Best Friend's Daddy (A Single Dad Romance)

by Naomi Niles

  I was smiling to myself at how oblivious Peter was to all the attention he was getting, when he finally looked up and noticed that I was standing there. His face broke out into a wide smile, and he rose immediately and walked over to me.

  “Hi,” he said, with a sweet smile. “What are you doing standing over here?”

  “I was casually observing,” I admitted.

  “What?”

  “You,” I said honestly. “You have a lot of female admirers.”

  Peter looked positively baffled by that statement. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said, in all seriousness.

  I laughed. “I know.”

  He gave me a questioning frown, and I leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek as I took his hand.

  “You look handsome today,” I smiled. “That’s all.”

  Peter’s expression smoothed out into an embarrassed smile. “Me?” he said. “You look breathtaking. I like the dress.”

  I gave my dress a cursory glance. It was new; I had bought it with Whitney a few hours ago. It had been an impulse purchase, but I was glad I had gotten it in the end. It was flowing slip dress that was made out of the softest, silkiest material. It had been pieced together with several different patterns that all went together in a cohesive whole. It was colorful, vibrant, and young.

  I had paired the dress with strappy nude wedges and done up my hair in simple crossed braids. I had applied my makeup carefully, too. I wanted something simple, but elegant and so, to that end, I had gone with the faintest touch of eye shadow, eyeliner, and some colored lip-gloss.

  “Thank you,” I said. “Whitney convinced me to get it.”

  “Why did she need to convince you at all?” Peter asked. “It looks gorgeous on you.”

  “It was expensive,” I admitted. “More than I should have spent on a dress.”

  “You deserve it.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  “Then she’s right,” Peter nodded.

  I smiled. “This is strange for me.”

  “What is?”

  “Having people like you and Whitney in my life,” I explained. “Telling me I deserve things.”

  Peter’s eyes went soft and sad for a moment. Then he leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. I felt that tingle in my extremities, before they slowly spread upwards, through my entire body. He had that effect on me. He could make me freeze, he could turn me into jelly, and he could make my stomach dance with butterflies all with just a touch of his hand.

  “Shall we go to dinner?”

  “Sure,” he nodded. We walked to the restaurant hand in hand, and within minutes, the waiter showed us to a secluded table next to a window from where we could see the city lights and the rest of the world pass by.

  “How was your first day back at work?” I asked the moment we were alone together.

  “Pretty great, actually,” he nodded. “It wasn’t really my first day back at work so much as an excuse for the guys to throw me a welcome back party.”

  “No way,” I said. “They did that? That would have been so lovely.”

  “It was unexpected,” he replied. “But I appreciated it all the same. The chief was there, and so were Sam and John.”

  “And Talen?” I asked cautiously.

  “Talen…is a wild card,” Peter said. “And in any case, he hasn’t always felt comfortable around cops. Keeping in mind that he has spent a night in one of those jail cells, he might have wanted to avoid coming.”

  “Right,” I nodded.

  “And, how was your day?”

  “I kind of had the same experience,” I replied. “Well not exactly, but similar at least. I thought I was showing up to work, only to find that Whitney had decided to close the salon for the day and just play hooky.”

  Peter laughed. “So you had time to shop…hence the dress.”

  “Exactly,” I nodded. “We went to lunch, we shopped, we got our nails done…and we did one other thing I’ve been dying to tell you about.”

  I was interrupted when the waiter when he approached our table to take our orders. We ordered quickly and then Peter turned to me with interest. He took my hand. “Tell me,” he said.

  “Whitney took me to the Colorado State University just before we got our nails done,” I told him. “She pointed out to me that I can have my credits transferred and I could finish off my degree right here.”

  “Oh my God,” he said. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

  “I thought so, too,” I nodded. “In fact, I think that once I’m done with this degree, I might even try another one.”

  “Madison, that’s amazing,” he told me. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “You know that I’m willing to support you a hundred percent, right?” he said hesitantly, as though he were scared he might offend me in some way.

  “Support me?” I repeated.

  “In any way you need,” Peter continued, trying to be a little clearer. “Emotionally, mentally…even financially.”

  “Oh, Peter.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know you are,” I nodded. “And, I love you for it.”

  I stopped, shocked by my own use of words. My face colored instantly even though I tried desperately to hide the furious blush that took over my face. We hadn’t used those words yet, and even though I hadn’t really used them, it was leading somewhere dangerously close.

  My blush, combined with my awkward stumble gave me away immediately. I tried to recover, but Peter silenced me as he kissed my hand.

  “Madison,” he said slowly. “You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

  “I don’t?”

  “I’m falling in love with you.” The simple and straightforward way he said it made my heart flutter, as though it were suddenly free of my body and separate from me entirely.

  “Really?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  “Completely,” he said confidently. “Trust me, I would know. I’ve never said that to any other woman before you. And for someone like me… Well, let’s just say, you really have to feel it to say it at all. And I can’t deny it any longer. I love you, Madison. I believe that I always will.”

