Dirty Little Midlife (fake) Date: A Later-in-Life Romantic Comedy (Heart’s Cove Hotties Book 9) by Lilian Monroe

Author:Lilian Monroe [Monroe, Lilian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Method and Madness Publishing
Published: 2023-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

When I tell Bailey about the trip, she lights up. “We get to fly on an airplane?”

I nod. “Desmond is organizing the tickets.”

“Cool.”

We’re sitting on the couch after dinner. Now that I’ve told her about the trip, I definitely can’t back out.

“I knew you didn’t hate him,” Bailey says, kicking her legs up and down off the edge of the sofa. “And he likes you a lot.”

“We’re just friends,” I say softly. “He needs a partner for a race.”

Bailey sits up, then climbs onto her knees beside me. “A RACE? Can I do it? What’s the prize?”

Laughing, I shrug. “Bragging rights, I think. They say there’s a trophy. I’ll ask him if you can participate, but I think it’s just adults.”

She hums, then gives me an assessing look. “Are you dating Des?”

“What? No!”

“It’s okay, you know. Vicky Flanders’s parents are divorced, and she has a stepdad now. She says he’s nice and she gets more birthday presents than before.”

I huff, curling an arm around Bailey’s shoulders. “Is that what you want? More presents?”

“Yeah. More Golden State Warriors stuff.” She giggles, poking my side.

Before I can stop myself, I pull away from my daughter to study her face and ask, “Have you ever wanted to have a stepdad?”

“Sometimes,” Bailey answers. She’s so matter of fact about it, so honest, completely oblivious that her answer sends an ice pick through my heart. “All my friends have dads. But I like when it’s just us two. I guess…” My daughter leans back and braids her fingers over her stomach. The look on her face reminds me so much of Colin, it makes my heart ache. Then she nods once, sharply. “If he was nice to you and me, a stepdad would be good. He could help with chores and fix stuff that’s broken in our house, like Des did.”

That makes me laugh. Clearly Bailey and I have the same priorities when it comes to the benefits of having a man around.

“Go brush your teeth,” I tell her past the lump in my throat. “It’s almost bedtime.”

My nine-year-old grumbles but heads to the bathroom to start her evening routine. I stare after her, motionless, feeling raw.

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