Page 45 of Summer with the Single Dad

“Fine. But this kiss has anger in it.”

“Felt like it just had love in it.”

More growling.

“I love you. Good night.”

His footsteps padded away down the hallway, then down the stairs where soft murmuring between him and Emme echoed, but were indecipherable.

Justine went about brushing her teeth and washing her face. Bennett’s bedroom—his whole house really—was incredible. But the bathroom was a work of art. With two big sinks, a deep soaker tub in front of a huge window with the view of the sound, and a spectacular stand up shower with a bench. She looked forward to trying it out after her run in the morning.

Then the idea of trying it out with Bennett bombarded her brain and her cheeks grew warm.

She was just rubbing lotion into her legs when there was a delicate rap at her bedroom door. It couldn’t have been Bennett based on how low the knock was.

Her mouth started to twitch into a smile as she reached for the knob and silently opened it. Big brown eyes stared up at her hopefully.

Not saying a word, she opened the door enough for Aya to enter, then closed it just as quietly.

“I’m sorry if I said something to make you leave and not have dessert with us,” Aya said softly. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her face was blotchy like she’d been crying.

Justine sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Aya over. “I’m not mad at you, sweetheart. I’m … I was overwhelmed with how welcome you all made me feel. I didn’t grow up in a family like yours.”

“Were you parents mean to you?”

“No. They were … they just weren’t fun parents. They’re not fun people. They made my sisters and I compete for everything. Even dinner was full of quiz questions and only the winner got dessert.”

Aya’s eyes went buggy and her mouth dropped open. “That’s so mean.”

“I guess I just got sad and overwhelmed at how wonderful your life and family are and how …” She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment to find the right words. “How challenging dinners were with my family. I never got dessert.”

“Because you didn’t win the quizzes?”

Justine nodded.

“But you’re a doctor. You’re smart.”

“My parents and my sisters are also doctors. And it’s not that I didn’t know the answers, it was just that my sisters were faster.”

“Well, that’s not fair.”

“No … I suppose not. But my mother liked to tell me that life wasn’t fair, and she was preparing me for life. That in order to get dessert, you needed to be a shark.”

“Sharks are mean. They bite people’s legs off when they’re swimming.”

“That’s true. So when you said we were like a family and offered me dessert, it just made me sad about my life when I was your age. I just needed some space.”

Aya nodded, seeming to comprehend what Justine told her. “I’m sorry your mom was mean. I think if you get the answer right, you should get dessert. My teacher tells us that it’s not like only one person in the class can get ten out of ten on their spelling test. We can all get ten out of ten. We can all do well.”

“Your teacher is right. We can all succeed. We can all do well and we don’t have to be sharks and bite off other people’s legs to do it.” She squeezed Aya’s hand, but that just prompted the little girl to throw her arms around Justine’s neck and hug her so tight her little body started to shake.

“We didn’t eat all the sorbet, so if you want some later, you can have some.”

They were still locked in a tight embrace and that offer of dessert was what broke Justine’s dam of composure and made her hug the little girl back. Not as tightly, but boy, did she want to. Her throat grew tight and unshed tears stung the back of her eyes. “Thank you,” she murmured into Aya’s blonde curls, that smelled like coconuts.

Aya pulled away and her breath stuttered as she smiled. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me.”

“I don’t think I could ever be mad at you.”

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