Page 61 of Dr. Single Dad

Then silence. Did Jacob leave? My heart speeds up, like an overexcited puppy.

What now?

I hear them in the hallway again. They must have gone to check on Guinevere.

Are they going to go back into the kitchen, or will Jacob leave?

And then what? Do I leave things hanging, or do I put on my big-girl pants, open my bedroom door, and…

An image of my sister holding a sign saying “go get your man” flashes in my brain. I shake it off.

All I can hear now is muttering, then the click of the front door and the slide of the lock.

My heart is thud, thud, thudding in my chest. In my fingertips. Between my legs.

I reach for the door handle and pull back, as if it might bite me.

What do I want?I ask myself.

A job, I think. To be able to support my brother and sister.

A place to live. I haven’t had a home since my parents died.

A period of quiet, where I’m not firefighting or untangling a catastrophe.

Dax.

Dax.

Dax.

I grab the door handle and yank.

And yelp as I come face-to-face with Dax.

“I was debating whether to knock. I get that the power dynamic is weird and this is your space.”

I nod, a nugget of pride burrowing into my chest. His mum did a good job. I don’t know whyI’mfeeling proud about it, but here we are.

“I want…”

His eyebrows lift as he waits for me to finish my sentence.

One night, I think. Just one night when I don’t have to think about anything but right now.

“You,” I finish.

A smile curls around his face. “I want you too.”

He hooks his fingers around my waist and pulls me toward him. Every pound of responsibility I usually feel weighing down my shoulders drops to the ground.

I look up, his gaze so completely enveloping it’s like he sees more than anyone else. Like he knows me better than I know myself.

He reaches behind my hair. “I want to see it down.”

“My hair?” I ask, a little confused.

He nods once and I reach back, pulling out the two clips that keep it in place.

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