The World's Best Dad by Valerie Taylor
Author:Valerie Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter Eight
Julie shook her head. âOh, no husbandâIâm a single mom.â
He raised an eyebrow, interested. âYou adopted a five-year-old on your own? How brave of you!â
âShe was in foster care, and I was her guardian ad litem. I just couldnâtââ the memory hit Julie again and she swallowed ââjust couldnât watch while she was bumped to another foster home.â She smiled cheerfully.
He finished signing her book and handed it to her. âIs there any chance I could talk to you about it for a while? My next book is about the special concerns of those adopting an older child.â
Julie grinned. âOnly if I can pick your brain a bit.â
He smiled. âYouâre probably more of an expert than I am at this point, but you can pick my brain all you like. Iâm finished here at one oâclockâwould you be able to meet me in the coffee bar here in the bookstore? Iâll buy you a cup of coffee.â
Twenty minutes. Just enough time to call Carla and tell her to deal with Ed, then call Happy Learners and check on Marisa. âIâll be there.â
Julie made her phone calls. Ed was at lunch himself with his own bosses, so probably wouldnât be back in the office for at least an hour. Marisa had had a good morning, had eaten her entire lunch and was napping.
After she hung up, Julie hit the rest room for a rapid makeup check, found a seat in the coffee bar and gave her order to the waitress just as Jonathan walked into the room. She waited while he scanned the area and waved as his eyes turned toward her booth. He smiled, a really nice smile, and stopped to speak briefly to the waitress as he crossed the room.
He held out his hand as he slid into the booth. âJust for the sake of formality, Jonathan Nearing.â
âJulie Miles.â
The waitress set down their coffee. He smiled up at her. âThank you.â
Julie picked up her cup and blew on it. âSo. Youâre a parenting expert.â
He laughed. âAs much as one can be, when one has no children. Like I said, Iâm sure youâre more of an expert than I am. I think most parents are. Most just need to learn to trust themselves and their instincts.â
Julie shook her head. It was a nice thought, but she already had too much firsthand experience to the contrary. âI donât know about that. Donât you think there are an awful lot of parents out there who donât know what theyâre doing? Me included.â
âNo parent knows what sheâs doing. You just muddle along.â
âBut what if I make some hideous mistake?â
He stirred his latte, thinking. âDo you love her?â
âDo I love Marisa? Of course I do.â
âNo âof courseâ about it. Adoption is a tricky thing, especially when youâre adopting an older child. Love isnât automatic, not even for biological parents. We all have to learn to love our children, no matter how they come to us.â
âIâve known Marisa since before she was two, though.â
âTwo is a difficult age.
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