  I felt my eyes tear up, but I managed to hold the tears at bay. They were words I’d always longed to hear. They were fueled by such emotion and such sincerity that it took my breath away.

  Once I’d managed to get a hold of myself, I blinked away the tears. “I know exactly how you feel,” I said. “Because I feel the exact same way.”

  His smile was relieved and dazzling. “I love you, Peter Burbank. You’ve saved me in more ways than you know.”

  We looked at each other for a moment; it was a silent communication that didn’t require words. A few minutes later, the waiter arrived with our meals and we were forced to let go of each other’s hands.

  “I had one more thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Peter said, over our meals.

  “Tell me.”

  “It’s about my mother.”

  “Your mother?” I asked, with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes,” he nodded. “Lately… I’ve been thinking about her a lot, more than usual. And because of that, little things have come back to me – memories, pictures, conversations that I’d almost forgotten. It’s made me think that maybe there’s more to her story, and I want to find out what that is.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to look for her?”

  “I suppose it does,” Peter nodded. “Actually, to be honest, I’ve already started. As it turns out, there are quite a few Alice Burbanks floating around. It’ll take a little more digging to find her, provided she hasn’t changed her name.”

  “Are you confident you’ll be able to find her?”

  “Fairly confident. But that’s just a feeling, rather than a certainty.”

  “Do your brothers know you’re looking?”

  “Not yet,” he replied. “I wanted to tell you about it first. Do you think it’s
a good idea?”

  “I do,” I nodded fervently. “If you’re curious about her now, that’s never going to go away. Even if all you’re looking for is closure, then it’s worth the effort to try and find her.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” he said. “It makes me feel better about the whole thing.”

  We finished dinner and we headed to the park for a nighttime stroll around the lawns. It was a surreal moment for me. I’d never had this kind of relationship with any other man. Usually, I met my boyfriends at clubs or parties and the time we spent together was much of the same thing. Booze and drugs and loud music had always surrounded us, and in some ways, it had made it easier for me not to think.

  It was nice now that I could enjoy peace and quiet and the company of a man who genuinely cared about me.

  “How’s Victor doing?” Peter asked.

  “Better,” I confided. “The dreams have whittled down now and he doesn’t see Kameron in his sleep much anymore. Once in a while, he’ll wake up in a cold sweat, but… I think he’s starting to come to terms with what he did. I think a part of him will always feel a little guilt.”

  “That’s a good thing, Madison,” Peter said quickly. “Think about it. Wouldn’t you be more concerned if he had killed a man and showed no remorse for it? Even if the man in question deserved it?”

  “You’re right,” I nodded. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re completely right.”

  “He’ll learn to live with it,” Peter said.

  “That’s what I told him yesterday,” I nodded. “I just…”

  “Yes?”

  “I keep thinking about Kameron, too,” I admitted. “And honestly… I’m sorry that he had to die in the process, but I can’t help being relieved at the same time. I don’t ever have to worry about him again. I’m completely free.”

  Peter put his arm around me and kissed my head. “You are free,” he agreed.

  “And as for Victor, he’s starting to come to life now. He’s starting to think about his next move. He wants to get a job here in Fort Collins and then he’s looking into a place of his own.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?”

  “That’s great news,” Peter said quickly. “But I do have another suggestion.”

  “Which is?”

  “He could just stay at your place and pay the rent there.”

  “I only have one bedroom, Peter,” I reminded him. “I don’t think Victor would like staying on the couch indefinitely and I’m not interested in sharing a room with my brother anymore.”

  Peter smiled. “You wouldn’t be living there with him.”

  “I wouldn’t?” I asked, in surprise.

  “No,” he said. “You would move in with me. With the new addition, we have plenty of room.”

  I stopped walking and turned to him in shock. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  “I know it’s fast.”

  “I just… You took me off guard, that’s all.”

  “Do you need some time to think about it maybe?” he asked nervously.

  “No,” I said, with a euphoric smile. “I don’t have to think about anything.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Peter

  “Fucking hell, it’s cold,” Sam complained.

  “Put some more coal on the fire, you dimwit,” John said, rolling his eyes at him. Then he turned to me. “Pete, where are the girls?”

  “Inside,” I replied. “They’re getting the meat ready for the barbeque.”

  “They’ve been in there for ages,” Sam complained. “It doesn’t take that long to get the meat ready.”

  “Is someone hungry?” I asked.

  “I’m fucking starving,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “And it’s fucking cold, too.”

  “Stop whining and help me build up the fire,” Alan said, shaking his head at Sam. “Pete, would you mind getting some more wood from the porch front?”

  “Sure thing,” I nodded as I cut through the house to get to the porch.

  On my way there, I passed the kitchen and I heard Jessica and Madison talking together.

  “He snores?” Madison was laughing. “I wouldn’t have expected that of Alan.”

  “It’s a new thing,” Jessica sighed. “You’re lucky that Peter doesn’t snore.”

  I smiled to myself and kept walking. It was nice that Jessica and Madison got along so well. They had hit it off from the start and that just made everything so much easier.

