Finding Our Forever: Single Dad Romance (Stepping Stones Series Book 1)

by Laura Riley

  “I’ve eaten my cookie,” Ellie pipes up, uncrossing her legs. “Now can I try my new school uniform on?”

  Darcy jumps up, grabbing a tissue from her jacket pocket. “Let me wipe your face. Put your drink on the table. We don’t want any spillages, now do we?”

  I place my mug down and rub my hands together. “Come on, Ellie, let’s see what goodies are hiding in your bag.”

  She smiles, tipping her uniform and a pair of black patent shoes onto the floor. Looking at me, she lifts her arms in the air. I pick up on her cue and help her off with her dress.

  Darcy is still watching me. She runs her fingers through her short dark hair. Her jaw is set.

  Seth kneels at my side and reaches for my hand, taking Ellie’s dress from me. “Thanks, Lizzie.” Seth helps Ellie button her shirt, then holds her hand and she steps into her pinafore. A blue cardigan with an embroidered logo on the left breast completes her uniform.

  My heart melts. I blink rapidly, my eyes welling up. “You look so grown up.”

  Darcy hitches her skirt up and kneels. “Right, little lady, let’s get your uniform back in the bag.”

  Ellie is out of the uniform and sitting back in front of the TV in no time. Darcy folds each item of clothing perfectly, placing them back in the bag with precision. “We’re picking the rest up tomorrow.”

  “The rest?” Seth quizzes.

  “Her PE kit, backpack, lunch box, pencil case, crayons.”

  I frown. I don’t understand why Darcy is rushing to get her stationery—oh, wait, I do. Darcy is trying to keep Ellie and me apart and playing the doting aunt certainly does that. But if she wants to take Ellie out tomorrow, who am I to stop her?

  Tomorrow? No, I booked Ellie in at Amber and Chelsea’s shop. I shoot a glance at Seth. “We have plans tomorrow, remember?”

  He raises a brow. Clearly, he didn’t remember. “Right.”

  Darcy sits forward. “Surely this is more important?”

  “Really, sis? School doesn’t open for a month.”

  Darcy’s mouth drops open. She reaches forwards and swipes the remote control from the table and mutes the TV. “Ellie, honey. What do you want to do tomorrow? We can get that lovely unicorn backpack you pointed out earlier. Remember there was only one left in the shop. Or you could spend a day out with your dad and Lizzie.”

  That’s a low blow, bribing a child with a backpack.

  “Lizzie and Daddy,” Ellie chants, clapping her hands.

  Darcy lets out a long, low sigh. “I guess we could pop back to the shops in a few hours.”

  Ellie nods.

  Seth clears his throat. “That settles it.”

  Seth

  Lizzie prepares sandwiches and Darcy and Ellie stay for lunch. I may have been imagining it, but Darcy is warming to Lizzie. No, strike that. Darcy rolls her eyes when Lizzie speaks and turns her nose up at the sandwiches.

  We’re discussing Ellie’s new school when the lounge door swings open and Rick appears. “Do you guys want to explain how the ass print got in the wet paint?”

  Lizzie’s face turns red and she looks away. Unsurprisingly, Darcy stands. She and Ellie say their goodbyes and leave.

  By seven pm, Lizzie and I have finished painting the loft. The walls were like a goddamn sponge—they soaked up three coats of base coat. I wrap my arm around her and we step back and take time to appreciate the large room.

  I nod. “Not bad.”

  “Not bad at all,” Lizzie agrees.

  I point to the wall opposite. “You know, a double bed would go nicely there.”

  Lizzie shakes her head. She’s told me a dozen times today that this is going to be her art room. Such a damn shame.

  I raise my hand. “Just hear me out. Imagine waking up in the morning to that view.”

  “Yo, yo, are you two decent?” Rick’s standing in the doorway, covering his eyes.

  I shake my head. “Yes. Don’t judge me by your standards.”

  Rick cracks his fingers open before removing his hands. “Plastering done, snagging done.” He holds his hand high. “Give it to me, baby, don’t leave me hanging.”

  I stroll over and we high-five.

  Lizzie frowns. “What does that mean?”

