Ignite: A Grumpy Single Dad Romance by Melanie Harlow

Author:Melanie Harlow [Harlow, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-21T18:30:00+00:00

Saturday morning, as I pulled up in Naomi’s driveway, Hallie came racing out to meet me.

“Daddy!” she shouted, throwing her arms around me as I tried to get out of my car. “You’re here!”

“I’m here.”

“We’re hungry.” She tossed her head back and looked up at me. “Can we go to that bakery again? Where Winnie’s mom works?”

“Maybe. Go get your stuff.”

As she went back in, Luna came hurrying out, dragging her little suitcase on wheels. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, Loony Toon. Let me take that.” I grabbed the handle of her suitcase with one hand and scooped her up with the second, rubbing my scratchy jaw on her cheek. “How are you?”

She giggled and squirmed in my arms. “Good. Can we go swimming today?”

“Sure.”

“With Winnie?”

“We’ll see.”

Naomi came out, already dressed for work. “Hey. Got a second?”

I set Luna down, opened the back door, and told her to get in the car. After stowing her suitcase in the back, I faced my ex again. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk about October twenty-third. It’s technically your Saturday, but I wondered if I might keep the girls that night.”

“Why?”

“Bryce and I have decided to get married that day.”

“So?” I said, just to be difficult.

“Dex, come on. I want the kids there.”

“I thought you were getting married next summer.”

“We decided we didn’t want to wait.” She frowned at me. “And what do you care?”

“I don’t. You two can get married tomorrow if you want. But why should I give up one of my nights with my kids?”

“Really, Dexter?” She tilted her head. “You can’t do me this one favor? On this one Saturday night?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not what this is about. It’s about respecting the time I have with them—and you don’t.”

Her expression softened, and she nodded. “I’ll try to be better about that.”

“No more phone calls checking up on me. No more lectures about allergies or meals or how things need to be done. When they’re with me, they’re mine.”

She took a breath, briefly closing her eyes. “Okay.”

“Seriously? Okay?” I wasn’t sure I believed her. “If I say yes to the wedding day, no more micromanaging from afar?”

“You have my word.” She held out a pinky and offered a tentative smile.

Reluctantly, I hooked mine through it. For a second, I remembered good times with Naomi, and it eased some of the resentment and anger in me. “Thank you. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m trying.”

“I know you are.” She tucked her hands into her back pockets. “And they’re so crazy about you. Honestly, it gets to me. I have to be the mean parent, and you’re the fun one. I take them to get flu shots and school shoes and teeth cleanings, and you take them for donuts and swimming and fire station visits.”

“So give me some of those responsibilities, Naomi,” I said. “I can handle them. Sometimes I feel like you hoard all that shit just so you can complain about me.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’ll make more of an effort to go fifty-fifty on that stuff.

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