Ignite: A Grumpy Single Dad Romance

by Melanie Harlow

  She burst out laughing, her head falling back, and I thought about putting my mouth on her throat. Did she wear perfume? What would her skin smell like? Quickly, I looked away and tipped up my beer again.

  “So they want to get a cat?”

  “Yeah, they’re always on me about getting a pet, and Hallie likes the idea of a cat because they’re supposedly clean animals. But my shifts at the fire station are twenty-four hours, so having a pet doesn’t really work.”

  “I could help out,” she offered. “If you just let me know which days you work, I can come by and feed her or him. And I can tell you where to go to adopt one.”

  “You’re not helping,” I told her in my best grumpy dad voice. “I don’t want a fucking cat.”

  “Listen,” she said, dropping her feet to the ground and reaching for the cupcake. “I know what happens when little girls have their dad wrapped around their fingers. They get what they want.”

  “Oh, really.” I watched her peel the wrapper from the cupcake, my eyes on her fingers. They were long and slender, and her nails were painted to match her toes in a bright, fiery red. The thought of that hand wrapped around my cock jumped into my head uninvited.

  “Yes. My sisters and I always had our dad’s number.” She broke the cupcake in half, then sucked frosting off her thumb, which made my dick start to get hard.

  “Maybe I’m not as nice as your dad.” I tried to sound menacing, but I was so fucking turned on it was difficult. “Maybe I’m better at saying no.”

  She laughed like she knew better than I did. “Maybe. But even a Navy SEAL has some weaknesses.”

  Blowjobs, I thought, watching her lick her fingers and imagining her tongue brushing across the tip of my cock.

  “Here.” She pushed the plate with the cupcake on it toward me. “We can share.”

  I wasn’t hungry, but I needed the distraction, so I picked up one of the halves and bit into it.

  She picked up the other, and we ate in silence for a minute. I did my best to keep my eyes off her mouth, since I was struggling to keep my thoughts clean and felt like an asshole about it. When I was done, I wiped my hands on my pants.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said, popping her last bite between her lips. “I should have brought us napkins. I’ll get some.”

  “It’s okay. I should go.” We stood at the same time, putting us practically chest to chest.

  She looked up at me and swallowed. Parted her lips.

  Don’t do it, dickhead, I told myself.

  But she was right—I did have weaknesses, and right now her mouth was at the top of the list.

  Without another thought, I took her by the shoulders and crushed my lips to hers. She made a soft sound of surprise, and I felt her body lean into mine. She rose up on her toes, opening her mouth so I could taste her—a tantalizing combination of salty and sweet. She twined her arms around my neck, and I moved my hands down her back. Her tongue grazed mine.

  Stop this right the fuck now, said a voice in my head.

  But not only did I ignore it, I hitched her up by the back of her thighs, and she gasped against my lips as she wrapped her legs around me. Grabbing her ass, I pulled her tight to my lower body and moved her up and down my cock.

  On the table, the candle crackled and spit, making both of us jump. I set her down hard and backed into my chair, putting distance between us. “Fuck.” I held up my hands, as if she’d asked me to put them where she could see them. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t be sorry.” She shook her head. “It just—it just happened.”

  I stood there for one second longer, watching her chest rapidly rise and fall, feeling like I couldn’t catch my breath either—and I knew if I didn’t get out of there, I’d end up with my tongue in her mouth again.

  Or maybe other places.

  “Goodnight,” I said, and quickly retreated into my house.

  Once I’d shut the sliding door behind me, I went into the kitchen and braced myself against the counter with two fists. Closing my eyes, I hung my head.

  What the fuck? What had possessed me to do that? Was I really so weak? The girl was only twenty-two! She was twenty-fucking-two, and I was thirty-four with two young daughters, and I had no business putting my hands on her. For fuck’s sake, she was nearly closer to Hallie’s age than mine.

