Head over Heels: A Single Dad Romance(8)

"I was at Nana Jill's last night," Elizabeth informed me, and then popped a waffle piece in her mouth and sighed as she savored the tasty morsel. "Do you know my Nana Jill?"

"No," Michael jumped in, "I don't think she knows your Nana Jill." He ran his fingers through her hair to put it back in order from her makeshift hat then went on, "why don't you run to the kitchen and get yourself a juice pack to go with your pancakes." He steadied her plate as she jumped off the bed and a moment later we were alone.

"You undressed me?" I accused him with as much vigor as I could under the circumstances.

"No, I dressed you," he retorted, "you undressed yourself."

Fuck.

"So," I all but moaned, "what exactly happened last night."

Michael chuckled a bit, as if remembering a delightful time, and I cringed. I was never going to be able to show my face anywhere ever again.

"You were doing well - relatively well," he amended, "until the drive home when you fell asleep in the truck."

"Oh," I said, the waited for the kicker.

"I didn't have your address," he went on, "so I brought you to my house-"

"-and your daughter wasn't home," I confirmed, then asked more anxiously, "are you married?"

"No, Elizabeth was staying with her grandmother last night, and I'm very much divorced."

I know I shouldn't have, but my heart skipped a beat on that little bit of news. With those details out of the way, I wanted to get back to his explanation, "So, what happened next?"

"Well, you woke up well enough to come into the house under your own steam, but…"

"But?" I could feel the shoe dropping.

"Let's just say that you weren't in any shape to go anywhere, so I… umm… helped put you to bed."

Oh my gawd, the way he said it was like he was putting his daughter to bed. "And nothing happened," I wiggled my eyes a bit and he laughed.

"No," he shook his head, "aside from some very interesting dance moves, nothing happened."

"Fuck," I swore and buried my face in my hands.

"That didn't happen either," he laughed and then said more seriously, "I'm not interested in taking anything that's not freely given - and you were in no shape for that." He moved in closer and I swear I saw a twinkle in his eye. He was about to say more when his daughter bounded back into the room with a juice box in her hand and launched back onto the bed.

Michael handed me a piece of toast slathered with honey and then fixed the straw of Elizabeth's juice box. It was obvious all conversation on the subject was over, so I concentrated on keeping down my toast and coffee and watched as the two of them planned their day.

They were so freakin cute together that my heart ached. Elizabeth spoke with the authority of someone who knew what she wanted, and Michael made sure she saw all her options.

Breakfast in bed was worlds away from my own childhood experiences. My father was a strict military man through and through - up at zero six hundred hours with the bunk sharply made was a daily requirement. He bounced around the world on assignment, and my mother and I dutifully followed behind. That was, until the day I was bounced off to live with my grandparents.

How sad was it that I was jealous of a child? Very sad.

"Devon?" When I came out of my musings, Elizabeth was waving her hand in front of my face and calling out my name. "So, do you want to go to the zoo with us?"

I didn't want to dash the hopeful look on her face, but I was suddenly feeling out of place. Last night I was looking for a quick fling to get over my life going to hell. I didn't want to pull this little girl down with me.

"Sorry honey," I tussled her hair to lessen the blow, "I have some things scheduled that I can't miss." Yesterday, that would have been true, but today it was a lie. My schedule revolved around work and that house, and now the house was gone.

For a moment, I thought Michael looked sad, but then became Mr. Take Charge, "Ok, well, how about we give Devon a chance to get dressed and then drop her off at her car on our way?"

"Ok, Daddy!" Elizabeth leaped off the bed and raced out the room without a backward glance.

If only grown-up life was actually that easy.





Chapter 6





It had been over a week since I spent the night at Michael's house, and since then, my life had gone downhill fast. My exploits had become office gossip, I was taken off a plumb assignment and given some horrible grunt work, Mimi was spinning the ring on her finger like a fidget spinner on speed, and my every waking day - and sleepless nights - were filled with sexual fantasies of Michael Saunders. Oh, and I was running out of time to find a new place to live.

Fuck my life.

This morning alone I had been to three places hoping to find a reasonably priced apartment. Two were already rented out, and the third was misprinted at one-third the real asking price. At this rate, I was going to run out of gas in between prospects and end up living out of my car.

Driving towards the inevitable fourth disappointment, I realized I was only a few blocks from my dream house. I know I shouldn't have, but I'm just the kind of person that likes to throw salt in my own wounds.