  Rick clears his throat. “It means we’ve pretty much finished the job. All that is left is the painting and laying the carpet.”

  Lizzie runs to Rick and wraps her arms around his waist. “Oh, my God, thank you. You don’t know how much it means to me to finally sleep in an actual bed.”

  “Teamwork, that’s what it’s about.” Rick beckons me over. “Team hug, bro, get your ass over here.”

  I don’t pass on a chance to wrap my arm around my girl. Not my girl, I have to keep reminding myself.

  I stand between Rick and Lizzie and do the whole group hug thing. Rick lowers his hand.

  I shove him. “Get your paw off my ass.”

  Rick laughs. “I like it when you’re all feisty.” He pulls away, looking us up and down. “I’m going to head home. Have fun, lovebirds.”

  Rick slaps my and Lizzie’s asses and runs down the stairs. I’m sure he bangs the front door extra loud to make a point.

  Alone at last.

  I undress Lizzie with my stare. “And then there were two.”

  She looks down, wrapping her arms around her stomach. “Can I wine—” She trips over her words. “Can I get you a drink?”

  As much as I want to have a drink with her, I know it’s getting close to Ellie’s bedtime and I’ll need to be heading off. One quick drink won’t hurt though. “Tea, please. No sugar.”

  She nods, staring at me when I don’t move. “Are you coming?”

  I pull my phone from my pocket. “I’m just going to give Darcy a quick call, make sure Ellie is okay.”

  Lizzie smiles before heading downstairs. I glance at the screen and notice that I’ve had a text from Darcy. She sent it ten minutes ago.

  Darcy: We came back to mine after shopping. Ellie’s fast asleep in my bed, she’s welcome to stay the night.

  She’s never spent an evening away from me. I start typing back, asking Darcy to bring her home, when I stop typing. She’s staying the night at Darcy’s; this is huge for Ellie.

  Me: Does Dwight mind?

  Darcy: He’s working a night shift.

  I flip the phone around repeatedly in my hand. This is big for Ellie, this is big for me. I’ve never spent a night without my baby under the same roof.

  Let go, Seth.

  Ellie is fine with Darcy. She’s used to her. It’s going to be a bigger deal to me than it is to Ellie. I take a deep breath.

  Me: Okay. But call me if she wakes up in the night, I’ll be right over.

  Darcy: She’ll be fine. I put leftover chilli in the fridge. Put it in the microwave for five minutes, stir it, and then put it on for another minute.

  Me: Yes, Mum.

  Darcy: You deserve a night off from being a dad. Do you want me to drop her off in the morning?

  Me: I’ll pick her up.

  I don’t expect that Ellie will stay at Darcy’s house without me till morning. She always sneaks into my bed in the middle of the night. She’ll know I’m not there.

  Darcy is with her, she’ll be fine.

  I have an evening off. I’m here and Lizzie is downstairs. We’re alone. The job’s finished and she’s no longer a client. All the boxes are ticked—nothing is holding me back, not any more.

  I can hear Lizzie pottering around downstairs. I make a fist and pound my chest.

  You’ve got this, I think, giving myself a quick pep talk.

  I stroll downstairs, noticing that Lizzie has pulled out her sofa bed. Perfect. Walking with more of a spring in my step, I make my way into the kitchen. Lizzie’s spooning sugar in a mug.

  I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. “I said no sugar.”

  She jumps in my embrace. “Fudge, Seth. You gave me a heart attack.”

  I spin her round. “Fudge? Who
the fuck says fudge?”

  Apparently, Lizzie does. Come to think about it, I don’t recall ever hearing her swear.

  “So.” I slide my hands into her jeans pockets and pull her closer to me. “Ellie is staying the night at Darcy’s.”

  “Your cup of tea.” Her voice cracks.

  I lean forward, sandwiching her against the worktop. “Fuck the tea.”

  I bend down and cover her with kisses. She trembles in my embrace, and I’m in two minds whether to deepen the kiss, but I do. I push my tongue into her mouth, and within seconds she goes from nervous to hungry, her kisses dripping with lust. I grab her ass and pick her up so she’s sitting on the worktop.

  She pulls away and shakes her head. “Not here.” She’s looking in the direction of the lounge, to where I know she has a sofa bed.