  Alan had loved Madison and had approved of her right away. She had fit into the family dynamic perfectly. I was gratified to find that after years of all male, testosterone-fueled get-togethers, we still had enough room for some feminine energy. In fact, it actually made for more fun.

  I had collected up a bunch of wood when I noticed headlights in the drive. A few moments later, a beat-up truck pulled to a stop in front of the house and Talen stepped out.

  “Talen!” I greeted, thrilled to see him. “You decided to come.”

  “Well, I had fun at the last one,” Talen said. “So I figured I’d give it another shot. Plus, it would be nice to see Alan and Jessica again.”

  “Well, we’re glad to have you,” I said, clapping him on the back.

  “I heard about the incident that happened over at Madison’s house,” Talen said, glancing over in that direction.

  “Yeah…”

  “Pretty intense shit.”

  “It was,” I nodded. “But it’s sorted now.”

  Talen was the only brother who didn’t know what had really happened that night at Madison’s house. He knew the official story, but not the gory details. It wasn’t as though I was trying to purposefully keep it from him; it was just that he so rarely showed up that he ended up missing large chunks of the story. I had no reservations about telling him, but now wasn’t the time or the place.

  “How is Madison?”

  “She’s great,” I nodded. “Her brother’s living with her temporarily at the moment. Or maybe it’s the other way around now.”

  Talen wrinkled his brows at me. “Umm…what?”

  I smiled. “That’s right, you don’t know. Madison is moving in with me.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yup.”

  “That was fast.”

  “I know,” I replied. “It took everyone by surprise. Including her… But it feels right.”

  “What about John?”

  “What about John?” I asked. “There’s room enough for all three of us. Madison doesn’t mind and neither does John.”

  Talen nodded. “Look at you guys go,” he said thoughtfully. “First Alan, now you. I wonder who will be next?”

  “Maybe it’ll be you,” I suggested.

  He snorted. “I highly doubt that.”

  “Come on,” I said. “Is the idea of a relationship really so far-fetched?”

  “For me it is,” he nodded. “I wasn’t made for relationships. I’m too rough around the edges. No woman would put up with me for long.”

  “Maybe you only think that because you haven’t found the right woman?” I suggested.

  Talen gave me a small smile. “You sound like Dad.”

  “Funny, people have been saying that to me more and more recently.”

  “Love has softened you up,” he pointed out.

  “Hmm…maybe you’re right.”

  There was a bark from the house and Talen turned to peer into the front door. “You got a dog, too?”

  “It’s Madison’s dog,” I explained. “His name’s Polo. I suppose now that she’s moving in, he’s kind of my dog, too.”

  “Lots of changes,” Talen said thoughtfully. “What’s Madison going to do with the house next door?”

  “Her brother’s taking over the rent,” I explained. “So he’ll be close.”

  “Is he joining us for dinner tonight?”

  “Not today,” I said. “He found a new job recently and it’s keeping hi
m busy.”

  “He found a job so fast?”

  “Well, I might have put in a word here and there,” I admitted. “Just to help him get back on his feet. No big deal.”

  “You’re always looking out for people.”

  “Just the ones I’m closest to,” I said. “Just the ones I care about.”

  Talen’s blue eyes were far away, and I knew he was looking towards the past. I just wasn’t sure if he was thinking back to his days with Maddow’s gang or long before that, when we were still boys.

  “Talen?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Do you ever think about Mom?” I asked.

  His eyes instantly came back into focus and when they landed on me, they were cold as stone and completely devoid of any emotion. “I try not to think about her,” he replied. “I try not to waste my time thinking about her.”

  “You’re not…curious?”

  “She abandoned us,” he said, with venom in his tone. “I’m not interested in her anymore.”

  “Okay,” I said, biting my tongue.

  “Let’s go inside,” Talen said quickly, to cover over the moment of awkwardness.

  I nodded and gestured for him to go on ahead of me. I grabbed the wood and followed him into the house. The girls had finally gotten the meat outside and everyone was crowded around the blazing fire.

  “Talen!” Jessica said, as she came forward and gave him a hug. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

  As everyone came forward to greet Talen, I made eye contact with John. He looked at me questioningly, recognizing that something was on my mind. “Later,” I mouthed to him.

  It was a fantastic barbeque. I had marinated the meat in a special sauce of my own concoction, which had hints of saltiness, sweetness and spice. We paired the meat with cold cuts, bread, and potato salad, and everyone devoured the food.

  Polo yapped around everyone’s feet, begging for scraps and half the time his puppy dog eyes actually worked. His shyness had all but dissipated, and he seemed like a different dog entirely. The only person who Polo seemed a little weary of was Talen, who maintained a respectful distance.

  “Stop it, guys,” Madison said, watching as Sam succumbed and threw Polo another scrap of meat. “He’s going to get so spoiled…and fat.”

  “That’s what I aspire to,” Sam joked. “One day having the luxury of being spoiled and fat.”