Page 120 of The Single Dad

“Have you never dealt with a stomach bug before?” Now she’s definitely teasing me. “Like, when you were a kid? You know how this goes, right?”

“Of course I have,” I say. “It’s just…” I hesitate for a moment, then sigh. “I don’t mind sickness, but seeing Archie sick always gets to me. I’m supposed to care for him, you know?”

“And what have you been doing all night?”

I crack a weak grin. Riley lays her hand on my thigh supportively. “I know,” I say. “I’m just feeling a little… I don’t know. Emotionally raw.”

“That’s understandable. You’re tired, too, which probably isn’t helping.”

“It is late,” I agree, glancing over at the clock over the mantelpiece. It’s verging on three in the morning. I’m lucky it’s a weekend tomorrow, or I’d be exhausted in the office. “We should probably get some sleep.”

“Agreed.” Riley stretches, yawning, and the two of us trudge back upstairs. She pauses outside of Archie’s room, cracking the door open to peer in at him, and I follow suit. He’s fast asleep, snoring lightly.

“Thank god,” I mutter.

Riley smiles. “That’s a little better, right?”

Gently, so as not to make any noise, she pulls his bedroom door shut. She stands on tiptoe to plant a kiss on my lips, and I close my eyes, enjoying the warmth of her skin against mine.

Then she pulls back, looking up at me. “Good night,” she says softly. “Try to get some sleep, okay?”

I nod, feeling strangely frozen. She turns to go back to her room, and is almost to the door by the time I find my voice.

“Riley—wait.”

She pauses, her eyes wide with surprise.

The words almost stick in my throat, but I can’t stop myself from saying them. I can’t stand the thought of being without her for the rest of the night.

“Will you come stay the night with me?”

Her eyebrows raise at this suggestion, which is so brazenly against the rules we set. For a moment, I’m expecting her to protest, to point out this very fact. But she doesn’t. Instead, she just smiles, nodding.

“Sure,” she says. She moves over to take my hand. Her touch feels electric.

My king-sized bed finally feels the right size as she curls up beside me. I pull her into my arms, and she feels perfect in my embrace, her body pressed against mine.

For a little while, neither of us says anything, but I can tell by the sound of her breathing that she’s still awake. I break the silence after a few minutes. “I haven’t always been a good man,” I whisper, my thumb sliding across her bare shoulder.

She doesn’t respond, but hums softly to show me she’s listening.

“But I want to be,” I tell her. “I want to do right by Archie.”

“That’s not true,” she says quietly, sleep tugging at the edges of her voice.

“What do you mean?”

“What you said before—that’s not true. You are already a good man. I know it.”

I breathe in the sweet scent of her hair, grateful that she’s facing away from me and can’t see my expression. I want, so badly, to believe her.

I press a kiss to her shoulder, and she curls up tighter with a small, contented sigh. With Riley in my arms, it’s easy to close my eyes and let sleep wash over me.

Chapter 37

Riley

I open my eyes to the soft morning daylight spilling in through the window, casting a pale glow over the walls and bed.

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