  With our lips locked, I take us to the lounge. It’s a bonus to see the bed is already up and made.

  She pulls back slightly. “I, I need to change the bedding.”

  I half-shrug. “It’s a bit counterproductive.”

  “What is?”

  I lower her onto the bed. “Changing the sheets when we’re about to get them dirty.” She laughs. My face is unchanged, stoic. I just watch her. “God, you’re beautiful.”

  She stops laughing. “Do you think we could just lie together for a little bit?”

  She lifts the covers and slips in. Her gaze hovers over the empty place to her right. It’s not exactly what I had envisioned, but whatever. I don’t need prompting; I manoeuvre myself round the bed, lift the covers and lie by her side.

  We lie in complete silence. She reaches for my hand. Our little fingers link together, a small link binding us together. It doesn’t take long before my hand seeks out her hand. Her foot brushes against my foot. She nudges my thigh with her knee.

  She clears her throat. “You must be hot in those, why don’t you take them off?”

  I raise a brow. She’s looking down. I assume she means my work trousers. Take them off, she said.

  With pleasure.

  I lower the blanket and unbutton my trousers. I lift my ass and pull them down, tossing them onto the floor.

  I know she’s looking at the bulge in my pants. I leave the covers pushed down and don’t make any attempt to hide it from her. She needs to see the way she’s affecting me.

  My stare goads her. “Aren’t you hot in yours?”

  I watch as she unfastens the metal button and lowers the zip. She lifts her hips, pulling them down. Her legs are beautiful. Her thighs are significantly paler than her calves. I imagine her wearing her cute little shorts in the garden whilst the sun kisses the skin free from clothing.

  I run my tongue over my teeth. “You really should wear less when sunbathing. Or maybe, I don’t know, wear less as a rule.”

  Her black lace panties peek out from under her T-shirt. They’re almost see-through, but not quite. I need to see more. More skin, more of her. I lean across, brushing my finger along the hem of her t-shirt. “Surely you’re hot in this?”

  Biting on her lip, she sits up and pulls it up over her head. She has the daintiest pink bra on. The half cup of the material barely covers her nipples. Her breasts are sexy as hell, on the smaller side, her nipples small and cherry pink.

  Her gaze rests on my torso, but she doesn’t need to ask. I’m already removing my t-shirt. We lie side by side in our underwear. I reach across the bed. Our fingers interlink and she inches her body closer to mine.

  Her eyes are wide. “I don’t want to be someone you sleep with and forget about. You mean more to me than that. I’m worth more than that.”

  How could she think that of me? I mean, yeah, I did proposition her on the night out. Things are different now, surely she knows that. “I’ve never been a one-night stand kind of guy. I want this, Lizzie, I want you. Not just tonight. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. To tell you the truth, I wanted you way back when you were eighteen, but you were still a kid.”

  Her forehead creases. “I was not.”

  “Eighteen and twenty-seven is a huge gap. You had your future ahead of you, university, your life. I couldn’t get in the way of that.”

  “I wonder how things would have been if you had?”

  Now that’s a question that plagues me. Where would Lizzie and I be now? One thing for sure, I wouldn’t have Ellie. I can’t picture a world she isn’t in.

  I turn side on to face her. Lizzie mirrors me and we lie gazing into each other’s eyes. I hook my finger under the material of her bra, not to expose her breast, but just to caress her, to know how her skin feels under my touch. “I think things happen for a reason, at the right time.”

  She gulps. “Is now our right time?”

  I flash my teeth. “I’d like to think so.”

  She wiggles forward.

  Come on, baby, a little more.

  “What about Ellie? How do I fit into your lives?”

  I take a deep breath. “Ellie will always come first. Always. But I can’t deny how much I want you, how much I want you in our lives. Things will have to move slowly, and maybe it’ll take us a while to be a conventional couple, but what’s conventional? The hell should I know? I believe if two people are happy, loving one another, nothing else matters.”

  As much as I want to grab her, I don’t. Her gaze is fixed on my lips and she slowly shuffles closer. I can’t take this any longer. I wait till her body is flush with mine before I close the small distance between us, crashing my lips onto hers. This time she kisses me hard.