  Furious with myself, I went to the fridge and took another beer out, popping the cap off with an angry twist. It reminded me that I’d left the two empty bottles on her table—now she probably thought I was one of those assholes who never cleaned up after himself and expected a woman to do it, just like my dad.

  Leaning back against the counter, I took a long drink and vowed not to touch her again. If that meant I had to keep some distance between us, so be it. I’d just keep my head down if I saw her. Wave and keep on walking.

  It wouldn’t be easy, but I was good at doing hard things. Wasn’t that why I’d become a SEAL in the first place? I could still hear my father laugh when I told him that’s what I wanted to do. A hard-drinking gambler and drifter, he’d served some time in the Navy long before I was born, and never held down one job for long. Tired of his cheating, my mother threw him out when I was ten, and he’d been in and out of our lives after that with no consistent pattern. He often disappeared for months at a time. Our mother, who was loving and kind, always worked two jobs to support us.

  But she had a soft spot for him that refused to harden, and she always let him back into our house when he felt like coming around—and even into her bed sometimes. It used to make me sick to think about it, so I tried not to. I hated the days when I’d come home from school or practice and saw his truck in the driveway. I felt sorry for my mother because she said she couldn’t help loving him, but I was also angry with her for being so weak, so easily manipulated. By the time Bree and I were teenagers, we could see she was only going to end up hurt again when he left—because he always left. No matter what that lying asshole said, he always left again.

  But he happened to be around the day during my senior year that a Navy recruiter had come to school. I’d come home excited to tell my mom what I’d decided to do with my life, since I’d never been sure before, and she was always on me to make a plan.

  When I’d walked into the house, there he was, sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a beer and watching my mom cooking dinner. “Son,” he’d said as I came up short at the sight of him. He used the word like a weapon.

  I refused to call him Dad. I refused to acknowledge him at all.

  Instead, I turned to my mom and started telling her about my talk with the recruiter and how he thought I might be a good fit for the SEALs. Over at the table, my father had busted a gut. “You’ll never be a SEAL,” he said derisively. “You know how hard that is? I knew guys way tougher than you who couldn’t hack it.”

  I glared at him, my hands curling into fists. “Watch me.”

  I didn’t see him again for almost a decade—he had the nerve to show up at my mother’s funeral and claim he was sorry, and I nearly lost my mind and threw the punch I’d been dying to throw for twenty years. My sister and Naomi had to calm me down.

  Bree kept in touch with him for a while, but I told her not to tell me anything. I didn’t care if I ever heard his name again.

  But I supposed he had taught me some valuable lessons—how not to be a father. How important it was not to let anyone make you feel weak. How good it felt to prove someone wrong when they doubted you.

  Turning around, I dumped the rest of the beer in the sink. The last thing I wanted was a hangover in the morning. My girls deserved better.

  After turning out the lights, I went upstairs, checked on them one last time, and went into my bedroom.

  Five minutes later, undressed and under the covers, I lay with my hands behind my head, wide awake and unable to stop thinking.

  About the past. My mother and father. Naomi and me. Our marriage had failed for different reasons than my parents’—I hadn’t been unfaith
ful, and to my knowledge, she hadn’t either—but we just hadn’t loved each other enough to make up for lost time, for our differences, for failed expectations, for hurtful things that couldn’t be unsaid.

  I thought about Chip and Mariah and hoped it would work out better for them. It certainly seemed like some people were able to figure it out. Maybe it was the luck of the draw. Or maybe it helped to grow up like Chip had, in a house with a mom and a dad in a good marriage. Seemed like Winnie had grown up that way too.

  Not that she’d been a grownup very long.

  Stifling a groan, I flopped onto my stomach and shoved my head under my pillow, trying not to think about her perfect round ass, her bare wet breasts, water dripping down her warm, smooth skin. I imagined licking droplets from the stiff peaks of her warm pink nipples. I remembered what it felt like to pull her toward me and press my hard cock against her. What would it be like to cover that body with mine, to move inside her, to make her moan beneath me?

  She was probably in bed now, just a few feet from the other side of this wall.

