Ignite: A Grumpy Single Dad Romance

by Melanie Harlow

  “She’s not old.” I went around to the back of my SUV and stuck Hallie’s bag next to Luna’s.

  “I know that now. Hallie says she’s twenty-two.”

  “Sounds right.”

  “And very pretty.”

  I shrugged.

  “I hear she came to the pool with you guys.”

  “Bye, Naomi. See you Monday.” I got in the car and shut the door. My ex-wife was the last person on earth I wanted to discuss Winnie with, and an excellent reminder of why I did not do relationships.

  “Bye, girls!” Naomi blew kisses to Hallie and Luna. “I love you! Have fun!”

  I backed out of the driveway and turned on the Dad station, which happened to be playing “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

  “Oh, I love this song!” Hallie said.

  In the rearview mirror, I caught them both bopping their heads along to the music, and smiled.

  I could feel a ten coming on.

  Fifteen

  Winnie

  About eight-thirty a.m. Saturday morning, I was sitting at the island with a cup of coffee when I heard knocking on the sliding glass door.

  I looked over and saw Hallie and Luna on my patio grinning excitedly. Hallie waved and Luna bounced up and down as I opened the door. “Good morning, girls!”

  “Good morning!” they chorused.

  “What a beautiful day, huh?” I looked behind them at the sunny, cloudless sky.

  “Yes. Daddy says maybe we’re going horseback riding this weekend!” Luna said breathlessly. “Is it true?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Tomorrow, if that works for your dad. My cousin can meet us there in the morning. She has a horse you can ride.”

  “What’s the horse’s name?” Hallie asked.

  I laughed. “I’m not sure, but I’ll find out. Hey, would you girls like a pedicure this morning?”

  “Yes!” Luna shouted. “What’s a pedicure?”

  “I’ll paint your toes.” I stuck one bare foot out. “Like mine. See?”

  “Can you paint mine red like yours?” Luna asked.

  “Sure.” I glanced at Hallie, who was looking down at her sneakers. “What do you think, Hal? Red? Purple? Blue?”

  She smiled. “You really have blue?”

  “I really do.”

  “Okay.” She looked a little anxious about it, but she nodded. “I want blue.”

  “Great. Then maybe we can show off our toes at the pool today. Why don’t you go tell your dad we’re going to play salon over here, and I’ll get everything set up?”

  “Okay!”

  “And when you come back, just wear flip-flops, okay? Or bare feet. You won’t be able to put on socks and sneakers.”

  They joyfully skipped back toward their place, and I headed for the upstairs bathroom to get all my supplies.

  As I went up the steps, I wondered if Dex would come too. If I’d had his number, I’d have texted him an invite. When I got back downstairs, I set the nail polish bottles on the counter and decided to go over and knock on his door.

  I went to the front this time, and he opened it with a cup of coffee in his hand. He wore gray sweatpants and a US Navy T-shirt. His mouth curved into something close to a smile, making my heart flutter faster. “Morning, neighbor.”

  “Morning. I came over to ask for your number.”

  He took a sip of his coffee. The mug had a firefighter’s boot on it and read My Dad is My Hero. “Why?”

  “I think my place needs a fire inspection. I thought maybe I’d call you to schedule one.” I grinned. “I know how you are about safety.”

  “Ah.” He sipped again, his brown eyes dancing. “Then I suppose I could give it to you. For safety reasons.”

  “Why don’t you come over with the girls and we can exchange information?”

  “Just information?”

  I laughed. “This time, yes.”

  “I could come over,” he said, like he was doing me a favor. “Have you eaten breakfast?”

  “Not yet. Just coffee.”

  “I’ll bring you a monkey bread muffin.”

  My eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Were you at Plum & Honey already this morning?”

  “Yes. The girls insisted.” He paused. “And I might have asked your mom what your favorite muffin was.”

  “Look at you being a nice guy.”

  “I know.” He put his grump face back on. “Don’t fucking tell anyone.”