  I grab her ass and pull her closer so that I’m pulling her into my erection. My body reacts to that contact, that touch immediately. My hips start moving in a silent question. Her hips silently answer as she rocks into me. Our bodies dance on instinct—it’s a slow, tentative dance whilst we familiarise ourselves with one another, but at any moment we could lose control and become completely feral.

  “Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop,” I say into our kiss.

  “Don’t stop.” Her words send me right over the edge. That want, that desire, that carnal need erupts in my gut and I ram my hips ferociously into her, showing her what’s to come.

  I guide her hand over my cock, asking, begging for her to touch me. God, when she finally makes contact and her fingers glide over my length for the first time, I lose it. My heart is beating at record pace and I don’t want it to stop.

  I waste no time in rolling her over so that I’m on top. I drop down, placing my lips over her lips, taking away her will to breathe. I want her to want me as much as I want her. Her legs wrap around my waist, and she shudders, my cock grinding against her sex.

  I know she’s nervous, I was trying to go slow, but the moment my cock presses against the heat of her underwear, it’s all over. Her arms lasso around my neck, her legs hook around my thighs. I grind harder into her. She pushes herself into me.

  The only thing separating us is the thin material of our underwear, but that’s easily sorted. The predictability I thought was Lizzie has been washed away, and lust stares back. She bites her lip. I fist her hair. She lets out a whimper, and I retreat. God, I’ve been fighting this desire for so long, I’m like a damn volcano about to erupt.

  I tighten my grip on her thighs, wanting more of her, wanting to take everything she’ll give me. Our kiss is so hard that our teeth clang off one another as our tongues plunge into each other’s mouths. Our tongues are ravenous as they battle. Hungry, greedy, indulgent kisses that I never want to end.

  “You’re mine, baby,” I breathe into our kiss.

  I reach into her panties and she opens her legs, opening herself up to me. I dip my finger into her delicious wetness and then glide it up and down her clit. Our kiss grows more demanding with every glide of my finger.

  I drop my head to the crook of her neck, biting, sucking on her skin. “You’re so wet.”

  Her nails match my torturing strokes. She digs deep and hard down my back.

  I wriggle out of her hol
d, making my way down her body. She closes her eyes when I reach her panties. I don’t remove them with my teeth as I’d planned. I prise her legs open and pull the material to the side, fucking her with my tongue, pleasuring her with my fingers. She fists my hair, her hips rising for more, more of this, this explosion between us. I lick, flick, suck, and nibble on her clit until her legs begin shaking. She pushes me away whilst her body reacts violently to her orgasm.

  “Oh, sweet Jesus,” she cries out, but I’m not letting her get away, I move her hands aside and I ride the wave she’s on, tasting all her pleasure. God, she’s deliciously wet. My cock is aching to get inside her.

  I’ve got to get inside her before I come in my pants. I stand, leaving her on the bed, looking down at her beautiful body as she quivers. I bend down, remove my wallet from my trousers and fish out a condom. She leans up on her elbows and watches me sheathe up.

  Lizzie doesn’t flinch when I step towards her. Instead, she opens her legs wider, inviting me in. I place my left hand on the bed, and then the right, walking my hands towards her. She lies back, looking down at my cock as it gets dangerously close to the point of no return.

  I groan as she takes me in her hand.

  She gasps. I’m going to plough my hard cock right into her. She isn’t ready, not yet. My finger strokes her sex. I circle her clit, pressing firmer until she starts to quiver under me. I slowly sink one finger into her and then another. She feels so tight against my fingers. As much as I’m dying to dive into her, ripping through barriers that I put into place, I know I can’t. I can’t ruin this for her. “Are you ready?”

  Gulping, she nods.

  I take my cock in my hand and hover it over her wetness. I can feel her warmth through the condom. Damn, it feels good. I’m fighting the urge to thrust into her. Slowly, I push myself in, inserting one inch at a time. I give her time to adjust to my size, slowly moving in and out, pushing a little deeper each time.

  I lean down, my nose in her hair. I inhale her beautiful scent; she smells so good. She’s so perfect. Our bodies are hot and sweaty as I inch further into her. “Is this okay?”