  It was too close.

  Seven

  Dex

  “Look at the way his nostrils flare when he snores.”

  Hallie’s voice came through the fog of a restless sleep.

  “Yeah.” Luna giggled. “Is that hair in his nose?”

  “Ew, I think it is. I never noticed that before.”

  “Maybe he cuts it,” Luna said. “I saw him giving his bushy eyebrows a haircut once.”

  More giggling. “I’m glad my eyebrows don’t look like that.”

  “They kind of do.”

  “Do not!” Hallie was indignant.

  “I just mean they’re dark like his. But don’t worry, yours aren’t as fuzzy. Daddy’s are like black caterpillars crawling over his eyes.”

  Hallie snickered. “Totally.”

  Silence for ten blissful seconds. And then.

  “Daddy has an outie. I have an innie.”

  “Me too.”

  “Outies are funny-looking.”

  “I know.”

  The next thing I knew, one of them stuck a finger in my belly button. I opened my eyes. “Seriously?”

  Luna, whose finger was still on my belly button, grinned. “Did that wake you up?”

  “Your shit-talking woke me up.”

  “We want to go swimming,” Hallie said.

  “We have church first. You have Sunday school.”

  “Can’t we skip it?”

  “No. Your mom would kill me. Bring me my phone please.”

  “Where is it?”

  I tried to think where I’d left it plugged in. “Try the kitchen.”

  Hallie left the room and went downstairs while Luna hopped onto my bed, but instead of getting under the covers, she started jumping on it. “Are we going to get a cat today?”

  “No.” I moved my lower body out of the way so she wouldn’t crush the family jewels. “We have church, and then we can swim, and then I need to go to the grocery store. There’s still lots of unpacking to do too. Plus, I haven’t yelled at you enough yet for disobeying me yesterday. And we need to make our emergency plan.”

  Hallie appeared with my phone. “It’s seven-twelve,” she said as she handed it to me, then proceeded to join Luna in jumping on my bed.

  “I see that.” I also saw that I had texts from Chip and from Naomi, who’d also called several times. “What should we do for breakfast?”

  “Donuts again?” asked Hallie hopefully.

  “How about bagels?” I frowned at the message from Naomi, which had been sent sixteen minutes ago.

  I heard Luna had an allergic reaction last night at the party. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Did you take her to the ER? CALL ME.

  After a deep breath, I looked at Chip’s text, which had been sent around midnight.

  Hey, I hope everything is okay.

  Really sorry about the allergic reaction.

  Our flight doesn’t leave until two so if you’re up early and have time for coffee let me know.

  “Stop jumping, I have to type something,” I told the girls. “Why don’t you go get dressed? Nice clothes, please. Something that matches.”

  They performed a dismount and raced for their room, while I shot Chip a quick note.

  All good here.

  We’re heading for church shortly, but maybe you could swing by here on your way to the airport? We should be back by ten-thirty.

  I didn’t want to deal with Naomi before getting some caffeine in my bloodstream, but I forced myself to call her back.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” she shrieked upon picking up.

  “Morning,” I said, mostly to piss her off.

  “Dexter.”

  “What?”

  “I asked you a question! Why didn’t you call me after Luna had a reaction?”

  “Because it wasn’t that big a deal. All she needed was an antihistamine. I handled it.”

  “I still had a right to know it happened! You should have notified me right away. Instead, I had to hear about it from someone at the bakery this morning.”

  “Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t think it was necessary.”

  “Well, it was. I’m still their mother, even when they’re with you. I need to know about medical emergencies.”

  “It wasn’t a fucking emergency,” I snapped.

  “Watch your mouth—are the girls right there?”

  “No. They’re getting dressed for church.”

  “I want to talk to Luna.”

  “You’ll see her at church.”

  “Now, please.”

  Deciding it wasn’t worth the fight, I took the phone into the girls’ room and handed it to Luna. “Your mom wants to talk to you.”

