Page 15 of The Single Dad Dilemma

“Oh, um,” I stutter a bit, caught off guard by her sudden questions. “No, I don’t.”

“Why not?”Her head tilts side to side as she presses another dough ball onto the tray. She picks up on new tasks so quickly.

“Well, I did have a boyfriend, but then we broke up,” I say. “Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.” There’s no way I’m explaining the truth, of course. She’s way too young to know what a narcissist is, and I won’t be the one to explain it to her.

“Do you want to have another one?” she asks, stepping down off her stool.

She turns to study me intensely. Sheesh, it’s like I’m on trial all of a sudden.

“Well, I don’t know. I think I’m just waiting for the right boyfriend, you know? A special one.”

“So you can be in love?” she asks.

“Right,” I say. “I want to find the right one so we can be in love.”

She nods her head, standing there quietly for a moment like she’s really absorbing this new information.

I place two trays of cookies into the oven and finish cleaning up with the help of Lou. I check the clock and set a timer for the cookies.

“Why don’t you go grab a book and we will do some reading while we wait for them?”

“Good idea,” she says. “I’ll grab one of my favorites.”

I settle onto the couch, pulling a small throw blanket from the back to lay over my legs. I’ve always believed the best reading experience starts with a cozy setting. Plus, this little blanket is super soft and smells amazing. I should check the laundry room for what soap he uses.

A few moments later, Lou arrives and shoves a book into my hand as she settles onto the couch next to me with a small blanket of her own. It seems she had the same idea as me.

“The Little Prince,” I say, reading the title of the book. “This is such a good one.” And I really mean that. This little chapter book is by far one of my favorite reads.

I start reading to her, pausing to let her try some of the smaller words. She does pretty well sounding them out. I’m super impressed with her.

The cookie timer rings out from the kitchen, so I bookmark the page we’re on and head over to check them. Lou follows behind, then stands clear when I open the oven. The smells ofvanilla and sugar waft through the air, filling the kitchen and living room with the delicious scents.

I check the time and see that Ridge should be here any minute, so I quickly transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and put the pans into the dishwasher. He didn’t expressly ask me to clean up, but it seems appropriate to help keep the place picked up while I’m here, especially if it’s my mess.

We settle back down onto the couch and read a couple more pages before we hear Ridge fiddling with the lock on the door. Lou throws her blanket off her legs and jumps up off the couch before skipping over to the door in time for it to open and Ridge to walk through.

And, yep, he’s just as hot as he was this morning. Maybe hotter. I swear it’s like he’s just a little bit more attractive every time I see him.

Maybe it’s the fact that Lou flew into his arms and he lifted her into a hug. He looked genuinely happy to see her, and that’s pretty fucking sexy. Or maybe it’s my own cliché daddy issues or whatever happens to my body when I’m ovulating, but I can’t help myself.

He turns his big white smile in my direction, his tousled hair falling into his eyes. Hell on earth, he’s beautiful.

“Hi,” I say. “How was your day?”

“Good,” he says. “Busy. Convention season is starting, so we have a lot of logistics to arrange.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Do I smell cookies?” he asks, sniffing the air.

“Oh yeah, they should be cooled off by now. We made them from scratch.”

Ridge’s eyes grow wide, a hint of excitement rimming his surprise. “That sounds amazing.” He looks at Lou. “You made cookies?”

“Yep!” she says.

“It was her idea,” I say. “She wanted to surprise you.”

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