Page 36 of Keeping the Single Dad
“It’s hard being a woman in a man’s world, but you know what? You can be proud of yourself for that, because if a man tells you that you can’t do something, then you don’t listen to a word. Every time a door slams in your face, you kick it down. Every time someone tells you no, you tell them to f…flip right off. This is a woman’s world. It’s yours for the taking. Don’t let any man tell you differently.”
The girls gazed at me in stunned silence. The tall girl that had been bugging the hell out of me started clapping. Then everyone was clapping. The hall reverberated with applause. A warm glow lit my chest. Shit. Were they clapping for me? How had I managed to turn this around?
A little girl with glasses and long dark plaits grabbed a ball. “I want to be a footballer.”
Muttering broke out amongst the girls. Another little girl put her hand in the air. “Me too.”
“And me”
“I want to.”
I gathered the girls together and clapped my hands. “Right, girls. Let’s show them what we’ve got. We’re going to kick their—”
“Footballs.” Alex watched me with a rueful smile. “We’re going to kick all thefootballs.”
“Right. That’s right. We’re going to kick all of their footballs. Girls versus boys. What do you say?”?I chucked the ball in Alex’s direction.
He caught the ball smoothly.?“Okay, but I’m not going to go easy on you.”
“Good. I never want you to go easy on me.”
He raised a dark brow and cleared his throat. “Right. Let’s spread out, then.”
Chapter 19
Lana
Wewalkedthroughtheplayground full of boisterous kids. A little boy bolted out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around Alex’s middle.
“Brodie, this is my friend, Lana.” Alex beamed and squeezed the boy tight. “Lana, this is my son, Brodie.”
Brodie stood at Alex’s side. His face lit with an infectious grin. “I remember you. You got into a fight at the stadium.”
The back of my neck heated. “It wasn’t a fight, exactly.”
Brodie balled his hand into a fist and threw a pretend punch into his palm. “It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” He cocked his head and appraised me. “Who’s your second favorite pirate?”
Alex flashed an indulgent smile and transferred his gaze to me. “You don’t have to answer questions about pirates. We’ll be here all day. We have to go.” Alex smoothed his son’s wild curly hair. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I smiled. “I actually know a lot about pirates.”
Alex raised a bemused eyebrow. “You do?”
“My mum used to read me stories about Grainne O'Malley. She was the pirate queen of Ireland.”
Interest flickered in Brodie’s eyes. “A girl pirate? Girls can’t be pirates.”
“Of course they can. Anything boys can do, girls can do too.”
Alex rocked back on his heels. “Lana plays for Calverdale. Some people used to think that only men could play football, but that’s ridiculous to imagine now, isn’t it?”
Brodie dug his hands into the pockets of his smart blazer. “Are you my dad’s new girlfriend?”
Alex shot me an apologetic glance. “Lana is my friend.”
“But you don’t have friends that are girls.” Brodie looked between us. His voice held a rasp of excitement. “I’m glad you have a girlfriend. I have three girlfriends.” He ticked off on his fingers. “Molly, Jessica, and Olivia. I might ask Imogen next week and then I’ll have four.”
Alex’s rich laugh was low and throaty. “And to think, I was worrying about this kid settling in at a new school.”