  Luna put the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mommy. I’m fine. Yes.” She looked up at me. “Yes. Okay. I will. Bye.” She gave the phone to Hallie. “She wants to talk to you.”

  Hallie got on while I crossed my arms over my chest. “Hello? Yes. It was fun, but we weren’t there too long.” She looked around the bedroom. “Yes. It’s nice. Uh huh. And the neighbor lady is really nice too. Her name is Winnie, like the Pooh, and she has a cat named Piglet.”

  “Okay, give me the phone,” I said, nervous the next words out of Hallie’s mouth would be we saw her bum. “You can tell her about all this another time.”

  Putting the phone to my ear, I walked back to my room. “Satisfied?”

  “I guess. But please call me next time, okay?” Her voice had softened. “That’s all I ask. It’s hard enough to be away from them for days at a time, and I . . . I just need to know they’re okay. And it’s so hard when you won’t talk to me.”

  Great. Now she was crying. I didn’t want the sound of her sobs to affect me, but the truth was, it did. I took the edge off my tone. “Fine. If there is another allergic reaction, I’ll call you.”

  “Or any medical thing.”

  My jaw clenched. “Or any medical thing.”

  “Thank you, Dex. I appreciate it. I don’t mean to intrude on your time with them.”

  “I have to go,” I said. “They’re waiting for me.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you at church.”

  “Fine.” Ending the call, I tossed my phone onto the bed and rubbed my face with both hands.

  Marriage was a fuck ton of work, and I hadn’t been good at it, but damn—divorce was a bitch too.

  I didn’t plan on doing either of them ever again.

  Fifteen minutes later, we were ready to go. As I backed out of the garage, I didn’t even glance in the direction of Winnie’s house.

  But Hallie spoke up. “Hey, maybe we should ask if Winnie wants to go to church with us.”

  “We’re not doing that,” I said.

  “Do you think she’s awake?” Luna asked.

  “No idea.”

  “I wonder if her car is in the garage,” Hallie said. “She’s old enough to drive, right Daddy?”

  “She’s twenty-t
wo,” I told them. “Yes, that’s old enough to drive.” And vote and drink, I thought—but barely.

  Shoving the thought of that kiss from my head, I concentrated on the road.

  “I wonder what she does for a job,” Luna said.

  I realized I’d sat outside with her for at least twenty minutes but I had no idea what she did for a living. “I don’t know.”

  “Her mom owns a bakery,” Hallie recalled. “Maybe she works there?”

  “She might.” For a second, I wondered if it was possible Winnie had been the someone at the bakery who’d told Naomi about the allergic reaction last night. But how would she have known who Naomi was?

  “That would be a fun job,” Luna said. “Baking cupcakes all day.”

  “Hey, that’s the place our cupcakes were from!” Hallie shouted, pointing out the window. “Plum & Honey. It matches the sticker that was on the box. And the sign says open.”

  “Can we go there, Daddy?” Luna pleaded. “Maybe Winnie is working.”

  “I thought you wanted bagels,” I said, panicking slightly at the thought of facing Winnie this morning after I’d rubbed her crotch against mine last night.

  “No, let’s go to the bakery,” Hallie said.

  I looked around but didn’t see any other breakfast options, and of course, there was an open parking spot right in front of Plum & Honey. Cursing the universe, I pulled into it and the girls cheered.

  As they unbuckled their seatbelts, I flipped down the visor mirror and checked my hair, trying to fix where it stuck up a little on the side I’d slept on. Then I sniffed the collar of my dress shirt—it was the same one I’d worn to the party last night, but I’d taken it off and hung it up as soon as we’d gotten home. I hadn’t felt like ironing a new one this morning, so I’d just thrown it on again. It smelled like cologne, which I figured was okay.

  What about my breath? Had I brushed my teeth? I’d been so annoyed about the phone call with Naomi, I might have forgotten. I exhaled into my hand and sniffed. I couldn’t smell anything, so maybe I was fine. At least I’d trimmed the nose hair.