  I zipped my lips. “Your secret is safe with me. See you in a few.” As I headed across his driveway toward my place, he called out.

  “Hey!”

  “Yes?” I turned around.

  “Did you hear back about the job in Rhode Island?”

  I smiled, pleased that he remembered. “Yes. We’re going to talk by phone next week. I’m really excited.”

  He nodded. “Good.”

  That evening, I headed over to Cloverleigh Farms to help Millie with a large wedding reception. Usually, our Aunt April was on hand to help with big events, but she and her family had gone down to Chicago to see one of Chip’s games.

  It was a long night, and by the time the wedding party went back to the bar at the inn to keep the celebration going, it was after eleven. Millie and I left the staff to break down the room and retreated to her office, where I dropped onto her couch and kicked off my shoes.

  “Shot of whiskey?” she asked, taking a bottle from a shelf behind her desk.

  “Yes, please.” I stretched my legs and feet. My red toe polish reminded me of giving the girls pedicures this morning. It had been so much fun, and Hallie had been excited enough about her blue toes that she’d forgone her water socks and gone barefoot at the pool—at least for the ten steps between where she’d left her flip-flops on the cement and the shallow end.

  But Dex had called it progress and thanked me with a secret smile that made my heart threaten to burst.

  Millie poured a little whiskey into two old fashioned glasses and brought them over to the couch. “Sorry I don’t have ice.”

  “It’s fine.” I took the glass, scooting over so she could sit next to me.

  “Cheers.” She tapped her whiskey against mine. “Thanks for the help tonight.”

  “My pleasure.” I took a sip, enjoying the way the fiery liquid warmed my throat.

  “So what’s new with your dad crush?”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s not my dad crush. He’s just my neighbor.”

  “So you haven’t fooled around with him again?”

  I took another sip. “I didn’t say that.”

  My sister laughed, kicking off her shoes and tucking her legs beneath her. “Tell me everything.”

  “There’s not much to tell. We hung out on Thursday night and . . . stuff happened. But we hung out all day today, and nothing happened.”

  “What did you do today?”

  I told her about playing salon with the girls. “I painted their toes and they did my hair, which was—interesting.”

  Millie laughed. “Remember when we played salon and Felicity cut her bangs so they were like an inch long?”

  “Yes!” I howled at the memory. “Dad was so mad at us. There were no scissors involved today, but there were a lot of accessories. They brought over a bag of hair bows. I looked like I’d been gift-wrapped by a toddler.”

  “Where was their dad during all this?”

  “He was there, drinking coffee and laughing at me. Then I suggested he let them do his hair, and when they begged and pleaded, he couldn’t say no.” I giggled at the memory. “They stuck a headband with pink cat ears on his head and he caught me taking a picture with my phone.”

  “Let me see!”

  I dug through my purse and found my phone, then brought up the picture of a scowling Dex to show her.

  She burst out laughing. “That is one furious feline. But damn, he’s hot.”

  “He was so mad when I wouldn’t delete it.” I dropped my phone back in my purse. “He threw me in the pool later, even though I
told him I didn’t want to get my hair wet.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “Sounds like a fun day.”

  “It was.”

  She sipped again. “I know you said you guys are not Dad and Frannie, but something about all this seems very familiar.”

  I sighed in exasperation. “I swear it’s not like that with us. Dad and Frannie were in love. Dex and I are not. In fact, that’s one of our inside jokes. We both agreed that this thing between us should stay casual, so every time we say goodnight, one of us is like, ‘I had fun tonight, but I don’t love you.’”

  My sister pressed her lips together.

  “Stop looking at me that way,” I said. “We just have a good time together. He makes me laugh and has a nice dick, okay? Let me just enjoy it.”

  “Okay, okay.” Sighing, she unfolded her legs and stretched them out. “Will you see him tonight?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because his kids are there.” I tossed back my last swallow of whiskey. “We don’t want them to suspect anything. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to mess around with him too often, you know? If you’re going to keep something casual, it should probably be something that only happens now and then.”

