Page 23 of Wrong Number, Right Single Dad
My heart is still racing when I hear footsteps behind me. I turn, expecting the host, or maybe one of the other performers.
Instead, I see him.
Jared.
He’s holding a small bouquet of flowers that look like they were grabbed from the nearest bodega.
He’s breathless, like he ran back here. Like he couldn’t wait one more second.
And, he looks the way I feel.
Like hell.
His shirt is rumpled. There are circles under his eyes. But I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.
I freeze.
“I didn’t know if you’d be here,” he says. “But I hoped you would. I had to try.”
I cross my arms, shielding my still-cracked heart. “What are you doing here?”
A long pause stretches between us.
“I tried to call,” he says. ”But you blocked me.”
It comes out straight-forward, without accusation.
I lift a shoulder. “I thought it would be easier for us if we couldn’t speak.”
“Was it?” he asks. “Was it easier?”
“No, it wasn’t.” I swallow past a lump in my throat. “Since you found me: What do you want to talk about?”
“I came to apologize.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Because you threw my past at me?”
“I didn’t do that.” He frowns. “Is that what you think this was about? If so, I’m sorry for that too. I’m sorry if you felt judged.”
I shake my head, not understanding. “If it wasn’t about my past, what was it about it?”
“It wasn’t about your past,” he says finally, voice low. “It was shitty of me to even imply it. And I can see how I did. I know that. But that wasn’t the real reason I pushed you away.”
I stare at him, forcing my voice to stay even. “Then why did you?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of what? What I used to do?”
He shakes his head, taking a tentative step closer. “No. I was scared of what might happen in the future.”
He drops his gaze, like he can’t quite look me in the eye.
“I was scared Hannah would get attached and then lose you like she lost her mom. I was scared I’d start depending on you. Wanting more. And that I’d screw it all up. That I wouldn’t be enough. For her. For you. That you’d leave.”
My throat tightens. And my heart aches for this man. For me. For the hurt we’ve both lived with these past few days.
“But I was wrong,” he says. “You being in her life? It won’t hurt her. You’ve made her light up in ways I haven’t ever seen.”
