Page 41 of Big Bad Single Wolf Dad

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

“I’m not done,” she says with mock chastisement. “It’s not a safe pastime, but nothing in life is a hundred percent safe. If you want to go the rest of your life avoiding getting hurt, you’re going to live a pretty bland life. And Sarah, you’re not a bland person.”

She gives me a serious look. “If you feel something for Greg, it’s worth following. And I know you’ve been hurt before, and so have the kids, I get it. I’m not saying ask the guy to marry you tomorrow or anything, but give him a chance. You’re going to have to get over being chicken. Just ask him if he’s seeing other people.”

I open my mouth to argue, but she cuts me off. “If you’re going to keep seeing him, and it sounds like that’s what you want, even if you are scared, then you need to build a foundation of trust and communication. This doesn’t have to be the end. You’re using it as an excuse because you’re scared. You can use this to rebuild if you try hard enough, and it’ll bring you closer together.”

Lisa’s words soak into me slowly, seeping through the layers of uncertainty and fear that I’ve built up around me.

Slowly I nod. “Has anyone ever told you you’re very wise?” I ask.

“Honestly, maybe not,” she replies with a grin. “Kooky, yes. Unhinged, occasionally. But never wise. This might just be an anomaly.”

I laugh at this. “Well, I’m grateful to be on the receiving end of such a wonderful anomaly,” I tell her just as the waiter returns with our lunch.

“Okay, so now you have to tell me all the hot gossip,” she says with a grin. “In exchange for the wisdom, of course.”

“Ah, yes. I believe that’s the law, isn’t it?” I joke.

Lisa nods enthusiastically. “Tell me everything.”

I laugh again before regaling her with stories about the romantic dates Greg has taken me on, as well as how great he’s been with the kids. I stop short of telling her what went on the night of the sleepover, but Lisa manages to read between the lines anyway.

“Oh my God, I knew something must have happened that night! The tarot cards were giving me some crazy messages that day, and I thought maybe I’d get lucky that night. But I guess the cards were for you,” my witchy friend says with a smirk.

I laugh, feeling my cheeks burn a little at her brazenness. But I have to admit, I’m enjoying myself.

It’s only after we’ve hugged goodbye and I’ve gone back to my office that the ball of dread I thought our talk had dissolved starts to re-form.

On my desk lies the bouquet of flowers Eric brought me, wilted now that they’ve been left so long without water.

I look at them for a second, Eric’s words coming back to me and mingling with Lisa’s advice to give Greg another chance.

In the end, I pick up the flowers and stare at them for a second before bringing them into the office kitchen and depositing them promptly into the trash.

22

GREG

“I’ve got everything we need for today,” I tell Sarah. “All you and the kids have to do is jump in the car.”

“And you’re not going to tell us where we’re going?” she asks, one eyebrow arched.

“That would defeat the purpose of a surprise outing, wouldn’t it?” I retort with a mischievous smile.

She gives me a look of mock suspicion, but I can see there’s a smile under there and I grin back, hoping today’s surprise outing will help win her over again.

We pile into the minivan and soon we’re off. I decide that I could get used to this life — Sarah and I wrangling our five rowdy but loveable kids into minivans, taking them on surprise trips, and sharing our lives.

It’s a thought that makes my heart ache a little when I realize how easy it would be to lose this, but I know I can’t focus on that possibility. What I have to focus on is showing Sarah how much I care about her and her kids.

“Oh my gosh, Magic Land!” come the cries from the back seat as we approach the giant indoor playpark on the outskirts of town. My kids have been there a few times, but judging by the looks on Mia and Ethan’s faces, this is their first visit, and they’re ecstatic.

Sarah turns to me as we pull up to the giant complex decorated to look like a magical wonderland.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know,” she says, and I see something between happiness and reluctance in her eyes.

“Like I’ve told you before,” I say, a warm, reassuring smile passing over my lips, “I want to.”

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