  “True. Especially for you.”

  I’d sort of been hoping for tacit permission to at least sext him later, now that I had his number, but hearing Millie confirm what I’d said, I knew I shouldn’t.

  “I should get going,” I told her. “I told the girls I’d bring them horseback riding tomorrow. Whitney is meeting us at the barn at nine.”

  “That’ll be fun.” She paused. “Dex coming too?”

  The question shouldn’t have felt so loaded.

  “Probably.” Avoiding her eyes, I stood up, slipped my heels back on, and set my empty glass on her desk. “Thanks for the drink.”

  “Anytime. Drive carefully.”

  The next morning, we drove together to Cloverleigh Farms and walked over to the barn. I introduced Dex and the girls to my cousin Whitney, who’d spent years working in the stables and had always loved horses.

  The girls promptly fell in love with Buttercup, a gentle, chestnut-brown Quarter Horse, and quietly listened as Whitney showed them how to feed her, brush her coat, and get her ready to ride.

  It was another beautiful day, warm and sunny with just enough of a breeze to make the heat bearable. Dex and I stood off to the side near the split-rail fence as Whitney patiently let each girl have a turn in the saddle, carefully leading Buttercup around the paddock. They begged to do it again and again.

  “This is so nice of you and your cousin,” Dex said. “I really appreciate it.”

  “Of course. Whitney said she was thrilled to do it, and she doesn’t have to be at work until one.”

  “She’s Chip’s cousin too?”

  “Right. Whitney is my Aunt Sylvia’s oldest. She’s about Millie’s age—or close to it, maybe around thirty—and works for her stepdad, my Uncle Henry. He’s the winemaker here.” I gestured back toward the winery. “But Whitney manages the tasting rooms in Hadley Harbor and Traverse City, so she’s not here every day.”

  Dex was quiet a minute. “Pretty soon my girls will have a stepdad.”

  I looked over at him. “My mom mentioned something about Naomi being engaged. When is she getting married?”

  “In October.”

  I smiled at Luna, who was waving to us from Buttercup’s back. “Is he a good guy?”

  Dex shrugged. “He’s okay.”

  “Are you . . . upset about her remarrying?”

  “Fuck no,” he scoffed, as if I’d offended him.

  I glanced at him. His jaw was set hard. He wore sunglasses, so I couldn’t see his eyes, but I had a feeling they were stony. Something about the situation clearly bothered him, but I wasn’t going to force him to admit it. Wordlessly, I focused on Luna again.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” His tone was grudging but softer. “I don’t have a problem with Naomi remarrying. I just don’t like the idea of someone else thinking he can be their dad.”

  Aha. “That’s understandable.”

  “They’re going to live in his house, take rides on his sailboat, go on his vacations. He’s got money. He’ll be able to give them things I can’t. That—that sticks in my craw.”

  “But you’re their dad—the only one they’ve got—and they love you beyond the moon. It won’t matter what he buys them, Dex. They’ll always want to be with you.”

  He didn’t say anything, but his throat muscles remained taut.

  “My sisters and I could have cared less about things like money or stuff,” I told him. “What we loved more than anything was the time we got with our dad. The way he made us laugh and feel safe. The way he showed us he loved us.” I put my hand on his arm. “I promise you, no one will ever replace you in their eyes. Someday when they’re older, some guy is going to come along and try, and—”

  “Fuck that guy.” Dex stood taller and puffed out his chest. “I’ll kick his ass.”

  I laughed, rubbing his forearm. “Easy. It’s okay. They’re only eight and five. You’ve got time before boyfriends.”

  He still looked alarmed. “I’m not going to be good at that.”

  “My dad wasn’t either. But we knew it was because he loved us, and he was protective.”

  Taking a deep breath, he exhaled. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” I didn’t want to stop touching him—his skin was warmed by the sun and he smelled good. I sort of wished I could loop my arm through his and press my cheek against his bicep . . . but I didn’t. “I’m always here to listen. And I understand how complicated divorces and remarriages and single parenting can be.”

