was to see her.

The door opened before Meredith could even knock, Derek stood there with a soft grin and Maddie at his feet. The small girl was bouncing slightly on her toes, quickly getting Meredith's full attention.

"Mer! Ready go?!" she grinned, reaching her arms up to her.

"I'm more than ready," she grinned back.

She crouched down and pulled Maddie into a hug, feeling the warmth radiating from her. Maddie giggled softly, kissing Meredith's cheek. Meredith kissed hers back.

"Are you ready?" Meredith asked.

"Yep!" Maddie nodded.

"Not quite," Derek interrupted, gently ruffling the top of Maddie's head, "You need to get your bag, Princess, it has your purse in with the money from Nanny."

"Daddy! Not hair!" Maddie pouted, trying to flatten down her curls again.

"Hey Maddie, go and get your hair brush and I'll fix your hair before we go, okay?" Meredith offered, standing up again.

Maddie nodded before rushing off up the stairs, and Meredith couldn't help but laugh softly. She looked back to Derek, who was still grinning as he watched her, and she quirked an eyebrow.

"You look awfully happy today."

"You've made my daughter a very happy girl," he wound his arms around her waist as he pulled her into a hug, "Hello."

"Hey," she laughed again, pressing a quick kiss against his lips.

"She hasn't stopped talking about going out with you," he shook his head with a soft chuckle, "My mom gave her some money so she can pick something out to give me, apparently I can't pay for my own birthday present."

"Your mom's right," Meredith said with a slight frown, kissing him again, "What do you want for your birthday anyway?"

"You definitely don't have to get me anything," he rolled his eyes, returning her kiss before the separated at the sound of Maddie's footsteps, "Here, I'll just grab some cash for her lunch, and a treat."

"No," she took his forearm, stopping him from grabbing his wallet, "It's my treat, I'm taking her out."

"Okay, but I'm paying for dinner on tomorrow night," he compromised, gently squeezing her hand.

"Fine," she shook her head with a soft laugh, releasing his hand as Maddie returned, "Got everything?"

"Yup! And brush hair!" She held the hairbrush up to her.

She took the brush and knelt down in the doorway as Maddie turned around. Gently she started running the bristles through Maddie's curls, smoothing them out. She loved how soft Maddie's hair was and wondered how much Derek knew how to style her hair. Maybe she should offer to do this more often. She didn't want to intrude too much though, make either of them feel uncomfortable. She had to find the right balance.

She could feel Derek's eyes on her, and she glanced up, not missing the slight emotion in his eyes. She focused back on Maddie's hair, finishing it off as she stood patiently. She knew this must mean a lot to Derek, but she wasn't ready to focus on what that meant. Especially not when they hadn't been on their first date. Or would it be classed as a second date? She didn't know. But it needed to at least happen before she started thinking about what this all meant.