Darcy and the Single Dad by Stacy Connelly

Author:Stacy Connelly
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 0373657196
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

It didn’t take a genius to realize he’d blown it with Darcy big-time.

For one afternoon, she’d made Nick forget his responsibilities, his doubts, his insecurities as a divorced, single father. With her in his arms, he’d simply been a man making love to a sassy, sexy, sensual woman who made him feel more awake and alive than he had in years.

And then the camp counselor had called, and all those responsibilities, doubts and insecurities came crashing back down. He’d rushed Darcy out of the house as if she were someone to be ashamed of. She’d given him those golden, glorious hours in her arms, and he’d tarnished them in minutes.

And he’d hurt her doing it.

He wasn’t a player like Travis Parker, out to get what he could from a woman before casting her aside. His parents had raised him to respect women and to look out for them, a protective streak that had grown even stronger once he became a father to a little girl.

Which brought him back to Maddie and the newest dilemma that kept him from driving straight to Darcy’s house and offering her the apology she deserved.

After one meeting, his daughter seemed as taken with Darcy as he was.

When can we go to Darcy’s house to see the puppies?

What did Darcy name the puppies again?

Do you think Darcy would let me teach the puppies to fetch?

Maddie’s obsession with the dogs he’d anticipated. Her fascination with Darcy was something that caught him completely off guard. He should have seen this coming. Wasn’t Maddie’s rush toward her preteen years and her need for a female presence the reason Nick had finally taken stock of his own life and admitted his own longing for someone to share his life with?

“Do you think Darcy will like my folder?”

Nick glanced over at the passenger seat. His daughter was bent over the purple folder they’d purchased earlier that day, still planning out the perfect placement for each and every sticker.

“It’s your folder, Maddie. All that matters is whether or not you like it.”

Slanting him a glance from the corner of her eye, she sighed, his answer clearly not the right one.

“You know, your aunt Sophia is back from her trip, so you can show her your folder tonight,” he said, hoping to appease his daughter’s need for a woman’s presence. “And your grandmother will want to see it, too.”

Maddie sighed again, but after a moment’s pause asked, “What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Lasagna.”

“Yum, Grandma’s lasagna is the best.”

That was one thing he and his daughter could definitely agree on. He could practically taste the layer upon layer of hearty pasta and melted, stretching cheese. The scent of made-from-scratch sauce—tomato, oregano, onion, garlic—would fill the whole house, and the food would be second only to the love and laughter filling the Pirelli table.

His mouth was already watering when his thoughts flashed back to the lone and lonely frozen container of cardboard pasta in Darcy’s basket.

He should have invited her.

The offer had been on the tip of his tongue while they’d stood together in the back-to-school aisle.

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