  “Thanks.” He watched as Whitney lifted Luna down and helped Hallie into the saddle. “I don’t usually spill my guts about that stuff.”

  “I know. You just grunt and go about your business.”

  He elbowed me and stayed close enough that our arms remained touching. “I was trying to say something nice to you.”

  “You were?” I feigned surprise. “I must have missed it.”

  “I was working up to it.”

  “Keep working.”

  He nudged me again. “It’s easy to talk to you. You make it easy. Somehow.”

  I smiled, my heart swelling at the compliment. “Thanks.”

  A minute or two went by, a soft breeze ruffling our hair. Several times, I thought I saw Dex open his mouth to say something, but he never spoke up. Closing my eyes, I tilted my face to the sun, enjoying the warmth on my skin.

  Then I heard his voice.

  “What are you doing tomorrow?”

  “Working in the morning. Off in the afternoon.”

  “If you’re not busy after work, would you like to come to a cookout?”

  Sunday evening, I went over to my parents’ house for dinner, as usual. Because it was the last night of summer, my two younger sisters ate as fast as humanly possible and raced out the door, eager to eke out the last bit of fun before they started their junior year.

  Millie and I lingered at the table out on the deck for a while with our mom and dad, drinking wine and chatting about last night’s wedding, the wine tasting dinner Ellie and I were organizing, and the new restaurant opening at Abelard.

  “I can’t wait to try it,” my mom said. “I hear they hired one of the Lupo brothers to be head chef.”

  “Gianni,” I said.

  “He graduated with you, right?” my dad asked.

  “Yes, and Ellie’s losing her mind.” I laughed, recalling the scene in the kitchen with them. “She can’t stand him.”

  “He’s worked in some pretty famous restaurants though,” Millie said. “In New York, Rome, San Francisco. I just read an article about him. He’s supposed to be really talented. Kind of cocky for his age, but talented.”

  “I thought he was on some Hollywood reality show.” My mom poured herself some more wine. “The
same one his dad was on years ago.”

  “He was, but he’s back.” I slid my glass over, and she poured more for me too. “I saw him at Abelard the other day.”

  “Those Lupo boys were always a handful in school, weren’t they?” My mom laughed. “Little devils. But so cute.”

  “Don’t say that in front of Ellie,” I told her.

  “I ran into Mia last week,” my mom said. “She told me the delays with the restaurant have been a big headache, especially because they were hoping to live in France for a while.”

  “They’re moving?” I paused with my glass halfway to my lips. “Ellie didn’t mention that.”

  “I don’t think it’s for sure, but she said she’s always wanted to spend extended time there, and now that their youngest is off to college, they’re considering it.”

  “Interesting,” my dad said. “I wonder if they’re hiring someone new to manage Abelard.”

  “You should apply if they are, Winnie,” said Millie. “You’d be perfect for that job.”

  I smiled at her. “Thanks. But actually, I think I have an offer somewhere else.”

  “You do?” My sister reached over and slapped my arm. “Why didn’t you tell me already?”

  “Because it’s not a sure thing yet.” I described Sandra Elson’s email and the position at The Alexander. “I’ll know more next week. She’s going to call me Tuesday.”

  “That’s so exciting,” my sister said. “Will you take it?”

  “I might, if the offer is right. It sounds like a dream job.” I hesitated, taking a sip of wine. “It’s just far away from home.”

  “But you have to follow your passion,” my mother surprised me by saying. “You can’t be so scared of the unknown you let it keep you from taking a chance on something that could change your life.”

  “I thought you’d hate the idea of my leaving,” I said with a chuckle. “And here you are telling me to go.”

  “I do hate the idea of you leaving.” My mom laughed too, but her eyes misted over. “And I will miss you. But Dad told me about this the other day, so I’ve had time to rehearse my reaction and not say the selfish things I’m feeling.”